Tag Archive for 'iPhone'

iPhone Dropping Bars an iOS 4 Bug?

Published on June 24, 2010 at 4:57 pm. 3 Comments

As a followup to the previous post I made regarding this issue, some people remain convinced that this may very well be a software bug. Many people are claiming that this also happens on their iPhone 3GS. Were this a hardware problem, specifically related to the side-band antenna that the iPhone 4 has, then this should not have been possible. And here’s the thing: people are claiming that they’ve noticed this has been happening ever since they updated to iOS 4.

Like I outlined in my previous post, supposedly Apple changed their method of selecting cell towers, but perhaps this was not limited to the iPhone 4 model. Perhaps Apple pushed this new algorithm to iOS 4 in general, which would explain why people are suddenly seeing this problem in the iPhone 3GS as well.

Some people are noticing that they encounter this issue in certain places only, for example at home they do, but not at work, or vice versa. Some attribute this to the possibility that different towers are used in in each of those locations. Some have brought up the fact (?) that the iPhone uses two different frequencies: 850 and 1900 MHz. They think that perhaps one of the locations where there are no problems is using one frequency whereas the other location is using another different frequency.

More and more people are saying that they too are experiencing this issue but with mixed results. Some say it seems to have no effect on the actual reception or call quality, going as far as noting that these things are better in this model than the previous ones despite seeing less bars. This is what I personally have experienced. I held the iPhone 4 in such a way to remove all of the bars, and then initiated and maintained a normal quality 5-10 minute call. There are also mixed results as to whether a case/bumper works in alleviating the dropped bars.

The media has picked up on this issue and it has been reported on by the BBC, ABC, and many others. Many people have called Apple regarding this issue with varying results. Some are sent a free Bumper case, while others are sent a replacement iPhone 4 with overnight shipping in the hopes that it is just a defect in the unit. Apple is yet to provide an official comment on the issue, but it is believed that it will not happen today as today is the official launch date.

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iPhone 4 Signal Strength

Published on June 23, 2010 at 7:35 pm. 0 Comments

Just a quick post since I see that some people are freaking out over signal bars disappearing when the iPhone 4 is held with the hands. It took me a while to notice this myself. I tested it a couple times with mixed results. However, I can now reproduce this the majority of the time. Basically, if one holds the iPhone 4 in a way that contacts the side-band, which itself is an antenna (multiple antennae rather, for different signals: wifi, cell, gps, etc.), after a few seconds, the bars begin to disappear. And let’s be honest, it’s pretty difficult to hold it any other way haha.

I quickly jumped to conclusions and started concocting possible scenarios in which Apple, too far into the development process of the iPhone 4, realized this ‘problem’ and decided to release it anyways alongside the Bumper case, which would supposedly fix this problem by removing any contact between the user and the side-band. A few other people considered this a possibility, recognizing the peculiarity at Apple releasing an official case itself which only ‘protects’ the side-band of the iPhone 4.

But then I read David Pogue’s review of the iPhone 4 for The New York Times that Apple claimed (second page, first paragraph) to have switched its cell tower choosing algorithm. It no longer goes for the tower with the strongest signal, but instead, it goes for the cell tower with the highest quality. I’m not exactly sure what that entails, as I always figured that signal strength determined signal quality but I know next to nothing about those things.

The new phone is also better at choosing the best channel for connecting with the cell tower, even if’s not technically the strongest one. (Ever had four bars, but a miserable connection? Then you get it.)

Although this is most likely true (the press gets access to Apple for questions, etc.), I didn’t believe that Apple would give up those “visual bars” for the sake of call quality. Reason being that most people associate bars with cell reception and consequently call quality, and Apple wouldn’t do anything to confuse the user, even if it ultimately resulted in better cell reliability for the user.

Then I read Walter Mossberg’s review of the iPhone 4 in the Wall Street Journal, in which he says that Apple told him this was actually a bug in how the iPhone 4 displays the bars, as he was still able to place calls just fine.

