Verizon mocks Apple's iPhone 4 antenna issue with full-page NYT ad

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
To promote the forthcoming launch of the Droid X handset, Verizon this week took out a full-page ad in The New York Times in which it mocked widely reported reception issues with the iPhone 4.



As first noted by Macworld, the ad touts a number of features found with the Droid X, including an 8 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, 3G Mobile HotSpot for sharing Internet connectivity with up to five Wi-Fi devices, and an HDMI output. The advertisement also makes note of reception with the device.



"Most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design," the advertisement reads. "The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls. You have a voice. And you deserve to be heard."



Of course, the advertisement is referring to recent widespread reports that the iPhone 4 can lose signal when held in the left hand. Users can cause their handset to experience a reduction in reception when using their palm to cover a seam that separates the device's two perimeter radio antennas.



Apple said last week that the software in the iPhone 4 calculates bars of signal strength incorrectly, and the problem will be addressed in the coming weeks through a free update. As for the hardware, the company has said that all handsets experience some signal loss when held in the hand.



Verizon had to correct a previous advertisement that incorrectly claimed the Droid X sports a 720p high definition screen. The actual resolution of the Droid X is 854 by 480 pixels, which is the same resolution as the original Motorola Droid released last November. For comparison, Apple's newly released iPhone 4 has a 960-by-640 pixel resolution display.







The attack on Apple is similar taken to the approach with the original Droid. Last year's ad campaign also directly targeted Apple, lampooning its commercial style with the tagline "iDon't." The TV spot, which teased the then-impending launch of the Droid, attacked the iPhone's lack of a physical keyboard, inability to multitask with third-party applications, and absence of a camera flash. The latter two issues were addressed with this year's iOS 4 software update.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 151
    greeng4greeng4 Posts: 33member
    Evidence that they will NOT, in fact, be getting the iPhone any time soon.
  • Reply 2 of 151
    cgc0202cgc0202 Posts: 624member
    That's a good way to gain Steve Jobs interest to hasten a Verizon iPhone.



    CGC
  • Reply 3 of 151
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GreenG4 View Post


    Evidence that they will NOT, in fact, be getting the iPhone any time soon.





    Not that I care one way or the other but with huge companies, they all accept the fact that business is just business. For example Apple constantly mocked Windows in their ads but actively courted Microsoft for MS Office for Mac as well as licensed Exchange server syncing. It is just advertising, nobody really cares.
  • Reply 4 of 151
    winstwinst Posts: 26member
    Verizon is probably not getting an iPhone this year...
  • Reply 5 of 151
    chopperchopper Posts: 246member
    Old news...
  • Reply 6 of 151
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    There are a lot of pissed ip4 users who might be influenced by an ad like that. I can't believe how some people still defend Apple through all of this though honestly.
  • Reply 7 of 151
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post




    "Most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design," the advertisement reads. "The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls. You have a voice. And you deserve to be heard."



    hehe... that made me chuckle.



    The iPhone 4 is selling like crazy. Verizon wants to slow the momentum - good luck!
  • Reply 8 of 151
    dimmokdimmok Posts: 359member
    Jerks.
  • Reply 9 of 151
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    hehe... that made me chuckle.



    The iPhone 4 is selling like crazy. Verizon wants to slow the momentum - good luck!



    of course they want to, but it is pretty funny how they advertise that their dual antenna phone won't suffer from the same issues, especially when Apple said ALL phones suffer from it.



    What is worse? The fact that Apple tried to sell us that bs, or that they said this could be fixed with software and bars have been reported wrong since day 1(and they knew)?
  • Reply 10 of 151
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chronster View Post


    of course they want to, but it is pretty funny how they advertise that their dual antenna phone won't suffer from the same issues, especially when Apple said ALL phones suffer from it.



    What is worse? The fact that Apple tried to sell us that bs, or that they said this could be fixed with software and bars have been reported wrong since day 1(and they knew)?



    It's no lie that all phones suffer from some degree of attenuation - obviously, some more so than others. My iPhone 4 works awesome. So, naturally I'm not buying the poor hardware design babble. I don't know what they sold you, but I bought a new iphone that works beautifully.
  • Reply 11 of 151
    mike fixmike fix Posts: 270member
    No iPhone for Verizon...
  • Reply 12 of 151
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Not that I care one way or the other but with huge companies, they all accept the fact that business is just business. For example Apple constantly mocked Windows in their ads but actively courted Microsoft for MS Office for Mac as well as licensed Exchange server syncing. It is just advertising, nobody really cares.



    I would disagree in this case. If they were getting the iPhone any time soon, they would not be disparaging it now. That would be bad business.
  • Reply 13 of 151
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chronster View Post


    There are a lot of pissed ip4 users who might be influenced by an ad like that. I can't believe how some people still defend Apple through all of this though honestly.



    Probably not as many as you might think. Most people complaining are either just trying to stir up trouble, don't even own an iPhone 4, live in a really bad signal area and always had connection problems or, they are a VERY vocal minority. The huge majority of happy iP4 users have no need to comment so we don't hear from them at all. The media companies are always looking for a controversy to report to drive clicks to their ads. The couple people I know closely who have one are quite happy with no problems. I will be getting one once my current contract is up. I'm ok for now with my 3GS on iOS4.
  • Reply 14 of 151
    physguyphysguy Posts: 920member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chronster View Post


    of course they want to, but it is pretty funny how they advertise that their dual antenna phone won't suffer from the same issues, especially when Apple said ALL phones suffer from it.



