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Apple Has Pulled Videos Of Smartphones With Antenna Problems…. Sort Of…

Posted in Commentary with tags , on July 31, 2010 by itnerd

I guess “The Steve” has finally gotten the hint that he needs to fix the iPhone 4’s antenna problems rather than take shots at other smartphone companies as the now infamous Apple antenna site is missing all of the videos of all the other smartphones that drew the ire of so many. At least they’ve done that in the US. The Apple Canada antenna site still has the videos intact. I’m not sure what the deal is. Perhaps Apple got a cease and desist order that only covers the US? Perhaps it’s just an error on Apple’s part? Whatever the reason is, it’s interesting that this change took place.

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iPhone 4 Launched In More Places… And I Tried One

Posted in Commentary with tags , on July 31, 2010 by itnerd

Yesterday brought the arrival of the iPhone 4  to more places including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. In many places such as Canada, people lined up for hours for one. I’m going to assume that “antennagate” clearly hasn’t had an effect on demand. My “best friends at Rogers” let me know about a post on Redboard that describes their plans for the iPhone including the return of the 6GB/$30 plan that appeared after the “circus” that was part of their original iPhone launch.

On another note, I tried a 16GB iPhone 4 this week while I was in the United States and my impressions are as follows:

  • The feel and the construction is top notch.
  • The display is amazing
  • The quality of the pictures from the camera is stunning
  • The speed of the iOS on the phone makes it more than usable.

Now here’s the downside, I could replicate the antenna issues rather easily. In fact, the Blackberry Bold 9000 that I currently own as well as a Droid X that I had borrowed to compare didn’t do this nearly as easily as the iPhone 4 did. So the antenna issue with this phone do exist. It would be in Apple’s best interests to sort that out rather than point fingers at others.

Have you just got an iPhone? Post a comment and let us know what you think?

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Motorola Hits Back At Apple Over Droid X Video

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 28, 2010 by itnerd

If anyone was wondering what Motorola was going to do about that Droid X video that showed the phone having an antenna problem, they’ve responded. Droid Life has a picture that’s part of a new ad blitz from Motorola called “No Jacket Required” which points out that the phone doesn’t need a case to function properly. They also have this to say:

At Motorola, we believe a customer shouldn’t have to dress up their phone for it to work properly.  That’s why the DROID X comes with a dual antenna design.  The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like to make crystal clear calls without a bulky phone jacket.  For us it’s just one of those things that comes as a given when you’ve been making mobile phones for over 30 years.

Ouch. But the truth hurts I guess. Apple, it’s time to man up and fix the iPhone 4 rather than blaming others. In fact, it’s beyond time to do that.

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New Video Posted On Apple’s Antenna Performance Page… Why Won’t They Let This Die?

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 23, 2010 by itnerd

You have to wonder why Apple would persist in fanning the flames of “antennagate.” This time they’re taking aim at the Motorola Droid X on their spin doctoring Antenna Performance page. Here’s the video:

Is this what happens when “The Steve’s” ego is bruised? Does he behave like a five year old and blames his schoolmates for having the same problem? Perhaps he needs to grow up and just say sorry? Perhaps he should do the right thing and take ownership of the issue? Perhaps he should just fix the iPhone 4 and end this once and for all? People might actually give him some respect if he did that.

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Apple Launches Free Case Program

Posted in Commentary with tags , on July 23, 2010 by itnerd

Just like they promised they would during the news conference where they put some serious spin on their antenna issues, Apple have launched their free case program. Just surf to this website to start the process to get your free case. Apple is also offering up “select” third party cases as well as their own, plus they are offering refunds to people who bought Apple cases. Just give them up to 5 weeks before you see your case. Which means that until it arrives, you’ll have to use duct tape to make sure your signal strength doesn’t drop.

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Apple Strikes Back At Nokia

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 21, 2010 by itnerd

This “antennagate” thing just won’t die.

Just a few days after Nokia put out a statement saying that Nokia “designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand”, Apple has hit back by posting a video at their propaganda antenna performance site. Here’s the video below of an Nokia N97 with an antenna issue:

I have to say that this is really petty on Apple’s part. Not only that, I fully expect Nokia to hit back as they much like HTC don’t have a lot of love for Jobs and company.

