iPhone 4 antenna problems were predicted on June 10 by Danish professor
By Vlad Savov 
posted June 26th 2010 6:51PM
posted June 26th 2010 6:51PM
Well, this must be one of the most epic "I told you so" moments in the history of consumer electronics. Professor Gert Frølund Pedersen, an antenna expert over at Denmark's Aalborg University, managed to get his concerns about the iPhone 4's external antennae on the record a cool two weeks before the phone was even released. In an interview on June 10, the Danish brainbox explained that he wasn't impressed by Steve Jobs' promises of better reception, describing external antennas as "old news," and suggested that contact with fleshlings could result in undesirable consequences to the handset's reception:Machine-translated that may be, but you get the point. Researchers at Gert's university have already shown that over 90 percent of any phone's antenna signal can be stifled by holding it in the right place, but he's highlighting the specific exposure to skin contact as a separate issue to be mindful of. Good to know we've got sharp minds out there, and as to his suggested solution, Gert says phones should ideally have two antennae that act in a sort of redundant array, so that when one is blocked, the other can pick up the slack. So, what are we going to do now, Apple?"The human tissue will in any event have an inhibitory effect on the antenna. Touch means that a larger portion of antenna energy becomes heat and lost."
[Thanks, Andrew]
@Air Force One
maybe Professor Gert Frølund Pedersen is thinking about this wrong?
@the real deal
Uh, no, not until it gets fixed and iPhone owners get more than "hold it differently"
@Air Force One
:o
@Air Force One
My solution post are disappearing
@JonnyB man engadget must be broken or something. I didn't say anything that would remotely justify my posts being removed, yet they are
@Dsi2play
this is just an example of why nothing good comes out of rushed products. It amazing apple didnt find this hardware problem. yet this phone is probably still going to sell millions. I dont know how steve does it?
@angelusp
yhea that is true but i guess people would expect more from Apple. There also one of the first to fix a hardware problem with 4 words
Iphone 4 = itouch 4g
8^(
@angelusp because it was one of the problems that apple promised to be fixed in their latest iphone, guess they didn't really test that.
@Dsi2play Apple thought they were being smart in bypassing Nokia patented cellphone antennae technology that they are currently being sued for but Nokia already patented this body antennae in 2001. They released a phone with the same problem in 2002 and have of course learnt from it. Apple in its stubborn refusal to pay Nokia royalties is fucking up badly!
@Dsi2play
Prof Gert Frølund Pedersen doesn't have a good handle on this problem.
Steve Jobs.
Sent from my brand new iPho......
@Air Force One
yup, hold it with the "iPhone Vulcan Pinch"
@angelusp Because Jobs made a big deal out of how good it is. If you're going to tout a feature, it's gotta work - or at least do the same as the predecessor, not worse, as it seems to be with this new antenna.
@Air Force One Then why don't you post it on engadgetforums.com ?
@Dsi2play
It wasn't lost in a bar that time. He couldn't get a reception and gave up on it.
Either that or he held it wrong and dropped it (no more than 3 times).
@Dsi2play I think EVERYONE is thinking about this wrong. Yes, the signal meter drops when you touch the bottom left of the phone. And that is a terrible design mistake. But, is there any measurable real-world connection? Do calls actually drop? Is data slower? Maybe for some, not for me. I have 5 bars in my apt (my 3GS had 3 on a good day). When I hold it "that way", it drops to 2-3 bars, but I still make calls better than before and get almost the exact same results on the SpeedTest app using 3G. I'm not saying that Apple should be given a pass for this, but is it really affecting anyone in life, or just on that little screen graphic of the 3G meter (that is totally hypothetical anyway)?
Also, to all the people out there saying "this is why we're better", do you remember when the Nexus One had the same problem, and it was fixed in a software update? Why are none of the Phandroids mentioning that?
http://phandroid.com/2010/02/12/nexus-one-still-has-3g-issues/
It was also all over the Nexus One support forums.
Oh, and how's that App Kill Switch treating you?
@Air Force One
The iPhone update will fix the problem, even the 3GS after this update does the same thing the iPhone 4 does. All these people are probably hired by adobe to trash apple.
@jimmylittle That article was in February.
@jimmylittle
Y'see, Jimmy, that's one of the nice things about Android. I have more than 1 phone a year to choose from. So even if the Nexus was having an issue with reception, I can use any of about 25-30 different Android phones, just in the USA. So... your point is what?
It's funny how so many people are beating up on Apple for something all cellphones are prone to. This is from page 18 of my Sanyo SCP-3810 phone: "To maximize performance, do not obstruct the internal antenna area." It shows a lefty holding it in the middle (correct) and another lefty holding it by the bottom (incorrect). Just another bunch of Apple haters. Do people seriously believe that Steve Jobs was shooting from the hip when he told people they were holding it wrong? He was right again. Move on people.
@jimmylittle
It's not just a random occurrence, and it's not something that can be fixed with a firmware update. (unless they make the phone lie about hoe much signal it has)
@jimmylittle Because there IS hard data that it made downloads slower. And how about you read the article on what the app killswitch is and what it does before attempting to use it as an insult? As if Apple doesn't have even greater control over what is on your iPhone...
