Norway's largest paper: iPhone 4 Antennagate is a US problem

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 74
    dypdyp Posts: 33member
    I've seen and experienced the problem here in the United States. So the issue is real. We all agree AT&T sucks and Jobs admitted to the problem.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    After testing Apple's iPhone 4 against competing HTC and Nokia models in a remote area on the edge of Norwegian carrier Telenor's mobile coverage, the county's largest paper has concluded that its antenna design is "just as good and bad as competitors," rather than suffering any defect.



    A report by Oslo's Verdens Gang, the country's largest online and printed newspaper, forwarded to AppleInsider by reader Torje Øivand Olsen, noted that the brouhaha surrounding "alleged antenna problems" of iPhone 4 was not evident in its own testing conducted in a remote part of the country.



    The paper compared iPhone 4 against the HTC Wildfire, Nokia E71, and Apple's previous iPhone 3GS. It stated that all of the phones reacted similarly when gripped tightly (losing signal bars due to attenuation), but that all of the phones were able to sustain a conversation.



    Both Nokia and HTC have responded to Antennagate with bold claims that signal drops experienced when a phone is held in a particular way are a problem unique to Apple, while at the same time warning users not to hold their own Nokia or HTC phones in such a way as to cause signal attenuation.



    Worse in call quality, better in data service



    VG reported that the sound quality on the two iPhone models was not as good, but that all the calls 'went smoothly.' However, when using the phones' data service to pull up a web page, the reporters said only the iPhone 4 'was close to having a stable connection,' successfully pulling up a page while the other models reported no service.







    The paper suggested poor mobile networks may be the cause of the US reports of iPhone 4 antenna problems. It cited Amobil, a Norwegian mobile phone news site, as having 'tested the iPhone 4 thoroughly, without finding any evidence that it is improperly constructed. All modern mobile phones have integrated antennas, and it is normal that they are affected by how the phone is held,' VG said.



    Amobil writer Finn Jarle Kvalheim added, 'Consumer Reports goes far in asserting that the problems do not have anything to with the mobile network. But it is a fact that mobile networks in Norway are much more robust than AT&T's network in the US.'



    Olsen, who helped translate the story for AppleInsider, adds "I have myself tested the iPhone 4 and tried to replicate the signal loss close to one of Norway's major towns without being able to get even one less bar."



    Apple will launch the new iPhone 4 in Norway tomorrow, along with Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.



  • Reply 42 of 74
    8corewhore8corewhore Posts: 833member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post


    This little 'proclamation' is all good and well, but given that it clearly states that, "Apple will launch the new iPhone 4 in Norway tomorrow", I find the timing rather interesting (to say the least).



    Suggestion: Wait and see actual user/consumer reactions to the device before placing too much credence on publications that might possibly have an 'agenda' -



    Then you have to apply that same warning about publishers and others that bash the iPhone.
  • Reply 43 of 74
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    Seems wireless reception is just one more place where US is behind the rest of the wealthy countries.



    Maybe if we stopped blowing billions on "building democracy" in the middle east... but that would never happen I guess. Sorry for the rant, just hate seeing tax $ going to waste.
  • Reply 44 of 74
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    It's funny watching the antagonists scramble to justify good news...





    - Waits to hear about the vacation trip to Norway where they tested the iPhone 4 there.
  • Reply 45 of 74
    nkalunkalu Posts: 315member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post


    Looks like the latest crusade to take Apple down is suffering from credibility issues. I guess all they have left is the "proximity sensor" issue now. Or will that turn out to be a "proximitygate" too.



    Instead of "silly Norwegians" maybe it should be "silly Apple hating trolls".



    Rremember the brouhaha and hullabaloo they made about the name iPad at the inception? Now all the rivals making tablets seem to be cloning "pad" in various degrees of variation.
  • Reply 46 of 74
    rptrpt Posts: 175member
    I am a Norwegian living in US, using an iPhone 3G (will get a 4 tomorrow!). An early experience with cellphones in US was dropped calls. Happened frequently when I moved here at the HTC I then had, happens on my wife's Ericsson and happens on my current 3G. Neither of these phones drops calls when used in Norway.
  • Reply 47 of 74
    isaidsoisaidso Posts: 750member
    "iPhone-4 Antenne Like God"



    They could have just stopped right there.
  • Reply 48 of 74
    rokkenrokken Posts: 236member
    I just got my iPhone 4 from NetCom after 2 hours wait in a line with around 20 guys, and called my girlfriend in China. She said the sound was really good: crisp and clear. I just forgot I was calling with an iPhone 4 and should have held it in a "right way" to avoid this "design flaw" according to my lovely American friends, but wth I must be extremely lucky as they say.
  • Reply 49 of 74
    chillinchillin Posts: 59member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by infobhan View Post


    Could this have something to do with different frequencies being used by the carriers in different countries? Maybe the effects of detuning from antenna bridging are greater with some frequencies compared to others?



