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Steve Jobs Responds To The Antenna Issue: Hold It Different Or Use A Case
- MrFoof 16y agoMasking tape over the lower left corner has been demonstrated to solve the problem. I'm wondering if clear nail polish might also do the job. Anyone have any idea as to why the human body might be causing attenuation whereas other materials don't?
- copper 16y agoThe human body is conductive, so the masking tape acts as an insulator. I'm wondering at exactly what shape the antenna inside the phone is, if it can be affected that easily. If you've ever played around with short-wave radio (I suppose people do need to be older than a certain age to have done that :) ) it's possible to improve reception if you touch the antenna.
- doron 16y agoBuy a device for $200+ and fix it with duct tape. Every man should be able to fix something with a hammer, a screwdriver, and some duct tape. I kick my tower computer good and regular, it silences that pesky yammering fan, and keeps it from showing me attitude. Occasionally i just glare at it menacingly, by now it learned.
- X-Istence 16y agoThe shape of the antenna is the metal running on the outside of it :P That is the problem.
- zweben 16y agoMaybe they will just start putting some clear finish over iPhones from the factory to fix the issue.
- CaptainZapp 16y ago> Masking tape over the lower left corner has been demonstrated to solve the problem You know, I read this tip in a few forums. What bugs me, though, is this: I buy an 800$ design icon (yes, it costs that much here if you want it unlocked and I _never_ buy a locked phone) to then apply a couple of layers of gaffer tape on my brand new design icon, so that it works halfway as advertised? It could be me and the fact that my > 5 year old Nokia 9300 is burning holes into my brain tissue, but somehow this really seems completely far-out..
- dieterrams 16y agoChange how you hold the phone. Not that big of a deal.
- nijikunai 16y ago+1 for sarcasm
- bsiemon 16y agoIs $29 for a case really that expensive if you just bought an iphone?
- bmalicoat 16y agoWorse yet, adding those bumpers, and most cases, makes the whole 'square edge to allow the phone to sit up and act as a camera on a table' feature, er thing, not work.
- nooneelse 16y agoIs $300 really that much to get some bumpers, if you just bought a new car?
- theBobMcCormick 16y agoIt's definitely not, but if I had purchased an iPhone 4 I'd be more than a little bit pissed off about this response. One of the most advertised and promoted features of the new iPhone is it's stunningly beautiful design. To then have to stuff it in a case that hides that design and makes it look like pretty much any other phone... just seems wrong.
- delackner 16y agoNo, but on my 3g I dont use a case simply because that makes the phone bulkier and most cases make you drag your entire pocket out along with the phone.
- jsz0 16y agoConsidering those bumpers probably cost less than a dollar to make, and are apparently quite essential to the product working properly in some instances, the $29 is kind of a slap in the face. On the 16GB model the bumper costs 15% much as the phone itself. The bumper probably costs less than the packaging you throw into the trash. (which is not required to make the phone work properly)
- ori_b 16y ago$29 for what amounts to a repair module for your phone does seem a bit pricy, considering it's broken from the factory.
- InclinedPlane 16y agoApple: Hold Different.
- fraXis 16y agoApple is simply trying to revolutionize the way we hold our phones
- karteek 16y agoI was expecting to read this on Daring Fireball.
- Hagelin 16y agoGruber's actual comment: "I don’t know if this signal-degradation-in-left-hand thing is really a widespread problem or not yet, but it’s not reasonable to tell people not to hold the phone this way." http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/06/24/iphone-hold http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/06/24/iphone-hold
- bad_user 16y agoWow, Gruber's comments are really terse when he's disagreeing with Apple. Kind of disappointed since I expected some kind of ass-pulled argument about what Apple wants.
- tjogin 16y agoHe's mentioned that neither himself or anyone of a number or friends he's asked has been able to reproduce the problem. How could he possibly write exhaustively on the topic at this point, given the lack of information and personal experience of it?
- bad_user 16y ago> has been able to reproduce the problem Are you talking about the lost signal on iPhones, or are you talking about Apple's response? ... because the later is the real problem for me. Will the next iPhone have a working antenna in the list of features?
