Consumer Reports changes stance, cannot recommend Apple's iPhone 4

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  • Reply 101 of 406
    sendmesendme Posts: 567member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by spinoza2 View Post




    With it recently rating Mac computers so highly, I was beginning to think that Consumer Reports might actually be worth reading after all. I'm relieved they sent out this about-face on the iPhone 4, they re-affirmed my view of how bad they are.






    Yeah.



    If they like the Mac, they are good. If they about-face on the iPhone, they are bad.



    Very bad.
  • Reply 102 of 406
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by freethinker View Post


    I usually trust Consumer Reports but the flip-flopping makes me call into question their "buyer beware" message.



    Indeed. Why didn't they run this chamber test the first time. What did they do that time that didn't recreate the issue.



    Quote:



    Has anyone experienced real time issues with the reception and call quality of the iPhone 4?



    Nope. No issues at all. Had a couple of instances of bar dropping but even then, my calls went through fine. and that was even in the San Fernando Valley were reception is dicey
  • Reply 103 of 406
    adamiigsadamiigs Posts: 355member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by s4mb4 View Post


    i sold my 16 GB iPhone 4 on eBay for a cool $800. let that guy deal with the death grip issue. it is real and it is a pain in the a$$.

    going back to my google N1 for awhile.



    I call troll.
  • Reply 104 of 406
    sendmesendme Posts: 567member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    We don't know the process, but we do know that Apple is very careful with the information they release. If they said that the bars display algorithm was a bug, a mistake, a surprise, then they were either being truthful and it is a bug or they were lying.



    Exactly. When the software fix comes, all these haters at CR will eat their words.
  • Reply 105 of 406
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iadroidx View Post


    As the saying goes.........



    So, what does a whole lot of shitty droids get you?
  • Reply 106 of 406
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I?ve never seen a restocking fee on a cellphone within the 30-day trial period. I think it might be law since the device has to be used with a carrier.



    There was one when I tried out the HTC Incredible.
  • Reply 107 of 406
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    Um, I've still yet to meet anyone demonstrating that this is a 'problem'.




    You may not have "met" anyone that can show you the problem, so you may choose to not believe what you are being told. Evidently you are not doing any research on the topic either. There are plenty of clips demonstrating the the ability to drop calls and stop data downloads on que. Speed tests confirm it as well. Keep in mind that if you try to replicate these tests in areas with very strong AT&T signal, you will fail to reproduce it. This is why some folks are having great service, while others experience significant problems. It seems like many areas I travel to in the U.S. has less than ideal signal strength. In these areas the iPhone 4 seems to work best for me if you set it on a table and don't touch it at all when it is trying to work. I have been just using a headset or speakerphone when making calls. If I forget and pick it up, the call will drop in about 20 seconds. After about 10 seconds, the person on the other end will start complaining that the call is cutting out.



    Several coworkers and I all have the new iPhone 4 and all of us can drop calls and stop data downloads on que by just holding the phone with two fingers. No need to use any kind of squeezing death grip. It is so easy to do that we will routinely terminate the call in this manner with friends just for the fun of it. We all had 3GS iPhones previously with no reception problems whatsoever.
  • Reply 108 of 406
    I have an iPhone 4 and I have not been able to reproduce the reception problems that are described here.



    So I don't think this is widespread.
  • Reply 109 of 406
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post


    I'm an Apple fanboi, but this is f-ed up.



    The company needs to swallow their pride and fix this issue.




    Sure they do, but lets keep perspective. there is still no proof that this is a 'major design flaw' and not just a bad batch of units or some such



    Quote:



    I mean, c'mon, it took them 3 years to realize that there was a bug in the code that displays the signal bars? Give me an f-ing break.




    Again, you need to chill a bit. It wasn't a bug. As they admitted they weren't using the most accurate formula and are going to switch to one that is better.



    but in the end, it's moot. Those bars have nada to do with reception really. They are about how close you are to a tower and that's all. You can be right under a cell tower and if it's maxed out on connections your call will fail or drop. Or you can be at the edge and just barely picking up the presence of a tower and barely anyone is on it and your call is fine.



    Also dropped calls are just as much about a tower being hit by massive connection attempts etc as they are about shitty cell phone design. In fact I would hazard it is more often about the number of connections/attempts than the phone.



    Quote:

    I am taking my iPhone 4 into an Apple Store this week to get a refund, and a replacement 3GS. And I also need to convince my wife that she's not getting the white iPhone she thinks she's getting later this month.



    this is your right. And it is truthfully what all the 'the iphone 4 is shit' complainers should do. IF thousands of folks return the phone citing reception (which I doubt will actually happen) then they won't be able to say they haven't seen evidence of a major issue. But it needs to be hundreds of thousands to really stand out against the millions of phones sold.
  • Reply 110 of 406
    g3prog3pro Posts: 669member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SendMe View Post


    Exactly. When the software fix comes, all these haters at CR will eat their words.



