Qualitatively, how would you describe your usual 3G reception in general. Excellent…poor?
For consideration, I found this excellent and enlightening overview of usable 3G signal ranges by a Vodacom3g:
Quote:
There's been a few requests for info on usable signal ranges. I asked the Radio guys to comment on ranges from GPRS or 3G towers:
The general LOS distance for GSM 900 varies as follows:
The basic frame structure allows a theoretical around 35 km when assuming propagation at the speed of light and without considering the impact of path loss.
Free space attenuation as well as losses associated with bending/scattering of the radio waves due to topography and morphology also have a major impact on the situation.
With small terrain undulation and rural environment you may see actual distances of a radius of more than 20 km and in extremely ideal conditions up to 30 km.
Once you have heavy terrain undulation, and extreme clutter in an urban environment this will reduce to smaller radii of well under 10 km.
There are other factors that can influence the above:
we can slip time frames and introduce deliberately extended range cells (theoretical 70 km radius and more, practically up to 140 km).
ducting (through temperature inversion), most often at the coast can take a normal cell and extends its received signal strength significantly and unexpectedly.
design can of course also impact this and we deliberately dimension cells with very small radii (through power adjustment, antenna optimisation and other parameter settings) where we have to achieve very tight frequency reuse.
For GSM 1800 the above comments generally hold true theoretically, but the impact of greater free space attenuation of the 1,8 GHz band when compared to the 900 MHz band now also play a role.
The issues that impact coverage in the 3G environment are vastly different when compared to GSM.
In essence, GSM coverage is constant and your ability to use the coverage available is then limited by capacity and the C/I requirement for the service that you intend to use. Adding capacity is undertaken by adding transceivers on separate frequency spectrum and this is done to the extent that the suitable C/I can be maintained to support the required services. To some extent the effectively available power is retained per user as capacity is added due to the TDMA access methodology per transceiver, save for combiner losses.
In a W-CDMA environment the use of capacity within a cell effectively shrinks the available coverage since in simple terms everyone uses the same frequency spectrum but different coding is used per signal sent. What this means is that the total available power is used for the first user and then shared and shared again as more users are added. This loss of power per user added effectively is the main contributor to the cell coverage shrinkage as the number of users increases since lower power implies shorter propagation distances.
Furthermore, since everyone uses the same frequency at the same time the type of service requested is also material to the power equation. In simple terms, greater throughput requires more power so a 384 kbit/s user vastly reduces available capacity for other users compared to the impact of a voice user (12,2 kbit/s). Also as the users are added so the noise floor in the cell deteriorates and this in itself reduces capacity since each service requested needs to be able to generate a signal sufficiently higher than the noise floor to be successful.
Depending on the number of users assumed and the mix of services assumed coverage can in the extreme reduce to a few hundred meters in radius and at best is unlikely to be more than a few kilometres in radius.
I'm left-handed and, like millions of other people around the globe, hold it with the lower left corner sitting in the fleshy part at the base of my thumb when making calls. A lot of right-handed people hold it this way too when they are using it for non-phone related activities like surfing the internet (see Apple ad).
Hahahahahahahaha. The new bars look sooooo retarded!!!! Did anyone have trouble seeing the bars before? Thankfully I returned my iPhone 4 cause I'm sick of dealing with Apple's retardedness lately.
Seriously, these new bars look really weird because they no longer go up in an even fashion. It's like the bars swoop up instead.
Hahahahahahahaha. The new bars look sooooo retarded!!!! Did anyone have trouble seeing the bars before? Thankfully I returned my iPhone 4 cause I'm sick of dealing with Apple's retardedness lately.
Seriously, these new bars look really weird because they no longer go up in an even fashion. It's like the bars swoop up instead.
It appears they added bluetooth tethering. Mine just prompted me to setup the iPhone USB network interface.
The bars now match what I had with my 3GS in my home (4 bars). The bars still drop the same amount (up to 3 bars), and I still can't get a No Service, so no apparent change other than the bar height in the display and a more accurate reading.
Haven't had any dropped calls, and I use a cover, so irrelevant for me. More interested in the USB/Bluetooth Tethering.
Why is the orientation lock feature only available for IPhone 3GS and higher? Exactly what extra processing power is required to disable screen rotation? Wouldn't the ability to prevent screen rotation be a benefit for older, slower phones?
I think they did this because screen lock is on the new multitasking bar...even the ipod controls are the old style on the 3G...It was the easy way of keeping the 3g out of the multitasking, and the screen lock was collateral damage. Just my 2 cents
If you mean mid-August back to school for a new iPod Touch, then sure.