... because a phone is supposed to be able to make phone calls?
why do people ask such stupid questions
when in doubt, pinky out!
@MrGoodCat
NARF!!!
@Dsi2play
The answer is clear, and Apple already addressed it. THE BUMPER! HAHHA The ingenious Steve Jobs makes you wow at the new phone, and makes you bend over to buy the bumper.
This is a software issue that can be easily fixed with software update. For example, iPhone 3GS with iOS 4.0 also has the same issue.
@Air Force One
SUE MAN SUE!!!
@angelusp
Because iSheep treat it like a device from cuppertino heaven. Ohhh the iPhone, ohhh shiny object, squirrel!
Obvious Solution to antenna issues, Paint the antenna so that your skin cant bridge the gap.
I can see this being colorware's new tagline for the iPhone4
@arnoldphone
it doesn't matter, the antenna design is still flawed and needs to be redesigned. I have a 3GS with iOS4 and it does NOT have the same issue, as it doesn't expose the antenna like iPhone4.
@Dsi2play
Gert Frølund Pedersen is my friends uncle
small world...
@jimmylittle This is what I've been experiencing It does only drop about a bar or 2 at most unless I am pressing hard or covering that spot for a while. But I think apple needs to fix this, honestly I could care less it's really not that hard to not put your finger on a .03 mm spot but I'm just tired of hearing ppl talk about it.
@Dsi2play Apple knew this before the presentation.
That's why the bumpers were published in the same day. Imagine 10m bumpers sold at $30 when the real cost is arround $2 or $3 . ;) Just great, Oh yeah they'll ship it and thank you =)
People will end putting something to avoid touching the antenna and buy a lot of phones cos steve and the marketing team are really great.
I'll probably buy an iphone 4 anyway cos a droid X will cost me arround $900 here in Argentina and the iphone 4 arround $500... And apps for iphone sell a lot more than for android by now.
Probably getting a $5 chinese bumper cos the $30 apple bumper will cost me like $50 or $60
@jimmylittle
"Oh, and how's that App Kill Switch treating you?"
Fine, and yours?
@Mike10010100 You have no damn idea what you are talking about, and when it DOES get fixed, what will you bitch about then?
I can't wait to get my iPhone 4 in Alberta on Fido and have none of the problems everyone gets so hysterical about, just like the last time I got an iPhone that had none of the problems everyone got hysterical about.
@RockTripod
So you're willing to purchase a phone every month for an entire year.....LOSER! you'll end up paying more than $2000 dollars on phones alone, when you can just buy a bumper for $29 and solve the issue...
@engadget
hey engadget one of your readers pointed this out dayd ago when you posted the first story. Im sure its been said but stlll...a bit of a fail.
@Dsi2play "this is just an example of why nothing good comes out of rushed products. It amazing apple didnt find this hardware problem. yet this phone is probably still going to sell millions. I dont know how steve does it?"
Dude, once you drink Steve's coolaid, there's no going back or so I heard.
Why my comments are lowered? There is no hardware flaw. iPhone 3GS with iOS 4 has the same issue with iPhone 4. So, software update will fix the issue. Explain to me how iPhone 3GS has the same issue if this is not a software issue?
@angelusp
Because Apple has become the trendiest company to sell smartphones and answers its clients by a "it's you fault" or a "buy something more"
Can someone say class action lawsuit in 5..4..3...2...
@Air Force One
The new ad campaign:
http://i45.tinypic.com/20kqexd.jpg
@Air Force One
It's cool. I just put one of these in my Iphone4 and everything works fine.
http://bit.ly/b8XQyP
@Dsi2play
Maybe the professor should "Think different"
London Underground's famous warning to commuters at stations with curved platforms now applies to iPhone 4 owners too:
"MIND THE GAP!"
@jubjub
major rule of marketing - always stress your weakest point as your main asset. plenty of real world examples, like "quality is job 1" at ford in the 90s. Simple human instinct is to seek middle ground (for a lot of reasons - i won't go deeply into the psychology behind it). if our X sucks and we say that our X is the best, most people will say "ah, it's not so bad..." and find reasons to believe it.
just marketing. they had a problem, so they had to stress it as a plus.
@arnoldphone
So Apple can change the laws of physics with a simple firmware update? They must be on to something! Better expand it to more than just iPhones.
@Discourse
Yeah that's very true. Just get an 'Apple Bumper' for $30 and end up paying even more. Ultimately Apple win. Good marketing tactic if your are Apple. :)
@Dsi2play I can forward you the explanation of some silly fanboy (and he was dead serious on this): apple couldnt properly test it because the prototype was lost and then stolen!
Really, he meant that...
@arnoldphone
Are trolling or genuinely delusional? How could the iPhone's software possibly detect whether your finger is in a non-touch sensitive corner and change accordingly? It's obviously a hardware problem because that exact same spot is where the two antennae are separated by a thin seam. The 'bridging' via skin conductivity isn't pseudoscience, it's real.
There isn't a possible update fix for this. The only solution is to go back to the drawing board and re-arranage the antennae OR use non-conducting materials around the edge OR use a bumper. the 3GS's problems with iOS is just another can of worms, thankfully THAT issue is probably one that can be fixed via firmware.