    It's more of a software "fix", where Apple removes the false bars it had put there in 2008 because of the low bars the iphone was getting at that time. Screwing the customer and AT&T, but saving itself. Classic Apple behavior right there.
  • Reply 111 of 406
    Bottom line is, this isn't even close to a real-world test, and is therefore irrelevant. Everything I've heard from people who have actually tested this by making calls, when compared to what a 3G or 3GS could do, report that the iPhone 4 has better reception, exactly in line with my own experience. CR, you fail.
  • Reply 112 of 406
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    We don't know the process, but we do know that Apple is very careful with the information they release. If they said that the bars display algorithm was a bug, a mistake, a surprise, then they were either being truthful and it is a bug or they were lying.



    Which is why I think they were either unaware of the full extent of the issue or in denial about it, thus dismissed it as a non-issue that didn't require a serious response, which was an atypical blunder on their part. One odd thing about that letter is that it does not read like the typical, matter of fact (although sometimes somewhat hyperbolic), Apple press release.
  • Reply 113 of 406
    tt92618tt92618 Posts: 444member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kent909 View Post


    There are many issues with technology in general. The current iPhone 4 problem is just one of them. The thing that amazes me is that if I were to buy an iPhone 4 and use it to replace my Vonage phone my monthly bill would go from $30 to $104 minumum. Why is no one complaining about how much money to costs to use one of these phones. They may be smart phones, but the people using them are not real smart.



    Kent can you make calls on that vonage phone from a 747 sitting on the runway, or from the concourse of an outdoor mall? Can you surf the web on it? How about store your music collection on it and listen whenever you want? What about Movies - can you rent them and watch at you leisure? Can you take pictures with it? How about video - can you use it to record your kids at the zoo or their silly antics in the backseat of the car? Can you get driving directions to your dentists office? Turn by turn instructions? Can you look up 'sushi' and get a precise list of every sushi restaurant within 1 mile, and also get precise driving directions from your current location? How about play a video game? Check your stocks? Check your blood sugar? Track your wife's pregnancy? Figure out which way is due east? Record your thoughts? Send and check email?



    No?



    Maybe there is more to these devices, and the 'not real smart' people who use them, than you initially thought.
  • Reply 113 of 406
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by g3pro View Post


    It's more of a software "fix", where Apple removes the false bars it had put there in 2008 because of the low bars the iphone was getting at that time. Screwing the customer and AT&T, but saving itself. Classic Apple behavior right there.



    So they're screwing AT&T by using the formula that AT&T recommends. Indeed, your logic is irrefutable.
  • Reply 115 of 406
    vatdorovatdoro Posts: 52member
    I love my iPhone 4. I don't use a case with it, and I don't have any reception issues at all. In fact, I get better reception then I did with my old iPhone.



    Yes, I hold it sometimes with my left hand covering the bottom left corner. It doesn't cause any reception issues for me.
  • Reply 116 of 406
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by g3pro View Post


    It's more of a software "fix", where Apple removes the false bars it had put there in 2008 because of the low bars the iphone was getting at that time. Screwing the customer and AT&T, but saving itself. Classic Apple behavior right there.



    How would using AT&T's own algorithm be 'screwing' AT&T?
  • Reply 118 of 406
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iancass79 View Post


    The case, although helpful, doesn't solve the issue like others say. I bought the "magic reception fix" bumper and it did help, but did not fix the issue.





    Which is exactly why they told their people NOT to give away bumpers. The whole 'magic fix' thing is actually the creation of the various blogs. It's not an official stance. They are telling people "some users have reported that the use of a bumper helps" not "get a bumper it fixes everything"



    If they had known there was a major design issue when they released the phone and the bumper was THE fix, they would have put one in the box. Having it right there, 90% of folks would use it without question and have no idea this horrible issue exists.
  • Reply 119 of 406
    g3prog3pro Posts: 669member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ArtDecoDalek View Post


    So they're screwing AT&T by using the formula that AT&T recommends. Indeed, your logic is irrefutable.



    They screwed AT&T in 2008 by falsely elevating the number of bars so that when customers had call drops at 5 bars, they were blaming AT&T for a poor network instead of Apple for displaying 5 bars instead of 0 bars.



    They are screwing AT&T now when they software-drop 2-3 bars, so that "more bars in more places" will mean "fewer bars in more places".
  • Reply 120 of 406
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    How ironic. I can't recommend Consumer Reports!
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