

Anandtech's iPhone 4 review - pieter
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review

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nickpp
Interestingly, looks like the infamous antenna issue is now up to YOU: how
important is that functionality to you?

Radio reception, like anything really, is a trade-off. The external antenna
without a bumper case offers greater sensibility with good looks at the
expense of the "cup" holding pattern.

Do you want absolute best signal? Don't hold it that way... :) Wanna hold it
any way you like? Get a bumper case. Want the good looks while you have mostly
good coverage? Keep the iPhone as it comes by default, hold careful if you
tend to drop connections often.

The choice is really yours. Who said Apple doesn't give you choices... :)

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Terretta
I appreciated the clarification that signal strength (dB) and signal quality
(SNR) are two different things -- that all the phones tested got lower signal
when "tightly cupped", but with the iPhone 4 despite the lower dB, the new
antenna design holds calls and gets higher speeds than other phones:

> _"I can honestly say that I've never held onto so many calls and data
> simultaneously on 1 bar at -113 dB as I have with the iPhone 4 ... reception
> is massively better on the iPhone 4 in actual use."_

And that there's another benefit to the new antenna design:

> _"WiFi signal has changed as well... though not how one would expect.
> Holding the phone with no case actually improves WiFi signal strength by a
> measurable 5 to 10 dB."_

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stanleydrew
"the new antenna design holds calls and gets higher speeds than other phones"

Other iPhones right? Is there indication that this is a comparison with other
phones on ATT besides the iPhone?

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Greyface
An extremely well written interview, the best yet. Apple's decision to remove
the Field Test from i0S4, the introduction of the iPhone Bumper case, and the
complete disregard to the numerous complaints so far has heightened my
suspicions that they were well aware of the problems with the external antenna
but assumed they could get away with it.

~~~
sabj
I think they assumed very correctly.

<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/06/28iphone.html>.

What gets me the most of this situation is not the "lovely smartphone,
terrible at making calls" dichotomy, because that's not really new to me...
it's the response that Apple gave ("Steve Jobs" saying 'hold it differently or
get a case') and the fact that so many people consider this both appropriate
and in fact defensible as a paradigm / response.

~~~
rimantas
Where did you get the "terrible at making calls" part from? BTW, is this piece
by NOKIA considered inappropriate too:
[http://funsizebytes.com/post/745721120/instructions-from-
my-...](http://funsizebytes.com/post/745721120/instructions-from-my-
nokia-2320-which-boil-down-to) ?

~~~
sabj
"terrible" is, fairly, an exaggeration. I just meant to emphasize that, in
comparison with the great features it offers as a technology device, it has
rarely been considered superlative for its voice telephony featureset in any
particular regard - be it voice quality, signal strength, etc. Common problems
in fact, are often reported on all those fronts by people I know with iPhones
(and me when talking to them). Combine with AT&T woes, add hyperbole, and you
have my assessment.

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ZeroGravitas
There's an equally in depth review of the Evo 4G that appears to have been
written at the same time (shared photo and speed comparisions etc.):

[http://www.anandtech.com/show/3791/the-sprint-htc-
evo-4g-rev...](http://www.anandtech.com/show/3791/the-sprint-htc-
evo-4g-review/1)

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shasta
> The iPhone 4 is slightly heavier than the 3GS (4.8oz vs. 4.7oz). You feel
> the added weight...

Also, he can definitely tell that the penis enlargement cream is working.

~~~
jonknee
Have you used the iPhone 4? You definitely feel the extra weight, but not
because it's heavier but because it's more dense. It's quite a bit thinner yet
slightly heavier which gives the impression of it being noticeably heavier.

~~~
shasta
> You definitely feel the extra weight

This the same sloppy language I was poking fun of in the original article. I
highly doubt that you can detect a ~2% difference in weight of 0.1oz. If the
wording were "it's only 0.1oz heavier, but the increased density makes it seem
heavier", I wouldn't have commented.

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username3
What would happen if you shock an iPhone 4 with static electricity?

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Tichy
Let me guess: it looks really nice and has a great screen?

~~~
pmjordan
You've obviously never read a review by Anand Shimpi.

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Tichy
Obviously I meant in summary - clearly he has made a lot more words than that.