    What is worse? The fact that Apple tried to sell us that bs, or that they said this could be fixed with software and bars have been reported wrong since day 1(and they knew)?



    Of course side-by-side with my 3G the 4 gets BETTER actual calls - no dropping in the same place at the 3G and clearer to my ear. This is all consistent with both the Anandtech and Consumer Reports that this is all a wild goose chase. They both report that the iPhone 4 is better than its predecessors. Maybe not quite as good as the X but certainly not the problems that are being reported.



    This is again another example of the bias of Internet reporting of problem where only those having problems speak out so there is no way to compare the true severity of the problem. Is this just problems with the typical 1% of and CE product (or whatever the real percentage is)? remember with over 2 MILLION sold already there will be 20,000 complainers at the 1% level which is far more than you could currently count by unique complaints. My guess is that one problem is simply the huge number of initial sales is create a lot (by number, not percentage) of purchasers with problems.
  • Reply 15 of 151
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chronster View Post


    of course they want to, but it is pretty funny how they advertise that their dual antenna phone won't suffer from the same issues, especially when Apple said ALL phones suffer from it.



    What is worse? The fact that Apple tried to sell us that bs, or that they said this could be fixed with software and bars have been reported wrong since day 1(and they knew)?



    Apple did know they were reporting bars differently, but NOT wrongly. There is no single ?right? way that all phones display bars. Apple?s choice has come back to bite them, so now they?re changing the display.



    But Apple NEVER claimed that this software fix will take away the problem. They acknowledge that the problem is physical. But their bar display made the problem seem bigger than it is. (It would show a drop from weak signal to none as a drop from STRONG signal to none. Like I say?back to bite them!) This fix will only reveal the weak signal you always had. And when you have a weak signal, the way you hold your phone may indeed matter. Keep that in mind if you live in a borderline area and like to hold your phone left-handed. (Luckily I fit only one of those two criteria.)



    And ALL phones do face the reality that water (humans) blocks signal. Dual antennas sounds like a good idea to help minimize that. Let?s see some tests before we say the Droid X is the first phone where holding it makes no difference. And before we slam Apple too hard for NOT having that first phone (when the iPhone 4 in fact gets better reception than the predecessor?see Anandtech?s tests).



    The X looks nice, for those who can?t get good AT&T coverage and are locked out of the iPhone. But if you don?t take Apple ads as fact, don?t take Verizon ads that way either.
  • Reply 16 of 151
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    I would disagree in this case. If they were getting the iPhone any time soon, they would not be disparaging it now. That would be bad business.



    They have product to move. Ads are for right now not six months from now. Nobody will even remember this in six months.
  • Reply 17 of 151
    ... so why do the mocking in the smaller print? At the end of the paragraph? At the bottom? And not even as the last sentence? Why not lead with the mocking in the big headline?



    1. Verizon has to sell what it has.

    2. Verizon has to keep up appearances.

    3. Verizon doesn't have the iPhone.

    4. Verizon still wants the iPhone.

    5. Verizon can't let its balls grow much larger than a shot glass.
  • Reply 18 of 151
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    I would disagree in this case. If they were getting the iPhone any time soon, they would not be disparaging it now. That would be bad business.



    This ad touches only indirectly on the hand-sensitivity of ALL phones?not the iPhone by name?in the small print at the bottom. It?s not anything Apple (or Apple users) needs to care much about, I don?t think.



    The iPhone isn?t the first phone to be sensitive to transmitting through water. All phones are like that, and you may be sure that if the dual-antenna design of the X helps this issue, the design was conceived long before the current iPhone 4 tempest in a teapot.



    Remember the Nokia ads making fun of the iPhone, and saying you could hold your Nokia anyway you like? The manual of the very Nokia they pictured has a guide telling you not to hold the phone near the bottom! This is old news, recently gaining attention in a new form.



    Which means even without this little tempest, Verizon would STILL want to tout the benefits of their antenna design re holding your phone any way you like. This dual design existed before the iPhone 4 was released. By what logic would Verizon ever remove that feature from their marketing? Of course it?s mentioned. (And we?ll see, in time, what the reality turns out to be. The press may ignore the hand-sensitivity of most phones, but users no longer will!)
  • Reply 19 of 151
    prof. peabodyprof. peabody Posts: 2,860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    To promote the forthcoming launch of the Droid X handset, Verizon this week took out a full-page ad in The New York Times in which it mocked widely reported reception issues with the iPhone 4....



    This is a bit over the top isn't it?



    In the first place the ad is a week old and has been covered by a few other major sites already, in the second place, it says something in tiny letters at the bottom. Hardly, "mocking" at all. Merely a mention.
  • Reply 20 of 151
    kreshkresh Posts: 379member
    Three Cheers for Big Red!



    hip hip - hooray



    hip hip - hooray



    hip hip - hooray



    Hold Apple's feet to the fire!
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