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I think it's supreme confidence in the product. Apple made some design choices to make the phone thinner and more attractive. They think that's what a lot of pe

by jsz0 16y ago

I think it's supreme confidence in the product. Apple made some design choices to make the phone thinner and more attractive. They think that's what a lot of people really want. An extra dropped call here and there (+ <1 per 100 according to their numbers) simply isn't that big of a deal and they know it. They're daring people to return the phone -- that's how confident they are in its appeal. The sales, return rate and customer satisfaction numbers all back this up. People bought it because it's thin, beautiful, and has really good software. The antenna issue doesn't change that.

kelnos 16y ago
I believe I read (in a Slate article?) that the dropped-call rate for the 3GS is around 1 in 100. So an increase by another 1 in 100 actually doubles the dropped-call rate. It's a bit more significant when you look at it that way.
- jsz0 16y ago
  I think that was just an example they used to show the "+ <1 per 100" statistic was misleading. According to a ClearWave survey AT&T's average drop call rate is somewhere between 4.5 and 5.5% so it'd be kind of shocking if the 3GS only drops 1% of its calls. So based on that the maximum increase in dropped calls should be 15-20% We don't know if it drops .9 less calls per 100 or .2 less calls per 100 or if the 3GS drops more calls than the AT&T average. It also disproportionally effects people who are in constant poor signal conditions. So based on this logic (which could be totally wrong I admit) it seems like most people aren't going to notice a dramatic difference in dropped calls. One extra dropped call per week, month? I guess there's no way of knowing.
- andrewf 16y ago
  Or you could say that the uninterrupted-call rate for the 3GS is around 99 in 100. So a decrease by another 1 in 100 reduces the uninterrupted-call rate by a tad over 1%. Double of very little is, usually, still very little.
SwellJoe 16y ago
That's an interesting take and observation. It makes it seem as though the reality distortion field has actually failed in this case. I say so because, from my perspective (as a barely interested outside observer), the iPhone 4 has nearly doubled the dropped call rate over a phone that already had a really bad reputation for dropped calls. I've heard the argument that that reputation is at least partly due to AT&Ts network, and that may be an entirely valid argument, though not a useful one since AT&T is the only option in the US, so iPhone+AT&T is the user experience you're going to get, and that seemingly includes a lot of dropped calls. So, in short, from my limited view of the situation it looks like a reasonably serious problem that is going to go uncorrected. And, it looks like an arrogant response from a man who is making tons of money selling what seems to me to be a flawed product. If it actually isn't a serious problem, then I've gotten an unfairly negative view of things from the tech media...which is extremely rare for an Apple product. And kinda funny.

by jsz0 16y ago

kelnos 16y ago

I believe I read (in a Slate article?) that the dropped-call rate for the 3GS is around 1 in 100. So an increase by another 1 in 100 actually doubles the dropped-call rate. It's a bit more significant when you look at it that way.

jsz0 16y ago
I think that was just an example they used to show the "+ <1 per 100" statistic was misleading. According to a ClearWave survey AT&T's average drop call rate is somewhere between 4.5 and 5.5% so it'd be kind of shocking if the 3GS only drops 1% of its calls. So based on that the maximum increase in dropped calls should be 15-20% We don't know if it drops .9 less calls per 100 or .2 less calls per 100 or if the 3GS drops more calls than the AT&T average. It also disproportionally effects people who are in constant poor signal conditions. So based on this logic (which could be totally wrong I admit) it seems like most people aren't going to notice a dramatic difference in dropped calls. One extra dropped call per week, month? I guess there's no way of knowing.
andrewf 16y ago
Or you could say that the uninterrupted-call rate for the 3GS is around 99 in 100. So a decrease by another 1 in 100 reduces the uninterrupted-call rate by a tad over 1%. Double of very little is, usually, still very little.

SwellJoe 16y ago

That's an interesting take and observation. It makes it seem as though the reality distortion field has actually failed in this case. I say so because, from my perspective (as a barely interested outside observer), the iPhone 4 has nearly doubled the dropped call rate over a phone that already had a really bad reputation for dropped calls. I've heard the argument that that reputation is at least partly due to AT&Ts network, and that may be an entirely valid argument, though not a useful one since AT&T is the only option in the US, so iPhone+AT&T is the user experience you're going to get, and that seemingly includes a lot of dropped calls. So, in short, from my limited view of the situation it looks like a reasonably serious problem that is going to go uncorrected. And, it looks like an arrogant response from a man who is making tons of money selling what seems to me to be a flawed product. If it actually isn't a serious problem, then I've gotten an unfairly negative view of things from the tech media...which is extremely rare for an Apple product. And kinda funny.