iPhone 4 announced... thoughts?

[ElderKingpin]

ok here

"OKLAHOMA CITY -- Starting Monday, June 7, AT&T will no longer offer unlimited data plans, meaning most customers will no longer be able to e-mail, text or stream as much as they want.

AT&T customers who already have a plan will not be affected. New customers will now only have two data plan options to choose from costing $15 to $25 a month.

However, since neither plan offers unlimited data, customers who are too active one month could get slapped with another $10 to $15 in penalty fees."

 

[Icyculyr]

I'm pretty sure I read you can upgrade to a new iPhone and keep your data plan.

 

[ElderKingpin]

tossed up on whether or not to buy this. There is talk about a 2Ghz processor smartphone from android by the end of this year, but i am doubtful.

 

[Icyculyr]

I've got to say, this is probably the best and most thorough review of anything I've ever read in my life so far.
Andandtech's iPhone 4 (15 page) review

Definitely well worth the read, if you can handle it! lol

 

[Jindo]

Mine should arrive some time after next week.

 

[Icyculyr]

Nice, I'm eagerly awaiting it in Australia, hoping to have enough money for it by then too lol

 

[Romek]

I can get it for free as my contract expired about half a year ago, and I've been saving up my upgrade.
I'm just waiting for the fanatics who queue for 10 hours to get their ones; I'm really not planning on waiting that long.

 

[ElderKingpin]

i wouldnt suggest buying one now unless you dont plan to hold the iphone wrong :|

I dont think you understand just how i pissed i am at that

 

[ReVolver]

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/02/technology/iphone_update/index.htm

Not Buying It

 

[Icyculyr]

There isn't really an issue with the iPhone 4's antenna, its pretty simple really:

When you grab a mobile phone, the signal strength drops somewhat. With the iPhone 4, it drops more than average, but because of the design of the antenna, it holds on to calls at lower signal strengths better.

This issue is nothing, its just hyped up because people have 5 bars and then hold their phone and it drops to 1, they think something is wrong with the signal strength (as you would).

The reason for this is because of the way the iPhone 4 displays the bars, between -51 dBm (the strongest signal) and -91 dBm you see 5 bars, between -92 dBm and -113 dBm (weakest signal before losing the call) the iPhone displays the other 4 bars.

When you hold the iPhone 4 naturally, it drops ~20 dBm (for comparison, the Nexus One drops ~10), so if you are towards the stronger end of the 5 bar signal (~65) and hold the phone, it'll drop to about 85, and you'll still have 5 bars... but if you're on the lower end (~80 or 90) you'll drop to 1-2 bars.

Anandtech did an incredibly thorough review of the iPhone 4, page 2 focusing on the "antenna issue".

If you won't buy a bumper (or a case, I guess) which will more than halve the amount of signal strength lost when holding the phone (iPhone 4 with case loses 7.2 dBm, Nexus One 7.7), and you won't hold your phone differently (if you notice this problem in the first place, which requires weak signal strength), then just take it back.

I'm getting one ASAP when they hit Australia, I don't expect to notice anything, but if I do, I'll have my trusty bumper ready, which isn't a bad idea if they shatter as easy seen on YouTube

 

[Renendaru]

Plus, if you don't like the signal, Apple is being nice.

Apple noted that customers can return their iPhones for a full refund 30 days after purchase if they remain unsatisfied, but it typically charges a $10 restocking fee when the phones are returned.

 

[thewrongvine]

Icyculyr, you buy all Apple products ASAP, You're a mac, so it doesn't count, lol.

~Hai-Bye-Vine~

 

[Icyculyr]

Icyculyr, you buy all Apple products ASAP, You're a mac, so it doesn't count, lol.

~Hai-Bye-Vine~

Nah, if I could have my dream Mac setup it would be this:

iPhone 4
iPad 2 (retina display, more RAM, 128GB storage)
Mac Pro5,1 Dual six-core Intel Xeon X5680's @ 3.33GHz, 32GB 1333MHz ECC RAM, Intel X25-M G3 320/640GB SSD, NVidia GeForce GTX 480 (expecting 470).

That's all I need from Apple -- 3 items.

