Hasta La Gadget!

In case it wasn’t obvious enough from Apple‘s agitated response to our question during today’s iPhone 4 Q&A session in Cupertino, there’s no software fix in the pipeline for the antenna issues that are plaguing users today. A prior report in the New York Times seemed fairly confident that the troubles could (and would) be solved in the near term by a simple software update, but the company’s own Scott Forstall called said report “patently false.” So, there you have it — the only thing that’ll be fixed via software is how big your smallest bar of signal is. Beyond that, you’ll need to grab some Duct tape, a free case or a white glove if you’re looking to avoid attenuation entirely.

Apple affirms: no software fix for iPhone 4 antenna issue originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re looking for an iPhone or iPod dock that doubles as a video output interface, look no further than the stylish (but pricey) Reflex Dock Pro. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20010825-233.html” class=”origPostedBlog”iPhone Atlas/a/p

Nokia’s looking to ride the mojo of any negative fallout from today’s Apple press conference, slipping out a rather fascinating statement this afternoon. The gist of it is that Espoo’s keen on letting everyone know how much blood, sweat, and tears they’ve poured into perfecting their antenna design strategy over the years, going so far as to say that they “prioritize” it over the physical design of the phone if they need to in order to optimize its call performance — an opinion moderately different from the “we want to have our cake and eat it too” philosophy espoused by Jobs today. In closing, Nokia acknowledges that a “tight grip” can mess with the performance, though they say they’ve done a bunch of research on the ways their phones are typically held so that the antennas are placed optimally. Interestingly, there was a stink not long ago about the severe signal degradation some E71 users were seeing when they placed their hands on the lower rear of the phone — but you can’t win ’em all, we suppose. Follow the break for the full statement.

Continue reading Nokia: ‘we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict’

Nokia: ‘we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In this week’s Gadget Lab podcast, we discuss the top stories from the world of gadgets.

First up: new technology to bring 3-D to your cellphone’s screen.

It’s not quite fully-baked yet, but as Priya Ganapati reported earlier this week, cellphone manufacturers are already looking into technology that will enable cellphones to sport 3-D displays that don’t require special glasses, much like the Nintendo 3DS screen.

Reports continue to pour in about reception problems with the iPhone 4’s antenna design. We think it’s time Apple fessed up to the problem and fixed it, already. (Note: This podcast was recorded before Apple’s Friday press conference, at which the company admitted to the problem — sort of — and offered free cases to all iPhone 4 customers.)

In addition, Gadget Lab’s Dylan Tweney and Brian X. Chen show off two new headsets: The $60 Jabra Halo and the $80 Nox Audio Specialist.

And then we tackle a few reader questions about 3-D displays, how not to hold an iPhone, and the future of digital tablets.

Like the show? You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our mugs, check out the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

See Also:

• Gadget Lab Podcast: Dell's New Tablet, Sluggish iPhone Uploads and More
• Gadget Lab Podcast: The Death of Kin and Other Wireless Drama
• Gadget Lab Podcast: Droid X, iPhone 4, Android 2.2
• Gadget Lab Podcast Returns: E3 Gadgets, Dolby 7.1 and More