iPhone 4: There is no Antennagate!

So Apple held a press conference today to address the "issues" of the iPhone 4. Basically, they've said that all smartphones have the same problem and that they are not getting large reports from customers about it. But in order to help appease people they can 1. Return it within 30 days without a restocking fee or 2. Get a free case from Apple (if you previously bought a Bumper from them, they will refund it). Here is a link to the Engadget LiveBlog:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/live-from-apples-iphone-4-press-conference

Now, they did say they would not be able to produce enough iBumpers to mean demand so they our sourcing other cases and will give you a choice. You will be able to apply on their website next week.

In addition, 4.0.1 is out to address the software formula "bug" that calculates the strength signal and they will be releasing another update to fix the proximity sensor problem.

Although I can understand the uproar, I really do think this was a bit blown out of proportion. Every phone has areas you can touch on it that will degrade signal strength. Ever since phones went with an internal antenna design, that has always been an issue yet people have short memories. I remember on my Samsung A420, there was even a picture in the manual that showed me where to not touch the phone on the top because that's where the internal antenna was.

I think Apple is making the right move by offering free cases but I also think they may not have tested the whole "finger on the black line kills reception" problem that much considering that the prototype was in a case... we can assume all their field testing units were also in a case so there was no "real-world" type usage to account for it. Jobs theorized that since the 3GS had the same design as the 3G, 80% of the users probably had a case for it so the signal issue went undetected.

Anyways... this hasn't stopped over 3 million people from buying the iPhone 4 and that number would probably be closer to 4 million if Apple could supply as many phones as people wanted. I had to wait a few weeks to get mine because I pre-ordered through Best Buy and they didn't get very many phones (Apple saved them all for themselves... heh.). I do notice the issue but since I don't really use that phone as my primary voice phone, it's not a problem for me... it acts more like my iPad nano.