- jgg 16y agoAaaand we've come full circle again, where people start to realize that Apple is, like Microsoft, a gigantic company that doesn't care about anyone. Maybe we can all move to open-source platforms, so that we can fill the Blogosphere (tm) with self-righteous bullshit about Ubuntu before being swept up by the next commercial trend. Gee, it took a shiny user interface and a meticulously-engineered corporate image to sucker in that last batch, how low can be set the bar this time? I hate humanity.
- po 16y agoIf a comment from Jobs about the latest release of Apple's product leads you to hate humanity… well let's just say you're going to have trouble with society in general. There is far worse. Oh, on a second reading I guess it's the people getting suckered in without learning that makes you feel that way… Like this classic xkcd comic: http://xkcd.com/743/ http://xkcd.com/743/ I would say this: Cheer up! The vocal minority of shiny-chasing blogoshpere complainers is not representative of humanity in any way! Most people are quite happy with their iPhones and Steve Jobs knows it.
- jgg 16y agoIf a comment from Jobs about the latest release of Apple's product leads you to hate humanity… well let's just say you're going to have trouble with society in general. There is far worse. It wasn't that particular comment I was referring to. But thanks for being patronizing!
- astrange 16y ago> Aaaand we've come full circle again, where people start to realize that Apple is, like Microsoft, a gigantic company that doesn't care about anyone. I hope nobody realizes this, since they're quite different. MS's primary market is OEMs and businesses, and they care about selling to them. > Gee, it took a shiny user interface and a meticulously-engineered corporate image to sucker in that last batch, how low can be set the bar this time? Would you prefer it if shiny interfaces actively drove people away?
- sliverstorm 16y agoI usually approve of Jobs's candid replies, but not this time. I mean, holding it a different way isn't necessarily that tall of an order, but if anything is wrong here it's not the user's hand position- it's the antenna, and the user is being asked to compensate for Apple.
- jodrellblank 16y agoThe user is being asked to compensate for the laws of reality. It's a hand sized device that you hold in your hand. Some holding positions will shield the antenna. As various people and videos show, this is also the case with iPhone 3Gs, iPhone originals and other phone makes and models. And anyway, they're not being forced to tolerate the intolerable, they can always return the phone and buy a different one.
- bad_user 16y agohttp://www.pidjin.net/2009/02/16/killer-iphone/ http://www.pidjin.net/2009/02/16/killer-iphone/
- electromagnetic 16y ago> The user is being asked to compensate for the laws of reality. No the user is being asked to compensate for shitty design. I've yet to have a phone that dramatically loses signal when holding it, and all my phones have had internal antennas. If Apple can't do one of the basics of phone design (you know, making the cellular phone work) it is only and will forever only be their fault. I stick my motorola phone under my leg (I'm saying literally under my fat ass) whilst in the company truck so I can feel it vibrate and still seem to get enough reception, even in dead zones, to receive texts and calls. If my phone can work through about a foot of flesh, then an iPhone should easily be working through an inch of flesh.
- marknutter 16y agoWell, apple could have just added a telescoping antenna like the phones of 10 years ago, but that would seem to kind of break the aesthetic, wouldn't it?
- siglesias 16y ago"There's no right or wrong way of holding it. [Close up] I don't have to change myself to fit the product. It fits me." --Jony Ive, iPad intro video (1:12) I suppose this is a trivial feature of iPad's design, since it clearly doesn't apply to iPhone 4, which is beginning to epitomize form over function--no design ought to sacrifice usability, no matter how beautiful. It becomes simply bad, sub-optimal design. I'm not happy at all about how Apple is responding to this.
- jrockway 16y agoI'm not happy at all about how Apple is responding to this. Admitting that they fucked up will cut into their profits. Convincing people that the phone is fine and that the user is the problem moves more units. Apple has investors like any other company. This move is good for the investors.