 

[thewrongvine]

What else would you need? -.-

You're saying, all I need from one company is a phone, an accessory, and a computer. Not much else. Just those 3 little items that came out a long time ago.
Heh.

~Hai-Bye-Vine~

 

[ElderKingpin]

just because you can avoid the problem doesnt mean it doesnt exist. People shouldnt have to change how they hold the product or buy more apple products, especially for lefties. Thats not fair, customers are the ones that buy your products.

 

[Icyculyr]

just because you can avoid the problem doesnt mean it doesnt exist. People shouldnt have to change how they hold the product or buy more apple products, especially for lefties. Thats not fair, customers are the ones that buy your products.

I wasn't talking about avoiding the problem, I'm saying the problem that has had so much hype about it, doesn't exist. I'm not saying the bars don't drop, I'm just saying the consumer thinks they are losing most or all of their signal strength just by holding it, when they are not.

Everyone on AT&T's network has signal strength between -51 and -113 dBm, holding the iPhone 4 drops that by 20, whilst the Nexus One drops it by 10, with a case, that amount is then 7.2, and 7.7 respectively.

So, in a nutshell, if you have a really weak signal, you might lose reception if you hold it, but a case will solve that. Alternatively, you can return the iPhone.

What else would you need? -.-

You're saying, all I need from one company is a phone, an accessory, and a computer. Not much else. Just those 3 little items that came out a long time ago.
Heh.

No, I'm saying I need those three little items. The iPhone 4 isn't out in Australia yet, iPad 2 is far from being even announced (I'll get an iPad for now), and that Mac Pro doesn't exist, although I'll settle for whatever comes out considering it'll be very similar .

 

[ElderKingpin]

"So, in a nutshell, if you have a really weak signal, you might lose reception if you hold it, but a case will solve that. Alternatively, you can return the iPhone."

But there are videos showing 4-5 bars going down to none and dropping calls completely, and you cant buy a case, because it doesnt solve the problem, it just avoids it :|

 

[Icyculyr]

"So, in a nutshell, if you have a really weak signal, you might lose reception if you hold it, but a case will solve that. Alternatively, you can return the iPhone."

But there are videos showing 4-5 bars going down to none and dropping calls completely, and you cant buy a case, because it doesnt solve the problem, it just avoids it :|

Yes, but the iPhone 4 is showing that user too many bars, they should have 1-2 bars, not 4-5.

When you hold any mobile phone, it drops in signal strength, the iPhone 4 drops more than usual, if you have a signal strength of -90 (5 bars) and hold the iPhone 4 it'll drop 20 to 110 (1 bar).

Once Apple releases the software update, everyone will see their signal for what it really is, even on older devices. No one really noticed on older iPhone's because they don't drop the signal ANYWHERE near as much as the iPhone 4 does (at least with the 3GS anyway), but they also don't benefit from the improved antenna.

Again, in a nutshell, if you do have weak reception, you might lose reception when holding it, if you use a case, which decreases (as with other phones) the amount of signal lost to a more reasonable amount. The antenna on the iPhone 4 is better, and I think if you either use a case, or have strong signal strength, you'll notice in area's where you normally have only one bar of strength, (~-110) that the iPhone 4 will hold onto a call, etc., better than previous phones.

 

[ElderKingpin]

so you are using another problem. to fix the problem that is currently happening, i personally dont care what happens to the bars unless i get dropped calls, which does happen, and that really bugs me. Its the iphone 4, how can something as simple holding it wrong mess it up.

 

[Icyculyr]

o you are using another problem. to fix the problem that is currently happening,

Huh?

which does happen

But we don't know how many of these people there are actually experiencing this... it might be only with people with really horrible signals.
We do know there is tens of thousands, if not hundreds, that have reported the signal bar issue though, two different issues are being thrown into one.

Apple is stuck with AT&T, so they used this improved antenna design to improve reception on their network, unfortunately the design allows the signal to drop more than usual, so if you use a case, you should notice the improved reception, if you don't and have great signal strength, you should also notice it, but if you have weak signal strength (weak enough to drop reception), then you won't notice anything but the problem I guess.