    Quite. We must be ready to deny all the facts. Or... we can actually see antennagate for what it was... complete and utter lies. Gizmodo is a disgrace, and many of Apple's customers are incredibly gullible (even if very intelligent).
  • Reply 50 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icyfog View Post


    The Norwegian paper confirms what I already knew from experience in regards to the iPhone 4.

    Many consumers and pundits complain that the new iPhone doesn't handle calls very well, and the paper confirms that too. They say "the primary reason you have a phone is to make calls." Well not me. Calls are ancillary to me, I'd rather communicate via e-mails, check the web, take photos, etc.

    So besides integrating with iTunes and my Mac so smoothly, the iPhone 4 is for me.



    Ding! Ding! Ding! I don't use my iPhone for a phone often so it's not much of an issue. However when I do make a call I want it to go through and in my experience it has and in situations that my 3G didn't.
  • Reply 51 of 74
    habanerohabanero Posts: 77member
    Oh, those Norwegians don't know their ärse from a hole in the grøünd.
  • Reply 52 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 0yvind View Post


    I just saw the article in my home town newspaper in Norway, and there are a couple of points to mention: The place they tested it is a remote woodland area outside of Oslo, with barely any reception. The bars fell from 2 to 0 when holding the phones in a tight "death grip". Then they took the phones in a boat out on a lake, and there they tested the data reception, where only the iP4 could get any signal.

    What a surprise (for me) to see that page rendered in an article by the number one tech writer Eran Dilger, whose articles are the first ones I look for...

    Tonight, one minute after 12, they start selling the phone here, so the queues should start lining up. Only it's a heavy rain here tonight, one of the worst so far this summer...



    > Silly Norwegians. What do they know? Apple probably paid-off that paper.

    Yeah, right. Apple would be more successful buying an article in the Washington Post. Actually the Norwegian papers are usually quite Android-friendly. But the 'droids haven't caught on so much here - Nokia is what everybody has (before they go and buy a iPhone of course).



    Thank you, This confirms my hunch- in a level playing field, more iphones are being sold !

    The Android wave is nothing but frustrated Verizon users who cant wait, BOGOs, and of course the ever present Apple haters turned Fandroids.
  • Reply 53 of 74
    glenwglenw Posts: 4member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JimDreamworx View Post


    Indeed! In Canada and in Europe, the iPhone 4 has no issues.



    In the USA, it drops. And since it was received in Canada without carrier lock, using local SIMs and the thing still drops. It's the network.



    Might it have anything to do with it being designed more so for the HSDPA networks?

    (I'm just asking, as I have no idea how the iPhone was designed...)



    Like Consumer Reports, French "Consumer Reports", Que Choisir, can't recommend the iPhone 4 due to antenna issue

    http://www.quechoisir.org/pages/brev...6D0038AD89.htm



    as well as Belgian "Consumer Reports", Test Achats

    http://www.test-achats.be/telephonie...ne-s654803.htm
  • Reply 54 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    Don't forget the natives.



    Oh they're all in reservations
  • Reply 55 of 74
    glenwglenw Posts: 4member
    Some "French" iPhone 4 don't have the antenna issue.



    http://www.iphonefr.com/viewtopic.php?id=61333
  • Reply 56 of 74
    blursdblursd Posts: 123member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RPT View Post


    I am a Norwegian living in US, using an iPhone 3G (will get a 4 tomorrow!). An early experience with cellphones in US was dropped calls. Happened frequently when I moved here at the HTC I then had, happens on my wife's Ericsson and happens on my current 3G. Neither of these phones drops calls when used in Norway.



    I have to concur ... in general I think all the Scandinavian countries have far more robust and advanced cellular networks than AT&T has in the United States. I've used my iPhone in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden and I've never had any problems with reception ... in fact the speeds when using data are FARRRRRRR better. Same thing goes for a Motorola 3G phone I purchased when I lived in Sweden. Works great in Scandinavia, but when I use it here in the US I have all kinds of problems with the network (I live in Southern California, so one would like to believe there is a rather comprehensive network).



    Still, I've only used my phones in Norway in the major cities (Oslo, Moss, Bergen, Trondheim, etc ...). I'm sure if I went to Svalbard or Finnmark I might drop a bar or two ...
  • Reply 57 of 74
    rabbit_coachrabbit_coach Posts: 1,114member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    After testing Apple's iPhone 4 against competing HTC and Nokia models in a remote area on the edge of Norwegian carrier Telenor's mobile coverage, the county's largest paper has concluded that its antenna design is "just as good and bad as competitors," rather than suffering any defect.



    A report by Oslo's Verdens Gang, the country's largest online and printed newspaper, forwarded to AppleInsider by reader Torje Øivand Olsen, noted that the brouhaha surrounding "alleged antenna problems" of iPhone 4 was not evident in its own testing conducted in a remote part of the country.



    The paper compared iPhone 4 against the HTC Wildfire, Nokia E71, and Apple's previous iPhone 3GS. It stated that all of the phones reacted similarly when gripped tightly (losing signal bars due to attenuation), but that all of the phones were able to sustain a conversation.