Do they usually do a full point release for the iPod Touches? Well, maybe 4.1 will be for that and the release supporting the iPad will be 4.2 or something. But they aren't likely going to release a beta for the "bar fix" (and whatever else) release, and it won't likely be a full point release, but 4.0.1, so this isn't it. The "bar fix" release will be out before this goes GM.
I admire the hangers-on, defending Apple to the end... haha.
Well, that's a stupid article by gizmodo. The "bar fix" release isn't going to wait til 4.1, it will be 4.0.1, and they are probably on different development branches, with the 4.0.1 changes to be merged with 4.1 at a later date. This 4.1 beta is just a developer release, it's not meant for general distribution.
EDIT: I see there's an actual story now, that claims the "bar fix" is in this beta, but I still think the public release that's supposed to address this will be 4.0.1, and this 4.1 beta may or may not yet contain all the 4.0.1 changes, so one can't reach any conclusions regarding antenna/signal related changes based on this beta.
I think they did this because screen lock is on the new multitasking bar...even the ipod controls are the old style on the 3G...It was the easy way of keeping the 3g out of the multitasking, and the screen lock was collateral damage. Just my 2 cents
The lock has been available on every phone beyond the 1st gen phone but only within certain apps like Photos. Just hold your finger on the photo for a second or two and you should get the lock option. To undo if I recall, you just click the home button. There is not a general rotational lock since the 3G doesn't get the multitasking bar, and double-clicking the home button will just get you the phone app by default.
I assume the rotation lock still functions in 4.0 in those same apps, but I haven't tested.
maybe it fixes the switching languages glitch that when you switch to another language the default apps remain in the previous language for a few seconds before changing.
Personally, I love my iPhone 4, and have never had these reception issues (London, UK based user here).
However, my personal gripe is with the photo software - if I want to flick back through my pics, I often find 'extra' blank photos (all black) inserted between some pictures I took earlier.
And then, randomly, one pic in a series that was fine before will re-centre itself partially off screen so I can't get it back to full screen again (i.e. it's only showing me the top left of the picture down in the bottom right of the screen) and some pics show up partially overlapping others.
Also, when editing a contact from my address book and clicking on 'edit picture' and then trying to take a brand new picture to use as a contact photo just doesn't do anything - it takes the picture, but doesn't let me edit it nor does it make it the contact photo.
So tl;dr - biggest gripe is with the handling of photos and profile pics.
I put a single layer of duct tape across the gap as Consumer Reports suggested. I did notice more variance in the results - maybe more 3G traffic at 10pm EST? If you're dubious, I'll run it again tomorrow at the same time I ran the other tests and include another taped couch test afterward to verify the variance. There is improvement, but the numbers are still far below not touching the phone.
These results tell me that insulating the "gap" may not work (as we'd optimally hope), whether with a bumper, different tape, nail polish, silicone, or any of the other ideas I've read about - although the robotic hand sounded promising, lol.
It's stupid how people deny this problem to so many people. I can put my finger in the corner and stop all data transmission. I use the Speed Test app to check speeds and i usually get 1.7 mbps, but when i put my finger there it just wont go through. And if a test has already started and i put my finger there it just goes back down. i have a case on mine and it does "fix" it, but come on this is real. you might call this unscientific, but seriously, it HAPPENS. the fact of the matter is that data just wont go through. PERIOD. Hope the press conference does something for us people. unscientific or not, the end result is the same, its not good. a cosmetic change will not change that
Computer - "I wear pants do anything for you" via google translate.
Anyway, like Alex Albrecht said this looks to be the "red ring of death" for iPhone 4. Hopefully a bumper or new antenna coating can solve the problem.
That said, this is not gonna stop people from buying a whole bunch of iPhones in US and outside.
Suppose that this new fix simply allowed the iPhone to be capable of analyzing antennae interference to determine if the gap is being bridged or not.
When the iPhone is resting on a table and receiving a good signal it could visually suppress the signal strength by 23 decibels at all times (or whatever amount the signal drops when in the death grip). When the antennae has been bridged the iPhone stops artificially suppressing the signal strength so that the user perceives that there is minimal difference in signal strength regardless of how the phone is held.
The end user assumes the general drop in signal strength is normal because Apple has already told them that previous firmware overestimated signal strength and that their bars weren't real to begin with. Phones in areas likely to be affected by call dropouts due to the death grip are unable to make a call in the first place because you can't complain about losing something you never had to begin with.
