Signal Strength Archive

  • ZAGG’s invisibleSHIELD Offers Simple, Stylish Solutions for iPhone 4 Antenna Concerns

    Posted on July 17, 2010 | No Comments
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  • 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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  • iPhone 4 teardown: 512MB RAM confirmed (updated)

    iPhone 4 teardown: 512MB RAM confirmed (updated)

    Posted on June 22, 2010 | No Comments
    With nary hours since the reviews went live, the gang at iFixit -- no doubt blessed by the hands of early deliveries -- have procured an iPhone 4. And as is their modus operandi, they wasted no time tearing that sucker apart screw by screw. The teardown is still ongoing, but here's what we got so far: 512MB RAM (confirming earlier rumors), a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor (same as the Samsung Wave S8500, they say), and chemically-strengthened Gorilla Glass for a more torture-friendly front panel. Those two screws on the bottom of the phone can be removed to excise the real panel, but the site says the front glass "will likely be rather challenging [to remove]." The battery, looking rather large even in the pictures, is a whopping 1420mAh Li-Polymer -- comparatively, the Nexus One is 1400mAh and the HTC Droid Incredible is 1300mAh. There's no SIM eject tool with this phone, but a paper clip should work just fine. As for the much-ballyhooed side panel antennas, the phone apparently now "[utilizes] whichever network band is less congested or has the least interference for the best signal quality, regardless of actual signal strength" -- in other words, better call reliability (hopefully). Also helping with overall voice quality is a dual microphone setup for suppressing background noise. Peruse on over if you're interested in seeing a bare Apple device at its most beautiful.

    Update: The teardown is complete with a few more interesting bits of information. First, the battery is very easy to remove (and thus, replace) after removing the two screws. The LCD panel is not, however, as it's tighly glued to the glass and digitizer. So if you do manage to break the Gorilla Glass, you'll have to replace it, the digitizer, and the LCD as a single unit. The new AGD1 3-axis gyroscope is thought to be made by ST Micro and Broadcomm provides both the BCM4750IUB8 single-chip GPS receiver and BCM4329FKUBG receiver giving the iPhone 4 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and an FM radio.

    iPhone 4 teardown: 512MB RAM confirmed (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Snapback automatically reconnects calls when your BlackBerry takes a dive

    Snapback automatically reconnects calls when your BlackBerry takes a dive

    Posted on February 17, 2010 | No Comments
    It’s an unavoidable truth of carrying a cell phone in a world full of massive skyscrapers and thick-walled tunnels: Dropped calls happen. It always seem to happen at the worst of times, too. You’re driving along with your Bluetooth headset clamped to your head, when bam! Call is gone. You don’t want to look away from [...]

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  • AT&T may have fibbed regarding Sling player for iPhone

    AT&T may have fibbed regarding Sling player for iPhone

    Posted on February 5, 2010 | No Comments
    Just the other day, AT&T announced that it was able to work with Sling Media in order to optimize Sling player for AT&T’s 3G network. That’s good news for consumers and all, but it appears as though AT&T might have been doing a little posturing to make itself look like the good guy. After all, [...]

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  • TomTom’s iPhone car kit no workie with iPod touch, first-gen iPhone

    TomTom’s iPhone car kit no workie with iPod touch, first-gen iPhone

    Posted on October 29, 2009 | No Comments
    Bad news, you guys. If you were thinking of dropping $120 on TomTom's iPhone car kit and then another $100 on TomTom’s navigation app for use with your first-generation iPhone or second-generation iPod touch, it now looks like you’d to run into some compatibility issues. AppleInsider is reporting “that although the Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, the TomTom application will only work with the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G – even with the dock connected to a first-generation iPhone or iPod touch.”

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  • AT&T launches ‘MicroCell’ signal booster

    AT&T launches ‘MicroCell’ signal booster

    Posted on September 21, 2009 | No Comments
    Here it is, the AT&T 3G MicroCell. It’s a router-like device that piggybacks on your home broadband connection to provide better AT&T signal strength, including 3G data. You’re apparently able to use your existing plan minutes for no additional charge aside from the cost of the device, or for $20 per month you get unlimited minutes for up to ten registered phones. Mind you, these are unlimited minutes while you’re within range of the MicroCell. When you’re out and about, you’re using your plan minutes.

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  • New $60 iPhone case apparently reduces radiation by 60%

    New $60 iPhone case apparently reduces radiation by 60%

    Posted on September 17, 2009 | No Comments
    Worried about harmful cell phone radiation? Me neither. I talk on my phone about 15 minutes per month. If you’re a big talker, though, and you’ve been scared pantsless by all the studies linking wireless phones to various health risks, then perhaps you’d be inclined to spend $60 plus $9 for shipping on an iPhone case.

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  • Slow, Unreliable Wi-Fi Plaguing Some iPhone 3GS Units?

    Slow, Unreliable Wi-Fi Plaguing Some iPhone 3GS Units?

    Posted on July 8, 2009 | No Comments
    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Apple_iPhone_3GS_Really_Slow_or_Too_Advanced_Video'; As if the number of consumers complaining about the iPhone 3GS’ battery life weren’t enough, now reports are arising about Wi-Fi problems. About 30 iPhone 3GS owners are reporting in Apple’s support forums that their Wi-Fi transfer rates are surprisingly sluggish — in some cases, considerably slower than on the older iPhone 3G. “I’ve [...]

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