    Both Nokia and HTC have responded to Antennagate with bold claims that signal drops experienced when a phone is held in a particular way are a problem unique to Apple, while at the same time warning users not to hold their own Nokia or HTC phones in such a way as to cause signal attenuation.



    Worse in call quality, better in data service



    VG reported that the sound quality on the two iPhone models was not as good, but that all the calls 'went smoothly.' However, when using the phones' data service to pull up a web page, the reporters said only the iPhone 4 'was close to having a stable connection,' successfully pulling up a page while the other models reported no service.







    The paper suggested poor mobile networks may be the cause of the US reports of iPhone 4 antenna problems. It cited Amobil, a Norwegian mobile phone news site, as having 'tested the iPhone 4 thoroughly, without finding any evidence that it is improperly constructed. All modern mobile phones have integrated antennas, and it is normal that they are affected by how the phone is held,' VG said.



    Amobil writer Finn Jarle Kvalheim added, 'Consumer Reports goes far in asserting that the problems do not have anything to with the mobile network. But it is a fact that mobile networks in Norway are much more robust than AT&T's network in the US.'



    Olsen, who helped translate the story for AppleInsider, adds "I have myself tested the iPhone 4 and tried to replicate the signal loss close to one of Norway's major towns without being able to get even one less bar."



    Apple will launch the new iPhone 4 in Norway tomorrow, along with Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.



    I tried to reproduce the death grip on my iPhone by holding it very tight in my left hand and then in my right hand. - No effect on signal bars - I squeezed harder and longer -left/right - no effect - I increased pressure even more -after a couple of seconds - wow -here you go one bar disappears - I wait a little longer -WTF - the bar reappears - my fingers are getting numb - finally I have to stop. This death grip game isn't working in switzerland. I am going to start a class action lawsuit.
  • Reply 58 of 74
    sinceresincere Posts: 42member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OC4Theo View Post


    I love my iPhone since I got the first one in 2007. But I hate AT&T for keeping us hostage.



    It is a known fact that US mobile carriers are always behind in everything. Internet is slow in US compared to other countries. If it was not for Apple, there will be no company in US to compete with Asians and Europeans in Mobile phone technology.



    Americans are deceived into believing we are the best. The fact is that we are not. Only in America are mobile phone users charged at both ends of a phone call. In other countries, the originator of a call gets charged.



    Americans are suckers to the media, which are just propaganda vehicle for corporations and the ruling elite. Yes, Norwegians are smarter. They are smart enough to provide free education and free healthcare. These alone say it all.



    America is only best at war and destruction.



    Well I agree with the phone part yes as I have been saying this as long as early 2000's that something needs to change with this why should we pay for a call on both ends and yes why should we pay for text messgs when received ?......for the death and destruction part I wish we would let european countries do more and pick up more of the tab when it comes to protecting the area and for supporting other nations in and at war so we wouldnt be stuck holding most of the bill...Europe is still ungrateful to this day...Yes you say we are only good at death and destruction? hummm maybe we should pullout of NATO and let NATO protect you....This coming from a veteran who's had and still have good friends and comrades serving in hot zones all over the world...I care for everyone as a person but I love my country because not only do we care we care enough to do something about it when the time comes "and yes we all have made mistakes...but owning up to them when they are made makes a better man...just my 2
  • Reply 59 of 74
    jahonenjahonen Posts: 364member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sincere View Post


    ?......for the death and destruction part I wish we would let european countries do more and pick up more of the tab when it comes to protecting the area and for supporting other nations in and at war so we wouldnt be stuck holding most of the bill...Europe is still ungrateful to this day...Yes you say we are only good at death and destruction?



    Ain't that a bit harsh? Europeans do quite a bit on the peacekeeping and work on humanitarian fronts. I guess having suffered badly in two world wars has taught us to be a bit weary a forcing peace. Yes some countries with conquered land in other parts of the world have had their squirmishes (France comes to mind). Many of the wars (or "country building") that the U.S. has been active in the last 50 years have had quite a lot of self interest (of politicians, industry etc.) in play. To be fair, many have also been truly humanitarian in scope. Still the majority have been to project/gain U.S. power in a strategically important area of the world (the gulf for example). Is it a surprise that other countries don't want to come in to those excercises where the sole benefactor is the worlds largest superpower?



    I'm sorry for the response, but it annoys me when I see these "if you aren't with us you're against us" types of posts. If the U.S. were really in trouble, you think you wouldn't get any aid?



    Regs, Jarkko
  • Reply 60 of 74
    This is purely anecdotal, but my band's bass player got a UK iPhone 4 on Orange... we all got very excited because we wanted to test "arial-gate" (antenna = arial in the UK) but try as we might, no one could get it to drop a single bar. Nothing. Nada. My conclusion is, it really depends on the overall network, and the US ATT network sucks. I saw this for myself recently whist in Canada (Northern Ontario) across the water from Michigan. My UK iPhone 3GS was roaming and so would pick Rodgers mainly (and get 3G), but every now and again it found ATT (Edge only) and the ATT call quality was awful in comparison.
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