Apple saves billions of dollars by preventing a product recall by convincing the media that a hardware problem has been resolved with a firmware update because it is no longer visually reproducible.
Next year Steve Jobs announces the new iPhone 5 featuring a "scratch-proof coating" on the antennae and Apple have miraculously found a way to bend the laws of physics and squeeze a further 23 decibels of signal strength at all times.
The next morning Steve Jobs looks into his bathroom mirror and knows he is staring at the face of God.
Bluetooth tethering is good news. Lets hope they also bring a Bluetooth keyboard to the iPhone 3G and iPod touch (1g). It's insane not to give recent Apple products feature smart phones had in 2004.
Comments
Bar displays still don't address this.
Thank you for your posting your results.
Qualitatively, how would you describe your usual 3G reception in general. Excellent…poor?
For consideration, I found this excellent and enlightening overview of usable 3G signal ranges by a Vodacom3g:
There's been a few requests for info on usable signal ranges. I asked the Radio guys to comment on ranges from GPRS or 3G towers:
The general LOS distance for GSM 900 varies as follows:
The issues that impact coverage in the 3G environment are vastly different when compared to GSM.
In essence, GSM coverage is constant and your ability to use the coverage available is then limited by capacity and the C/I requirement for the service that you intend to use. Adding capacity is undertaken by adding transceivers on separate frequency spectrum and this is done to the extent that the suitable C/I can be maintained to support the required services. To some extent the effectively available power is retained per user as capacity is added due to the TDMA access methodology per transceiver, save for combiner losses.
In a W-CDMA environment the use of capacity within a cell effectively shrinks the available coverage since in simple terms everyone uses the same frequency spectrum but different coding is used per signal sent. What this means is that the total available power is used for the first user and then shared and shared again as more users are added. This loss of power per user added effectively is the main contributor to the cell coverage shrinkage as the number of users increases since lower power implies shorter propagation distances.
Furthermore, since everyone uses the same frequency at the same time the type of service requested is also material to the power equation. In simple terms, greater throughput requires more power so a 384 kbit/s user vastly reduces available capacity for other users compared to the impact of a voice user (12,2 kbit/s). Also as the users are added so the noise floor in the cell deteriorates and this in itself reduces capacity since each service requested needs to be able to generate a signal sufficiently higher than the noise floor to be successful.
Depending on the number of users assumed and the mix of services assumed coverage can in the extreme reduce to a few hundred meters in radius and at best is unlikely to be more than a few kilometres in radius.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/archive/...p/t-17660.html
Bar displays still don't address this.
[IMG]
Too bad it doesn't have a "held in hand 'properly'" column.
As a developer, could you tell me, quickly, how did you make that determination?
Just the way it looks. They are taller. Does that mean anything? Who knows. For me, it's purely cosmetic.
Bar displays still don't address this.
[IMG]
This is even less scientific than CR. And the software is still in beta.
This is even less scientific than CR. And the software is still in beta.
As the cat is out of the bag anyway, http://gizmodo.com/5587334/initial-r...ix-as-expected, who cares? Apple knows there's a problem.
I admire the hangers-on, defending Apple to the end... haha.
Too bad it doesn't have a "held in hand 'properly'" column.
By 'properly' I guess you mean the way *you* hold it? You also mean that actors in Apple's own adds don't hold it 'properly'?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/h...ding-it-wrong/
I'm left-handed and, like millions of other people around the globe, hold it with the lower left corner sitting in the fleshy part at the base of my thumb when making calls. A lot of right-handed people hold it this way too when they are using it for non-phone related activities like surfing the internet (see Apple ad).
Seriously, these new bars look really weird because they no longer go up in an even fashion. It's like the bars swoop up instead.
Good job Apple for ruining this for everyone.
Hahahahahahahaha. The new bars look sooooo retarded!!!! Did anyone have trouble seeing the bars before? Thankfully I returned my iPhone 4 cause I'm sick of dealing with Apple's retardedness lately.
Seriously, these new bars look really weird because they no longer go up in an even fashion. It's like the bars swoop up instead.
Good job Apple for ruining this for everyone.
The fool of the day. Thanks for the laugh.
The bars now match what I had with my 3GS in my home (4 bars). The bars still drop the same amount (up to 3 bars), and I still can't get a No Service, so no apparent change other than the bar height in the display and a more accurate reading.
Haven't had any dropped calls, and I use a cover, so irrelevant for me. More interested in the USB/Bluetooth Tethering.
