iPhone 4, you’re the most beautiful thing. Holding you—so solid, so smooth, your zowielala screen glowing—makes me greedy. My precious. I want to lick you. I can’t stop looking at you. But your industrial design is a failure. More »
We’d heard earlier that ngmoco’s new game Eliminate: Gun Range was one of the first apps to really take advantage of the iPhone 4‘s gyroscope, and now that we’ve had a chance to play with it, we’ve got say there’s a ton of potential here. E:GR is itself just a simple shooter, but the gyroscope adds what seems like nearly 1:1 motion control to the proceedings — and since you’re moving the display itself, it almost feels like augmented reality. It’s hard to explain, since it’s so unlike any mobile UI experience we’ve encountered before, but as soon as we tried it our brains pretty much exploded with possibilities — we’re thinking drastic improvements to actual augmented reality apps like Layar, all kinds of crazy flight simulator games, much more refined GPS apps, you name it. Video after the break.
Continue reading Gyroscope gunning on the iPhone 4 with Eliminate: Gun Range (video)
Gyroscope gunning on the iPhone 4 with Eliminate: Gun Range (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
It’s the ultimate of ironies that Apple’s externalized antenna array in the iPhone 4 — hoped (and hyped up) to finally give us a phone every bit as good the rest of the device — has become the cause of most rancor in the immediate aftermath of the handset’s release. This morning you’ll be rubbing both sleep and disbelief out of your eyes as you read that Apple’s response to some people’s reception problems with the 4 is to hold it differently. But, before we start ostracizing Apple as the singular offender here, let’s hear from a man in the know.
Spencer Webb runs AntennaSys, a company that designs tailormade RF solutions, and has himself worked on making quad-band transceivers for AT&T. As he tells it, almost all phone makers have now transitioned to locating their antennae at the bottom of the phones. This has been in order to move radio wave emissions away from the head (a shortcoming that a top-mounted aerial would incur), which the FCC has been quite demanding about with its SAR standards —
The iPhone 4, however, moved the antenna action from the back of the phone to the sides. This probably improves the isotropy of the radiation pattern, but only when the phone is suspended magically in air.
Another great point made here is that testing done both by the Federales and mobile carriers might include the head, but never accounts for the presence of the person’s hand. Thus, although a phone’s antenna could test very well, it might suffer from such issues as those experienced with the iPhone 4. Mind you, this still seems like an assembly (rather than design) problem to us, since most of our editors haven’t had any reception worries and we in fact saw improved performance on that front while conducting our review testing. Spencer himself has decided to buy the phone knowing full well about this potential limitation, and concludes on the note that “sometimes an antenna that’s not great, but good enough, is good enough.”
iPhone 4 antenna woes contextualized by dude in the know originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 03:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
fmanjoo (Twitter) | 
AntennaSys | Email this | Comments
We’re only holding it in the way that you showed us.
Hey Apple, you’re holding it wrong originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Reddit | AppleInsider (forums) | Email this | Comments
The “iPhone Death Grip” is somewhat real, but it’s more subtle than a lot of people have been putting on. It’s not a deal-breaker and it’s not a reason – by itself – not to buy the iPhone. But the nearly hysterical online reaction to the death-grip news reveals what people are really thinking.
First, here’s Apple’s official statement, with which I completely agree.
“Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your Phone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.”
So, we just spoke with Apple and got the straight dirt on the reception issues that have been plaguing users today… and it’s a little surprising. In essence, Apple cops to the fact there are reception issues with the new iPhone — namely, that if you cover the bottom-left corner of the phone and bridge the gap between the notch there with your naked flesh, you could see some signal degradation. Yes, you read that right: it’s not a software or production issue, simply a matter of the physical location of your hand in regards to the phone’s antenna. The company’s suggested fix? Move your hand position, or get a case which covers that part of the phone, thus breaking contact. As you can see in the email above which just arrived in our tip box, this is a sentiment which runs pretty high at the company. Here’s the official statement:
Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.
