N97 reception video added to Apple's antenna site as Nokia seeks new CEO
At its antenna performance page, apple.com/antenna, Apple added the Nokia N97 mini, with photos and videos showing the effects of attenuation on the handset. Holding the device tightly caused the handset to drop from 7 full bars of service, down to just two bars.
The antenna in the Nokia N97 mini is located on its bottom side. Gripping the phone tightly and covering the bottom side caused the signal to drop on the device in a matter of seconds. The calendar on the phone shows that the video was recorded this week, on Monday, July 19.
Nokia, meanwhile, is looking to replace its current chief executive, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Though the Finnish company sells more cell phones than any other manufacturer, it has fallen behind rivals Apple and Research in Motion in the smartphone market.
Nokia had already responded over the weekend to Apple's "antennagate" press conference, portraying itself as "the pioneer in internal antennas." The statement was released even though no Nokia handsets were included among the phones with antenna issues demonstrated by Apple.
"Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on. As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict.
The N97 mini is now shown alongside the other handsets that were already featured on the website: the iPhone 4, BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris, Samsung Omnia II, and iPhone 3GS. Apple first showed the videos to members of the press at its iPhone 4 press conference last week, where the company announced it would give away free cases to all iPhone 4 owners through Sept. 30. Using a case that prevents users from touching the external metal band on the handset reduces the attenuation effect.
Along with Nokia, Research in Motion, HTC and Samsung all took offense to Apple's remarks, suggesting that the iPhone maker was attempting to drag its competitors into the iPhone 4 antenna saga.
242 Comments
I wouldn't call that a tight grip, since both the thumb and the middle finger shows a healthy blood flow in them.
The flaw with Apple's reasoning on this is that the iPhone 4 exhibits these attenuation signals from there mere touch of the seam between the two antennas. This is compounded by the fact that it happens to be exactly where many people who hold their phones in their left hand put their palms.
Sure, the other phones will show signal loss when you hold it with a death grip cupping your hand over the entire antenna, and the iPhone 4 will do the same thing.
However, I haven't seen any videos of any other phone showing signal loss from one finger touching it. The excuse Apple gives that it "marks the spot" is bullsh!t. No other phone has a spot (marked or unmarked) that has the same symptoms.
And it IS a big deal, since its in a spot that naturally gets touched when holding the phone with your left hand. It doesn't require an awkward grip or huge hands to duplicate.
The bumper does fix this problem, but for Apple to say that the entire industry suffers from the same problem is a flat out lie for the reasons outlined above. It's a different problem in practice. It may be the same concept, but Apple's uninsulated exterior antenna design exacerbates it so much that it happens when people hold the phone naturally, whereas most other phones don't exhibit the same symptoms.
I'm sure if Apple were able to find a phone that had the EXACT same problem, they'd be more than willing to put up a video. And they haven't done this.
Hopefully, the September deadline will urge Apple to put a clear insulating coating over their antennas. Only then will Apple be on equal footing with other cellphone makers antenna-wise. (In all other respects, they are admittedly better).
Not that I want to argue this point (much) since bars are a meaningless gauge of actual signal strength, but wasn?t there are a troll or two on these forums saying that the iPhone 4 was the only one to drop 5 bars?
I'm no Apple apologist, after all Apple makes mistakes, and I've called BS on a few in the past (I stated the cube would fail right after it launched, I didn't go all gaga over it). Okay, so got my "bonafides" out of the way
If Apple deserves the heat for "antennaegate" then so be it, but the minute their competitors start throwing stones, well then cry me a river if they think it is "unfair" that Apple points out their own flaws. If Nokia didn't want their antennae issues pointed out, then they shouldn't have yelled "dog-pile on Apple" and instead just stay out of the fracas.
K, nuff said.
The flaw with Apple's reasoning on this is that the iPhone 4 exhibits these attenuation signals from there mere touch of the seam between the two antennas. This is compounded by the fact that it happens to be exactly where many people who hold their phones in their left hand put their palms.
Except that plenty of iPhone 4 owners claim that they can't reproduce the effect by doing this mere touch.