Why is the orientation lock feature only available for IPhone 3GS and higher? Exactly what extra processing power is required to disable screen rotation? Wouldn't the ability to prevent screen rotation be a benefit for older, slower phones?
I think they did this because screen lock is on the new multitasking bar...even the ipod controls are the old style on the 3G...It was the easy way of keeping the 3g out of the multitasking, and the screen lock was collateral damage. Just my 2 cents
If you mean mid-August back to school for a new iPod Touch, then sure.
Do they usually do a full point release for the iPod Touches? Well, maybe 4.1 will be for that and the release supporting the iPad will be 4.2 or something. But they aren't likely going to release a beta for the "bar fix" (and whatever else) release, and it won't likely be a full point release, but 4.0.1, so this isn't it. The "bar fix" release will be out before this goes GM.
As the cat is out of the bag anyway, http://gizmodo.com/5587334/initial-r...ix-as-expected, who cares? Apple knows there's a problem.
I admire the hangers-on, defending Apple to the end... haha.
Well, that's a stupid article by gizmodo. The "bar fix" release isn't going to wait til 4.1, it will be 4.0.1, and they are probably on different development branches, with the 4.0.1 changes to be merged with 4.1 at a later date. This 4.1 beta is just a developer release, it's not meant for general distribution.
EDIT: I see there's an actual story now, that claims the "bar fix" is in this beta, but I still think the public release that's supposed to address this will be 4.0.1, and this 4.1 beta may or may not yet contain all the 4.0.1 changes, so one can't reach any conclusions regarding antenna/signal related changes based on this beta.
I think they did this because screen lock is on the new multitasking bar...even the ipod controls are the old style on the 3G...It was the easy way of keeping the 3g out of the multitasking, and the screen lock was collateral damage. Just my 2 cents
The lock has been available on every phone beyond the 1st gen phone but only within certain apps like Photos. Just hold your finger on the photo for a second or two and you should get the lock option. To undo if I recall, you just click the home button. There is not a general rotational lock since the 3G doesn't get the multitasking bar, and double-clicking the home button will just get you the phone app by default.
I assume the rotation lock still functions in 4.0 in those same apps, but I haven't tested.
maybe it fixes the switching languages glitch that when you switch to another language the default apps remain in the previous language for a few seconds before changing.
電腦 - " 請穿的褲子在我為你做任何事情 "
However, my personal gripe is with the photo software - if I want to flick back through my pics, I often find 'extra' blank photos (all black) inserted between some pictures I took earlier.
And then, randomly, one pic in a series that was fine before will re-centre itself partially off screen so I can't get it back to full screen again (i.e. it's only showing me the top left of the picture down in the bottom right of the screen) and some pics show up partially overlapping others.
Also, when editing a contact from my address book and clicking on 'edit picture' and then trying to take a brand new picture to use as a contact photo just doesn't do anything - it takes the picture, but doesn't let me edit it nor does it make it the contact photo.
So tl;dr - biggest gripe is with the handling of photos and profile pics.
These results tell me that insulating the "gap" may not work (as we'd optimally hope), whether with a bumper, different tape, nail polish, silicone, or any of the other ideas I've read about - although the robotic hand sounded promising, lol.
電腦 - " 請穿的褲子在我為你做任何事情 "
Computer - "I wear pants do anything for you" via google translate.
Anyway, like Alex Albrecht said this looks to be the "red ring of death" for iPhone 4. Hopefully a bumper or new antenna coating can solve the problem.
That said, this is not gonna stop people from buying a whole bunch of iPhones in US and outside.
When the iPhone is resting on a table and receiving a good signal it could visually suppress the signal strength by 23 decibels at all times (or whatever amount the signal drops when in the death grip). When the antennae has been bridged the iPhone stops artificially suppressing the signal strength so that the user perceives that there is minimal difference in signal strength regardless of how the phone is held.
The end user assumes the general drop in signal strength is normal because Apple has already told them that previous firmware overestimated signal strength and that their bars weren't real to begin with. Phones in areas likely to be affected by call dropouts due to the death grip are unable to make a call in the first place because you can't complain about losing something you never had to begin with.
Apple saves billions of dollars by preventing a product recall by convincing the media that a hardware problem has been resolved with a firmware update because it is no longer visually reproducible.
Next year Steve Jobs announces the new iPhone 5 featuring a "scratch-proof coating" on the antennae and Apple have miraculously found a way to bend the laws of physics and squeeze a further 23 decibels of signal strength at all times.
The next morning Steve Jobs looks into his bathroom mirror and knows he is staring at the face of God.