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Topic: Smartphones

Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

Summary: Consumer Reports wants to like the iPhone 4 - but that antenna issue is very real, the magazine said, and that will keep it from recommending Apple's latest mobile phone.

Sam Diaz

By Sam Diaz for Between the Lines |

Consumer Reports today has released its smartphone ratings (subscription required) and, as much as they'd like to, the publication said it cannot recommend the iPhone 4.

The magazine's own tests confirm the signal degradation when users touch the side antenna, even though CR noted a fix available by applying duct tape to the antenna or buying a case. The magazine also questioned Apple's claim that the iPhone 4's signal-strength issues were caused by miscalculating the bars that are displayed on the device.

Beyond that, the phone scored high in its rankings. The review says, in part:

The iPhone scored high, in part because it sports the sharpest display and best video camera we've seen on any phone, and even outshines its high-scoring predecessors with improved battery life and such new features as a front-facing camera for video chats and a built-in gyroscope that turns the phone into a super-responsive game controller.

But that blasted antenna issue is a problem. Consumer Reports says Apple needs to come up with a permanent—and free—fix for the antenna problem before it can recommend the iPhone 4.

Until then, CR continues to suggest the iPhone 3Gs

Topics: Smartphones, Hardware, iPhone, Mobility

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Talkback

74 comments
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  • Cue the Consumer Reports fair weather fans

    Cue all the cries about how much Consumer Reports sucks because they are stupid and that all phones have this exact same issue and how CR is just pro MS and anti Apple and blah blah blah. Yet these same people praised and loved and sang and raised their hands to the heaven when CR gives good reviews to Apple products at other times.
    NonZealot
    Reply Vote

    • Know who is an iPhone fan? Colton Harris-Moore

      @NonZealot ... http://tinyurl.com/27fwz6z
      If it's good enough for a life on the run in stolen planes and boats, perhaps it's good enough for the cubicle-bound commuter.
      HollywoodDog
      Reply Vote

      • He threw it into the water.

        @HollywoodDog Must have been one too many dropped calls.
        Lester Young
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

      @NonZealot - looking forward to those.

      The Mid-2009 MacBook Pro was given high regards and, boot camp and the nVidia chipset issue aside, for the right reasons.

      Re: Win7 freezing issue - http://blog.animosity.co.za/?p=27
      (For me, given that I converted in June 2010, all I seemed to need to do was to update the nVidia drivers to the latest version as Apple tends to be slow in that regard... )
      HypnoToad72
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

      @NonZealot Kind of like the Microsoft Shills do when CS prints an article that bashes a MS product... Cue the Double Standards!
      athynz
      Reply Vote

  • Well, I guess Steve will not be able to get away with it this time

    I was expecting this to happen any day soon. Maintenance of the <i>Reality distortion Field</i> has been getting very little attention as of late.<br><br>Steve has been using the RDF so heavily that regular maintenance work cannot be carried and this is the result. I saw this coming.<br><br>Steve. I TOLD THIS WAS ABOUT HAPPEN. You should have paid attention to the email I sent you!!!
    OS Reload
    Reply Vote

    • Maybe Steve should put some $30 bumpers on the RDF.

      @OS Reload: It seems a little weak without them.
      ye
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

    it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the iPhone 4 is a useless device.
    samiup
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

      @samiup
      Good thing - because you clearly aren't a genius.
      andy@...
      Reply Vote

    • a phone that can not make phone calls

      @samiup
      and $teve is still making loads of money from the sheeps.
      Linux Geek
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

      @samiup And yet the same thing was said about the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G, and the iPhone 3Gs... and it has been proven - not only by Consumer Reports but by the millions of people who have purchased these devices - that the iPhones are far from useless.
      athynz
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

    Funny... after almost 3 weeks with the new iphone, I haven't dropped one call with or without the "death grip" <br>Download speeds using DSL Reports etc appear unaffected as well. So where is the problem?<br><br>On the other hand upload speeds are definitely better on our 3gs but according to AT&T, that is a network issue they are working on. Or so they say.<br><br>Bottom line: The iphone 4's phone performs as good or better than any cell phone I've ever owned and that goes back to the Startac days. This whole "issue" is completely overblown. The iphone 4 is pretty amazing.
    nim chimpsky
    Reply Vote

    • Good for You!

      @nim chimpsky We're all really happy for you, but, just because your phone hasn't exhibited an issue is no reason to assume that the whole "issue is overblown". There are many people who have have serious call-dropping issues with the handset.
      trickytom2
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

        @trickytom2

        Tom... are you having these problems on your iphone? If so, my apologies for generalizing & diminishing your experience.
        nim chimpsky
        Reply Vote

      • Do you have definitive data on that?

        @trickytom2 : or are you just generalizing? I've read far more individual reports of superior performance with the new iPhone 4 than I've read first-hand negative reports of same. I tend to agree that the media has blown this issue far out of proportion to reality. In other words, the RDF this time belongs to the anti-Apple zealots.
        Vulpinemac
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

        @vulpine
        I think the problem is that there is an issue (and it clearly doesn't affect everyone, but it's not clear if that's due to location or a batch of defective phones), and Apples response has been, "Spend more money."

        If a bumper fixes the issue, then they ought to give it away. Charging $30.00 to fix a design flaw is pretty crappy...esp when you figure that $30.00 item probably costs less than $5.
        notsofast
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

        @trickytom2 And yet there are for more comments from the Apple Haters over this issue than there are actual complaints from owners of the iPhone 4 who have this issue... so the perception is that this issue is indeed overblown by the Apple Haters.
        athynz
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

        @athynz That's your perception, not "the" perception. Also, I question your accuracy of your divining rod's ability to pick out whether someone is an iPhone owner or not.
        rtk
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

      @nim chimpsky
      Same here. Zero Problems; Love it
      Haters gonna hate....
      andy@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Consumer Reports: Thumbs down to iPhone 4; antenna to blame

        @andy@... No problem at all for me too. I have two colleagues who also have the phone and don't have these problems.
        atari_z
        Reply Vote
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