Is the iPhone 4’s Reception-Killing Antenna a Deal-Breaker?
The new iPhone 4 hit the stores and streets yesterday. With a gadget this popular, every tiny flaw gets blown up to apocalyptic proportion. Most of those issues turn out to be only a minor issue, either fixed in the next round of manufacturing or forgotten about in a few weeks.
BUT, this is kinda a major one in my view, if you hold your phone the wrong way it drops a call, what is the right or wrong way to hold your phone?
Apple responded in two ways today. A personal email to Steve Jobs resulted in a typically terse, utterly Jobsian response: “Just avoid holding it that way.” Apple also issued an official statement:
Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.
See the full story and related on The Fast Company site