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Droid X looks pretty nice, but I have my eye on the Droid 2, with (a far better than Droid 1) physical keyboard.
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“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- John 13:34-35 (NRSV) -
This is really epic fail. IT IS A ****ING PHONE. Get that **** working.
Lefties: beware iPhone 4 reception problem
The iPhone 4 has a unique design feature—it uses the stainless steel frame and bezel to serve as radio antennas instead of hiding them inside the case. Steve Jobs made a big deal of the design during his WWDC keynote earlier this month, while iFixit described the design as "a work of genius."
Despite the crafty design, it turns out that some users are experiencing a problem where holding the phone a certain way in the left hand can significantly reduce 3G signal strength.
Scattered reports of the problem began appearing Wednesday as new iPhones were delivered early to many who preordered on June 15. Insanely Great Mac was able to reliably reproduce the problem, narrowing the cause to touching the iPhone 4's bezel on the bottom left corner. Essentially, gripping the iPhone in the left hand just right can cause the palm to bridge the left and bottom antenna sections of the bezel, cutting reception quality. In the case of Insanely Great Mac, this caused calls to be dropped.
Developer Matt Legend Gemmell did some testing of his own and confirmed that touching the area on the bottom left would reliably and sharply cut 3G signal strength. However, he found that EDGE and WiFi reception were not affected by the problem. And in his case, calls were not dropped.
We tried to replicate the problem with our own iPhone 4 models, fresh from the Apple Store this morning. At first we didn't notice any issues with signal strength. After some effort (and help from a video so that we could perfect our technique) we were able to reproduce the problem—if your palms aren't sweaty, we discovered it actually helps to lick them.
It's surprising that Apple appears to have overlooked such a detail, though it's possible that wireless engineers may not have caught this issue during testing. Since those carrying iPhone 4 prototypes had them disguised in a plastic case made to resemble an iPhone 3GS, the antenna bridging problem could have been mitigated by plastic covering the bezel.
It's also possible that those doing the testing never held the phone in the specific way necessary to trigger the problem. Those of us on staff found that our natural grips didn't automatically cause this issue, but cupping the iPhone 4 tightly in the palm would.
If you are left-handed or predominantly use the phone in your left hand, you may want to be aware of the problem. The only known workaround for now is to hold the phone without cupping it, hold it higher up on the bezel, or hold it in your right hand."The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "Comment
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Problem: Yes.
Easy solution: Yes.
Buy a bumper if you are left-handed.
PS - if I have to lick my palm to recreate the problem, it isn't mch of a problem for me."Mal nommer les choses, c'est accroître le malheur du monde" - Camus (thanks Davout)
"I thought you must be dead ..." he said simply. "So did I for a while," said Ford, "and then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks. A kept myself amused all that time jumping in and out of a gin and tonic."Comment
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RF Engineering 101 - EPIC FAIL
Wireless is a well-known, fairly mature field at this point. Any competent engineer could have told you that using the case or chassis as an antenna is utter folly - especially in a handheld device.
My engineer friends at Shure (major maker of wireless microphones) are laughing their asses off over this.Apolyton's Grim Reaper 2008, 2010 & 2011
RIP lest we forget... SG (2) and LaFayette -- Civ2 Succession Games Brothers-in-ArmsComment
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Your engineer friends aren't beyond reproach either. I bought Shure in ear headphones. They sound great, but why are they so flimsy? I now hear static when I walk or when I touch the headphone cable. I paid 150$ for these, expecting them to last way longer than two years.Originally posted by -Jrabbit View Post
Let us be lazy in everything, except in loving and drinking, except in being lazy – LessingComment
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Steve Jobs continues to douche it up.
His solution: Stop holding the phone wrong
Apple: "It just works...no, not like that. Hold it like this.""The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "Comment
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Easier solution: buy something else.Originally posted by Kaak View PostNo, I did not steal that from somebody on Something Awful.Comment
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Which sucks more, the RCC or Apple?You just wasted six ... no, seven ... seconds of your life reading this sentence.Comment
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