Antenna Archive

  • Some iPhone 4 models dropping calls when held left-handed, including ours (Update: Apple responds)

    Some iPhone 4 models dropping calls when held left-handed, including ours (Update: Apple responds)

    Posted on June 24, 2010 | No Comments
    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_4_bezel_antenna_actually_makes_it_DROP_calls'; What's more annoying than spending hours lining up for a shiny new gadget? Learning that your precious phone can't actually connect to the network. Well, depending on how you hold it -- word has it that the iPhone 4's bottom-left corner isn't playing nice with your skin. If you recall from the keynote, that's where the Bluetooth / WiFi / GPS antenna meets its GSM / UMTS counterpart. So we decided to test on two brand new iPhone 4 handsets purchased today in the UK.

    One iPhone 4 demonstrated the issue everytime it was held in our left hand (as a right-handed person is apt to do) so that our palm was essentially bridging the two antennas. You can see that in the video after the break. Bridging the two with a finger tip, however, didn't cause any issues with the reported reception. If we had to guess, we'd say that our conductive skin was acting to detune the antenna -- in fact, we've already managed to slowly kill two calls that way so it's not just an issue with the software erroneously reporting an incorrect signal strength. That said, we had no issues when Apple's $29 rubber bumper accessory (given to us free for standing in line) was attached, creating a buffer between our palm and the antennas. Our second UK-purchased iPhone 4 was fine, showing none of these handling symptoms. See the video evidence after the break including Insanely Great Mac's version which got us to worrying in the first place.

    P.S. Don't forget to take our poll and let us know if you're seeing both the yellow spots / stripes and reception issues. Unfortunately, we're suffering from both flaws which is not a good sign for quality control on this first batch of Apple handsets.

    P.P.S. Since some of you are asking, our review unit showed none of these issues.

    Update: Apple responds to the issue, and boy, it's a doozy.

    Continue reading Some iPhone 4 models dropping calls when held left-handed, including ours (Update: Apple responds)

    Some iPhone 4 models dropping calls when held left-handed, including ours (Update: Apple responds) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 07:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Sprint ships dual-model 3G / 4G 250U USB WWAN modem, invites Mac to the party

    Sprint ships dual-model 3G / 4G 250U USB WWAN modem, invites Mac to the party

    Posted on June 22, 2010 | No Comments
    Remember that cute-as-a-button 3G / 4G dual-mode WWAN stick that Clearwire outed a few days back? That little guy just made its way over to the Sprint side of things, giving folks yet another option when it comes time to pull the trigger on a device to get you onto the WiMAX superhighway. The Sierra Wireless-built 250U is available now through Business Direct and Business Solutions Partners followed by full channel availability by mid-July, with this bugger being the first in Sprint's arsenal to offer native dual-mode support in OS X as well as twin antenna ports. Naturally, Windows machines are also compatible, and the minuscule design sure makes it more attractive than those prone-to-snapping alternatives. It's available for precisely nothing so long as you sign a two-year data plan.

    Continue reading Sprint ships dual-model 3G / 4G 250U USB WWAN modem, invites Mac to the party

    Sprint ships dual-model 3G / 4G 250U USB WWAN modem, invites Mac to the party originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • iFixit Breaks Down the Mac Mini

    iFixit Breaks Down the Mac Mini

    Posted on June 16, 2010 | No Comments
    Our friends at iFixit have taken the new Mac Mini apart to show us it's insides. From the looks of it, it was a pretty easy break down, with not too many parts inside. And, it looks just as good inside as i does out - in true Apple fashion. Here are the highlights:

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  • Verizon MiFi surgically implanted in iPad to create world’s first bionic tablet

    Verizon MiFi surgically implanted in iPad to create world’s first bionic tablet

    Posted on June 14, 2010 | No Comments
    Sometimes, hackers hack without any constructive purpose -- they do it just because they can. This, however, decidedly isn't such a case; in fact, it's one of the more enviable hackjobs we've seen in recent weeks. Basically, a dude split open his 3G iPad, removed the AT&T modem, and installed the circuit board out of a Verizon MiFi, providing power from the iPad's battery and hooking in the borrowed AT&T antenna for hotspot range. The hack wasn't without its trials and tribulations -- the MiFi's green LED initially shone through the back of the iPad's display, for instance -- but ultimately, the proud owner ended up with a fully functional iPad that doubles as a Verizon WiFi hotspot. It's not exactly turnkey enough to recommend to lay folk, but at least Verizon customers can take heart knowing this kind of craziness is possible if you've got the stones for it.

    [Thanks, Peter]

    Verizon MiFi surgically implanted in iPad to create world's first bionic tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Bumblebee is getting new digs for Transformers 3

    Bumblebee is getting new digs for Transformers 3

    Posted on May 7, 2010 | No Comments
    I honestly didn't know there was even going to be a third Transformers movie until a few minutes ago, but I guess it was to be expected. Anyway, Bumblebee himself has been spotted and is wearing a bunch of new OEM-looking mods. There's a new front fascia, grill, ground effects, hood, rims, and an actually good-looking rear spoiler. But the design is so pedestrian (what's with the antenna?) that the next Transformers Camero might share many of the same features. Click through for a bunch of pics including a couple with Megan Fox.

