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Apple unfazed by reports of iPhone 4 signal problems
IT News |
28/06/2010
IT manufacturer Apple has moved to reassure consumers over the service quality of its new iPhone 4 product, which hit the high street last week.
Levels of excitement for the eagerly-anticipated smartphone prior to launch were perhaps only matched by those of disappointment over signal reception problems.
Just hours after the device went on sale last Wednesday, complaints began pouring in that the mobile's signal strength drops when it is picked up manually.
One customer, Richard Warner, told the BBC that the steel-cased iPhone 4 was "useless in its current state".
"Apple have created a phone that has an antenna on the bottom left-hand side of the phone," he commented.
"This means that when you hold it in your left hand, the signal bars slowly fade until there is no signal," he wrote.
However, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said the problem could be avoided by purchasing a case to shield the antenna, or by holding the device in a different way.
Official advice from the manufacturer urged iPhone 4 customers to "avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band".
Apple noted that holding any mobile device results in "some attenuation of its antenna performance", and the new smartphone is no different in this respect.
More than a thousand eager consumers queued outside Apple's London store on the early hours of last Wednesday morning, eager to be among the first to test the new device.
It remains to be seen whether the apparent teething problems hit early sales figures, but if the recent iPad launch is anything to go by, Apple should have few concerns.
Shortly after the tablet computer went on sale in the US in April, consumers reported various problems attempting to connect to Wi-Fi networks, including the presence poor signal quality in the home.
Nonetheless, Apple reported last week that the iPad sold more than three million units in 80 days since its launch, with supply struggling to keep pace with demand.
Posted by Stephen Wilkinson
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