Yet, in some places where the signal was relatively weak, the iPhone 4 showed no bars, or fewer bars than its predecessor. Apple says that this is a bug it plans to fix, and that it has to do with the way the bars are presented, not the actual ability to make a call. And, in fact, in nearly all of these cases, the iPhone 4 was able to place calls despite the lack of bars.

So, assuming that the issue Walter encountered was the same as those which most people are experiencing, we can expect an iOS update with a bug fix to be released soon. I am sure Apple would be inclined to release an update as soon as possible in order to prevent any possible unnecessary and confused negative press which would claim the iPhone 4 to have inferior reception to previous models, a claim which would contradict Apple’s claims of engineering ingenuity by using the iPhone 4′s side-band as an antenna system for better reception.

This potential explanation for the issue many people are experiencing is not completely out of question yet. Although some people have posted anecdotal and video evidence of this ‘issue’ occurring, I’ve yet to see anyone claim that the call quality itself is actually affected when this happens.

If anyone posts evidence of the call quality consistently diminishing alongside bars disappearing when one holds the phone, then that would be something else entirely, and an issue Apple would be hard pressed to publicly confront urgently.

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Pre-Ordered iPhone 4

Published on June 18, 2010 at 12:11 am. 0 Comments

iPhone 4

I began trying to place my pre-order for the iPhone 4 since Tuesday 2 am. Even then, the systems were all being hammered. I woke up at 6:50 am on Tuesday to watch Spain vs Switzerland, which ended in a major upset for Spain, losing to Switzerland with a final score of 0 – 1. As soon as I woke up I began trying to make it through the pre-order process.

There are many outlets from which one was/is able to place a pre-order: AT&T, Apple, RadioShack, and Best Buy. Each of these has to first determine if the customer is eligible for the upgrade, among other carrier related information. There was such an overwhelming demand that AT&T’s ‘eligibility servers’ were over-strained, so much that all operations halted for quite some time. This caused problems for everyone who tried to place a pre-order.

It took constant attempts up until about 5-6 pm to finally be able to place my pre-order; no exaggeration. Just about 20 minutes after having placed my pre-order, there was news that all of the units had sold out, and that further orders would ship until July 2nd. Those units have sold out, and the next batch are scheduled to ship until July 14th.

I personally chose to place my pre-order directly from the Apple Store Online. Pre-ordering from Apple guarantees that it will be delivered to you by launch day: next Thursday, the 24th of June. This saves one the trouble of waiting in line to pick it up in-store, etc. I also qualified for the reduced upgrade price: $199 for the 16 GB and $299 for the 32 GB.

I chose the 32 GB version of the iPhone 4, up from a 16 GB iPhone 3GS, since I am sure I will be recording a lot of 720p video. I’ve already been recording on my iPhone 3GS but since the camera isn’t all that great, it’s not all that frequent. The iPhone 4 isn’t meant to replace a dedicated camera or anything, but it definitely makes point-and-shoot situations a lot more convenient.

I am especially looking forward to the wireless n (802.11n), which will make the wifi network connection a lot faster, especially useful for streaming video such as with the awesome and beautiful Air Video app, which allows me to stream nearly any format video, even matroska (mkv) 720p with subtitles, to my iPhone with transcoding on the fly; meaning I do not have to first convert the video or do any of that. It even allows me to seek through the video and everything looks very nice and clean, not to mention fast. Wireless n in conjunction with the higher resolution, 960×640 resolution display will make things much more enjoyable to watch on the iPhone.

I also appreciate the expected: the iPhone 4 now sports the A4 processor which runs on the iPad at 1 Ghz. The clock speed has not been disclosed yet, but it is expected that it might be slightly under-clocked to preserve battery life and reduce heating issues. The iPhone 4 has also been confirmed to be sporting 512 MB in RAM; twice the amount within the iPad and iPhone 3GS. This will make the phone feel even smoother as well as better support some of the multitasking functionality due with the iOS 4 update.

I also love the new iPhone 4 form factor and design, not to mention it is reportedly the thinnest smart phone to date, which is a huge plus. I won’t know for sure until I hold it in my hands, but I always really disliked the curved, tapered, back of the previous iPhone models.

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