- whichdokta 16y ago> Apple has investors like any other company. This move is good for the investors. Any move that is bad for the customers won't be good for investors. There is no short term vs long term thinking once you reached profitability and have cash reserves. The short term will inevitably become the long term. The _responsible_ thing to do for your investors is to solve problems before they get any more expensive to solve. i.e. solve your problems _now_ You have to simultaneously satisfy customers, investors, employees and the community you operate within. If you cannot wrap your head around that you cannot be trusted by anyone because you will always be sacrificing one for the other to save your incompetent ass. Sheesh. This is not rocket science.
- whichdokta 16y agoIt's a shame you feel that way, but down-voting the truth is not going to fix your economy, un-pollute your oceans nor end your wars. Feel free to shout once you've had enough and want the beatings to stop. :-)
- DannoHung 16y ago
- philwelch 16y agoApple's design has never been especially humanistic (in the sense that things are shaped to the peculiarities of the human body)--the sharp right angles on the MacBooks that cut into your wrists at certain typing angles, or the old undersized puck mouse, or some of the awkwardness for some people using the Mighty Mouse, for instance--so this isn't a very surprising flaw. Add to that Steve's stubbornness in terms of admitting mistakes, and this happens. It's a pretty awesome idea making the structural part of the phone the antenna, but obviously doesn't work if you hold it the "wrong" way.
- ZeroGravitas 16y agoI think using structural elements as part of the antenna is quite common, it's making them visible and touchable by the user that's new.
- praptak 16y agoHere's what I think Jobs really meant: http://funnyfailpictures.com/2008/12/cell-phone-fail-picture.html http://funnyfailpictures.com/2008/12/cell-phone-fail-picture...
- jlmendezbonini 16y agoMaybe Jobs needed to hold the iPhone4 differently during the keynote instead of telling everyone to turn off their MiFi, laptops, etc.
- sasidharm 16y agoNow I am really starting to feel for ATT. I can't help but feel that it might be the iPhone(3G and 3GS) that should be blamed for all the dropped calls and not ATT :P
- noonespecial 16y agoI seems Jobs has started falling back on "change the way you do things, not that big a deal", a little too often these days. One of these days it will be that big a deal.
- jodrellblank 16y agoI know he suggested a company rename and now using your device in a way that doesn't stop it working - when else?
- noonespecial 16y agoHow about wait in line for 10 hours even though you have a reservation and it'd be trivial for us to get you your device in minutes just so we can have a photo-op. Not that big a deal. It used to be Apple fit the we wanted to live, now they want us to go out of our way to conform to them.
- jodrellblank 16y agoWhere did he say that?
- ekanes 16y agoRelevant image: http://i.imgur.com/zAJ0y.jpg http://i.imgur.com/zAJ0y.jpg
- obelix 16y agoApple people are Bastiat fans. Who knew? :) http://goo.gl/5jEe http://goo.gl/5jEe
- mmorris 16y agoThis is a ridiculous response to a serious issue, but what confuses me is how some iPhones seem to be affected while others aren't. If it's just a matter of a short between the antennas due to a bad design decision, shouldn't it be universal? (I've tried and tried to replicate the issue with mine, but I haven't been able to.) It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, but it seems obvious that "hold it differently" is not a viable option.
- dandrews 16y agoA man stopped at Murray the Tailor's shop to pick up his new suit. Trying it on, he noticed that one sleeve was longer than the other. Murray waved it off: "Just pull your right shoulder back and bend your elbow a bit." The man did this, and was pleased with the look of the sleeve. "It also looks like one pant leg is longer than the other" the man continued. Murray the Tailor shrugged. "No problem. Lean to your left a little bit, and don't bend that knee so much when you walk." The man pulled his shoulder back, bent his elbow, leaned to his left and strolled in front of the mirror with one leg stiffened. The suit was perfect... except... "Should this collar ride up so high?" Murray the Tailor smiled indulgently, and chided "You shouldn't let your head droop so low. Push it back so people can see you!" He guided the man's chin up, up, far enough so that the back of the man's head just closed the distance to the collar. The man studied himself in the mirror and was satisfied. He left the shop wearing the suit and strode happily down the sidewalk, leaning left, stiff legged, one arm held at an odd angle and head back with chin pointing straight ahead. He was noticed by a pair of bystanders, and one of them remarked: "Murray must be one damn good tailor. Look how he managed to fit that cripple."