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]
Please remember that Apple is new to this cell phone thingys. How long has it been? Three or four years...
I'll take them another 25 years to get to where Sony-Ericsson or Nokia is now. Or maybe licence some of the 20 million patents or so that the Swedes and Finns holds on RF tech in handheld devices..
@ulwur
Well, I hope Apple isn't where SonyEricson or Nokia is now. For a phone maker marketing phones for only a few years it seems that Apple will be light years ahead of the competition in the future.
Any decent RF engineer could predict this.
The antennas are fodder for marketing rather than being "better."
Stupid guy!! My iPhone 4 works way better than my 3GS
I've seen no antenna problem. Bloggers here are overly excitable; a pill can help with that.
This obviously seems to be a design issue. But if that is the case, could someone explain to me how some iphone 4 models do not exhibit this problem? A design issue would mean that every last handset should exhibit this problem. How come Engadget's review handset didn't show this problem? Or were they unable to replicate the problem because they were holding it wrong?
@Xyned; Could be an interference issue rather than an attenuation problem. For instance, energy from an active Bluetooth, GPS, and or wifi service interfering via a conductive bridge with 3G/2G antenna transmission/reception. Could also be affected by moisture (humidity, condensation, perspiration), allowing a conductive bridge to change the characteristics of each discreet antenna which comprises the iPhone 4 frame. In either case, there are clear variables which could exacerbate the purported design issue.
100% own3d.
What are the chances the engineering team of a multi billion dollar company would overlook such an obvious design flaw? This is not a flaw. It is a strategic design that is meant to sell bumpers at an extremely high profit margin. Of course you should get on in every color at $30 a pop.
Steve knows by now he can make barbed catheters and his isheep will camp outside Apple stores to buy them by the millions. iphone4 got no bars? Just buy a bumber or 6.
Whenever I read one of these moronic applefanboi comments actually defending apple in this rediculous situation I can't but help thinking about a pledge in a fraternity saying "Thank Your Sir, May I Please Have Another." Apple is currently spitting in your face knowing very well that you'll just deal and train yourself to use your phone in an unatural manner because of your shiny new phone er ipod. Do you wonder why the white Iphone is being delayed? My money is on the fact that they actually tested that phone without any silly 3g covers on them because its super shiny and cause its white like omg. I can see the whole ordeal passing some what like this:
Apple test person: Stevie, I was playing around with the super shiny white Iphone today and noticed that the service is horrible when I actually touched it.
Stevie: You touched it?!??!??! Why oh why would you do that, its a piece of art, you must admire only thru a pane of air tight glass filled with helium.
Apple test person: Um yea, Right, anyways, the phone doesn't um work like a phone. Which lead me to test the black version too. Um that doesn't work either.
Stevie: I see. Well then how many of each phone have we made already?
Apple test person: Um, yea... about that. We have 2 million black phones made and we haven't started production on the White SUPER SHINY Iphone yet.
Stevie: Ok then, set the black ones for sale and delay the white model's launch. Is there any way to fix the flaw that exists?
Apple test person: Um, we can either sell people little colored vials of nail polish er, i mean paint or whatever and have them coat their phones, or sell them the Iphone 3gs cases that we were using to test the phone with.
Stevie: Um, how about we not mention the word nail polish and call it a coating and say its a new feature! Yes, Now all my fellow isheep can truly customize their devices to match their nails, I mean um outfit. Nah that might not work. How many of those silly rubber bumpers do we have?
Apple Product Manager: We haven't sold a single one. We were advertising them as extra large rubber bands and were trying to liquidate them for a buck and still cut a profit from them but that was a no-go.
Stevie: Ok then, how about we mark up the price to say 30 bucks and sell that as a workaround, um I mean "FIX!" And we will go even further and sell the phone as is with the rubber bumper and sell that as the IPHONE 4GS Laytex Edition!
Iphone fan: BAAAAA zomg a new rubbery iphone that actually makes phone calls when I hold it. I MUST HAVE! WILL SELL SOUL.
Note: These events are not accurate, but may have happened.
Why doesn't apple do the right thing and admit that theres no software fix for such a problem and make it right in some manner in either the form of a product recall or just something. Why don't apple fanboys quit defending the actions of a corporation that is more than content on just taking your money based on a prodution that only sold because of its name. Think for yourselves. If I were to sell you a mouse trap that only worked when upside down and didn't actually ever catch any mice, I would expect that every single product that I sold would be returned. Return your damn broken MINI_IPADS already!
A possible ios4 (4.0.1) update to fix the antenna problem on the way very soon???
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/199932/ios4_401_update_rumored_coming_soon_to_fix_iphone_4_reception.html?tk=hp_blg
Just curious. Have any iPhone4 users put a piece of tape over the bottom corner of the phone so their palms don't touch both antennas?
"So, what are we going to do now, Apple?"
An officially imagined Ap-ple response - "Why you're going to suck up and deal and buy the new iPhone 5 when we release it. You don't expect us to actually correct design flaws with our products. Here at Ap-ple we only do work arounds. Now 'Hold Different' and buy a Mac to match your iPhone you yuppy."
Maybe the antenna problems would be solved if more people had eaten the delicious iCrepes served outside the Apple store in Phoenix. This is hilarious! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXxmzGiUROE
I've seen Chinese made bumpers are already available for $1.25