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  • CTIA 2010 Wrap-up: Android, Android, Android

    CTIA 2010 Wrap-up: Android, Android, Android

    Posted on March 26, 2010 | No Comments
    Bags have been packed, poker chips have been cashed, and planes have been boarded – and with that, the mobile-focused CTIA 2010 convention in Las Vegas has come to a close. Each time an event like this blows through town, tech heads do their best to distract themselves from their hangovers by writing monstrous posts [...]

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  • Elgato intros the inexpensive EyeTV One ATSC TV tuner

    Elgato intros the inexpensive EyeTV One ATSC TV tuner

    Posted on January 13, 2010 | No Comments
    There simply isn't that many easy ways to get live OTA HDTV on your computer while there is a ton and a half available for the now-defunct analog signals. But Elgato just announced the low-cost -- and low feature -- EyeTV One ATSC TV Tuner that brings one more solution to the table. Don't run over to Amazon and buy this Windows and OS X device just yet. You might not want it once you hear what it can't do.

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  • Friday Contest: Win a triple-tuner Moxi HD DVR

    Friday Contest: Win a triple-tuner Moxi HD DVR

    Posted on December 11, 2009 | No Comments
    Sure, all the cool kids are ditching cable and satellite these days, but us normal folk still pay for our TV. If that’s you, then you need a DVR and Arris wants you to have a brand new Moxi HD DVR this holiday season. And yup, you get the new triple-tuner model that allows you [...]

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  • New system used to protect airplanes from lasers, soon to work against sharks with freakin’ lasers, too

    New system used to protect airplanes from lasers, soon to work against sharks with freakin’ lasers, too

    Posted on November 2, 2009 | No Comments
    So the Federal Aviation Administration doesn't like guys like you and me shining lasers into the sky at airplanes. But what about real scientists looking to use lasers for real scientific research? The current rules require, essentially, a spotter to look for aircraft within twenty five degrees of the laser. Obviously, this is extremely prone to human error. This sounds like a job for science!

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  • Tokyo Sky Tree keeps growing to make sure it’ll be the world’s tallest building in 2012

    Tokyo Sky Tree keeps growing to make sure it’ll be the world’s tallest building in 2012

    Posted on October 21, 2009 | No Comments
    The Tokyo Sky Tree broadcast tower, currently under construction, has been announced as the tallest building in the world once it's completed (which will most probably be the case in the spring of 2012). But now Japan obviously fears to lose this (future) title to a tower currently under construction in Guangzhou Province in China, which seems to achieve a height of 610m.

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  • Star Trek communicator cloth one step closer to reality, still won’t beam you up

    Star Trek communicator cloth one step closer to reality, still won’t beam you up

    Posted on October 1, 2009 | No Comments
    Many gadgets we use today were inspired by the fictional gadgets in Star Trek. Communicators inspired cell phones, tablet computers were inspired by the datapads that crew members carried, the medical scanners like Bones used in sick bay are becoming a reality as well. And now some Finns are hard at work at making the badge communicators happen, by making your clothes into the antenna such a thing would require.

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  • DIY: How to set up your own analog tv station

    DIY: How to set up your own analog tv station

    Posted on September 2, 2009 | No Comments
    Despite the fact that analog television is dead (at least according to the FCC), some stalwarts are using their proficiency in dead tech to create their own channels, to rival the pirate radio of the 80's. Seems that it's actually pretty easy to pick up your own analog TV broadcast setup on ebay, strap an antenna to the nearest chimney, and then start spewing your own content over the airwaves. So easy in fact, there's an Instructable on how to do it.

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  • WiTricity to bring wireless power to home, office, public restrooms

    WiTricity to bring wireless power to home, office, public restrooms

    Posted on July 27, 2009 | No Comments
    WiTricity is working on a wireless power solution that can send power over short distances, thereby reducing the need for wires and cables. The system uses resonant magnetic coupling - essentially a form of radio trasnmission - that can send enough power to charge cellphones or run a television. The actual technology is still a ways of - near field charging will probably appear before this does - but it's nice to know someone is trying.

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  • Review: Insignia NS-ND01 portable HD radio

    Review: Insignia NS-ND01 portable HD radio

    Posted on July 21, 2009 | No Comments
    If you have been waiting for a portable HD radio, I have bad news for you. The Insignia NS-ND-01 is a joke. It feels and looks like a generic MP3 player from 2001. Even worse, it doesn’t work well out of the box.

    But let’s not focus totally on the sore spots. Once, and if, this [...]

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  • Muji Stealth Shower Radio

    Muji Stealth Shower Radio

    Posted on July 21, 2009 | No Comments
    Does anyone actually use a shower radio? If you do, you could do worse than this imitation shampoo bottle from Muji, which houses a radio in a splash-proof PET housing. The volume and power are controlled by twiddling the lid, and AM/FM selection and tuning take place underneath. There’s even a little suction-cup to stick [...]

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