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When holding the iPhone 4 with your left hand, placing your thumb over the black band on the lower left side will cause your signal to drop. |
As most people have probably heard by now, the iPhone 4 has a serious issue when it comes to antenna reception. Apple recently launched a redesigned 4th generation iPhone with some significant upgrades; however the antenna design has a major flaw.
If you look at the lower left side of the iPhone, you'll see a black line. That line is what separates the antennas. When you hold your finger over that line, your finger acts as a conductor causing the signal to drop.
Apple put a PR stating the formula they were using to calculate the number of bars was inaccurate and they are going to issue a software fix to alleviate the problem.
The truth is, the issue isn't with the software, the issue is the hardware. It's a design flaw and no matter what, software will not fix the reception problems with the iPhone 4.
Consumer Reports did their own testing and concluded that they do not recommend buying the iPhone 4 until the reception issues are resolved.
Apple's response to the situation has been handled very poorly. A "band-aid fix" to the issue would to simply apply a thick rubberband around the sides of the phone. Apple recommended users buy one of their bumper cases - essentially a thin rubberized plastic case that covers the sides of the phone. The thing is Apple should be offering these bumper cases to users for free rather then expecting them to pay a premium price of $30 for a bad design flaw.
It'll be interesting to see what happens in the upcoming weeks. This issue will continue to bite Apple in the ass until they fess up their mistake, and offer (at no charge) replacement units with a better antenna design.
