It used to be impossible for me to use my cell phone in my apartment. To save my life, I couldn't get a call started most of the time. Calls I brought in from outside would drop as soon as I hit my kitchen.
Then I bought my iPhone 4.
Calls go through immediately and don't drop. It's like I moved or something.
It's an outstanding phone. I haven't had a single issue with the antenna or call quality.
I've never met an iPhone 4 owner who wasn't immensely satisfied with the device, and not because they are brain dead Apple fanboys. It has its imperfections but it seems to be an all around incredibly solid device. The antenna issues don't seem to be as big a problem in practice as one might be led to believe from all the press.
Overall, I don't think this is a very good issue for CR to stake it's credibility on.
Don't trust 247wallst.com's summaries of other sources to be the full and balanced story. Compare this summary of the eBay-Craigslist ruling -- http://247wallst.com/2010/09/09/ebay-gores-craigslist/ -- with a more detailed analysis of what the ruling actually meant:
CR's own wording is pretty dry and matter-of-fact, just reiterating: their testing suggests the antenna issue can be serious, and a fix should not require individual consumer appeals to Apple. (No need for a word like 'savaging' to describe CR's consistent position.)
Maybe Apple even agrees with CR -- by September 30, perhaps all new iPhone 4s will have had some subtle new hotfix applied, or offered. With Apple, we'll only know then.
"Everyone else can buy a Palm Pre" ?? :-D
Interesting way to end an article. I did like how the author kept summaries of recent events one sentence long though. High signal/low noise is what I like in writing.
Honestly though, Apple shouldn't have retracted from it's promise of free iCondoms. The margins are high enough to accommodate for them, and taking away features is never accepted well by the consumers.
You will still be able get a free case. It will just be a more involved process, you will have to call Apple and ask for one.
”A small percentage of iPhone 4 users need a case, and we want to continue providing them a Bumper case for free. […] Users experiencing antenna issues should call AppleCare to request a free Bumper case.“ — http://www.apple.com/iphone/case-program/
I have talked to 15 iphone 4 users, and they are really happy with the device. CR is trying to stay ideological here, whereas in practice this issue does not have any significant impact. CR also may be just wanting some attention (eyeballs) here.
If you look at the list of so many positive points of the phone, the small antenna issue is of hardly any significance in the overall evaluation of this phone.
You can buy a Palm Pre if you don't like the iphone? Nice that the author of this article disposed of all the smatterings of leftover credibility in the that last little morsel of a sentence.
Consumer reports used to have credibility. I remember trusting them for years. I stopped over a decade ago when I thought they were slipping... but this latest fiasco shows they are all about the links and the hype and not about the integrity.
The iPhone 4 is the highest rated phone they have tested, yet they refuse to recommend it. IF there was a problem with the phone, this still wouldn't make sense, as this problem would legitimately cause the phone to have lower ratings. Every handset maker deals with this problem in various ways, and by all accounts the iPhone 4 is at the top range for doing it right.
There is no problem with the iPhone 4 that every other cellphone on the market doesn't also have, yet consumer reports is capitalizing on this fake "controversy" for attention.
Then I bought my iPhone 4.
Calls go through immediately and don't drop. It's like I moved or something.
It's an outstanding phone. I haven't had a single issue with the antenna or call quality.