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Apple Responds To Privacy Policy Changes Query

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 19, 2010 by itnerd

Frequent readers will recall that Apple changed their privacy policy and that made me want to avoid buying an iPhone. You’ll also recall that Apple was asked to explain this change by the United States Congress. Apple responded to this request on July 12th, but it was only made public today. Here’s some highlight from the response:

  • If you don’t like to share your location data, you can turn it off.
  • You can also say that you do not agree to the new privacy policy. But you will not be able to set up an iTunes Store account. However you can still activate and access any Apple device.
  • Nothing that Apple collects can be tied to a specific user.
  • Any GPS co-ordinates are converted to a zip code upon collection and is not tied to a specific device or user.
  • Apple does keep data for six months “to administer and improve the iAd network.” After six months the company aggregates the info “for administrative purposes.”

Rep. Edward J. Markey who was one of two politicians to call Apple on the carpet had this to say:

“As more Americans rely on location-based services as part of their everyday lives, it is imperative that consumers have control over how their personal information is used, transmitted, and stored. Apple’s responses provided additional information about how it uses location data and the ability of consumers to exercise control over a variety of features on Apple’s products, and I appreciate the company’s response,”

But he also said this:

I will continue to closely monitor this issue to ensure that consumers are empowered to keep their personal information private, if they choose, while still enjoying the benefits that accompany continuously evolving technological innovations.”

Good for him. The danger with collection of this sort of data is that some company like Apple will misuse this data, so we need people in power to keep companies like Apple honest. I do have a question, what would happen if Apple didn’t provide a decent response?

Anyone care to answer that for me?

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Samsung Hits Back At Apple… HTC Takes Another Shot Too

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on July 19, 2010 by itnerd

The fallout continues over the rather ill advised move by Apple to highlight antenna issues in their competitors phones. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Samsung and HTC have responded to this (joining Nokia and RIM in doing the same). First HTC who expanded on what they said a couple of days ago:

“The reception problems are certainly not common among smartphones,” HTC chief financial officer Hui-Meng Cheng said. “They (Apple) apparently didn’t give operators enough time to test the phone.”

And then there’s Samsung:

Samsung, the world’s second-largest cellphone maker by shipments after Nokia Corp. of Finland, said it “hasn’t received significant customer feedbacks on any signal reduction issue for the Omnia II” smartphone that was featured in Apple’s video.

From where I stand,  Nokia, RIM, Samsung, and HTC are all 100% correct. “Antennagate” is an Apple issue. Dragging other companies in is just pathetic, but typically Apple. I think “The Steve” may have just started another media circus that he could have avoided. Too bad for him and Apple.

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HTC Hits Back At Apple… Perhaps More To Come?

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 17, 2010 by itnerd

HTC must have been ticked over the fact they were used as a prop to minimize Apple’s antenna issues yesterday. They haven’t come out with a statement about this (yet), but they did have something to say to Pocket Lint. If you watch the news conference video, Apple claimed to have a really low complaints rate about the whole antenna issue. Here’s what HTC had to say about that:

“Approximately .016% of customers,” Eric Lin, global head of PR at HTC exclusively revealed to us before adding that “we have had very few complaints about signal or antenna problems on the Eris.”

You know, someone at Apple must be saying that using those phones to minimize their problems was a craptastic idea seeing that everybody and their dog is coming out to take shots at them. I’m guessing that more is to come from HTC next week as they don’t exactly like Apple and the feeling is mutual.

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RIM Calls Out Apple… That Didn’t take Long

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 17, 2010 by itnerd

The fallout over the decision by Apple to say “it’s not just us” when it comes to the antenna issue has drawn a swift rebuke from Research In Motion. The Boy Genius Report posted their statement this morning. Here’s a bit of what they had to say:

RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage.  One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.

RIM has a point. What Apple in their press conference needed to say “we screwed up and we’re sorry.” But what they did instead invited this sort of response from RIM and others. I fully expect others to be adding fuel to the fire in the next few days. If Apple really wants to make this issue go away, then they have to fix this issue, take responsibility for it, and not point fingers at others.

Sucks to be them.

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