We know what you’re thinking, and we’re thinking it too: this sounds crazy. Essentially, Apple is saying that the problem is how you hold your phone, and that the solution is to change that habit, or buy one of their cases. Admittedly, this isn’t a problem that exists only for the iPhone 4 — we’ve seen reports of the same behavior on previous generations (the 3G and 3GS), and there is a running thread about this problem with the Nexus One. While it is definitely true that interference is an unavoidable problem, we can’t help feeling like this is really a bit of bad design. If the only answer is to move your hand, why didn’t Apple just move the antenna position? What we can say without question is that in our testing of the phone, we had improved reception and fewer dropped calls than we experienced with the last generation, and we never noticed this issue. Additionally, when using a bumper we can’t recreate the signal loss. So, now we have an answer… all we’re wondering is whether or not the company will start handing out bumpers pro-bono to those who are experiencing problems. It certainly seems like the right thing to do.
Update: To add a little perspective, check out a video from 2008 after the break showing the same issue with the now-ancient iPhone 3G (thanks Inge).
Continue reading Apple responds to iPhone 4 reception issues: you’re holding the phone the wrong way
Apple responds to iPhone 4 reception issues: you’re holding the phone the wrong way originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Well, that was a surprise. On a day where the attention was focused on Apple’s own stores for the formal launch day of the iPhone 4, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Wal-Mart came through with their own iPhone shipments.
Best Buy had expressed doubt that it would be able to supply enough iPhone 4s. Radio Shack had said that it wasn’t sure if it could obtain enough iPhones.
“Approx. 1,500 Walmart stores will have iPhone in limited quantities @ 8am. Pls call local Walmart 2 see if they have it,” Walmartkevin tweeted.
Radio Shack also confirmed that it had phones: “We have heard you loud and clear,” the company said on its Facebook page. “We regret any confusion that may have been caused by the limited availability of iPhone 4 units at launch.”
Radio Shack had previously announced that some stores might not receive supplies of the new iPhone 4 on launch day, including units in black as well as white; Apple delayed the white iPhone because of an unexplained manufacturing issue. Radio Shack also said that it would extend its accessory bundle deals throughout July and work to obtain more iPhones as well.
Best Buy also announced that the company had begin filling “some” preorders, but @Coral_BestBuy, one of the members of its “twelp force,” told one customer that “[I]deally we’d have had more than enough to fulfill
all preorders and then some, unfortunately that was not the case.”
We’re back with episode No. 2 of the new, improved, videographic Gadget Lab podcast. In this episode, Brian X. Chen and Dylan F. Tweney discuss the top gadget news of the week: The launch of the iPhone 4, the rollout of Verizon’s and Motorola’s Droid X, and the public release of Android 2.2, aka “FroYo,” which sports a fully functional version of Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1.
(It didn’t make it into this podcast, but don’t miss Brian’s video introduction to the iPhone 4.)
We also show off a handful of iPad and iPhone apps: the excellent photojournalism-centric Guardian Eyewitness, an impressive library of medical images called 3D4 Medical, and a photo shooting, editing and sharing app called Camera+.
Oh, and then there’s iKamasutra XL.
And we wrap things up with a plea to save the seahorses. (Seriously: Overfishing may be leading some of them to the brink of extinction.)
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.
The iPhone 4 has finally arrived here in Gadget Lab. Some of you may have seen this before.
We’ve spent only a few hours with the iPhone 4, but our first impressions of the device are quite positive. The 960-by-640 screen is gorgeous, and the thinner profile feels nice in the pocket. FaceTime video conferencing was problematic — probably because of our weak Wi-Fi network here — but once it got working it was neat.
We’ll have a full review of the iPhone 4 by Friday, but for now enjoy the video above re-introducing the famous device at the center of perhaps the greatest drama in gadget history.
This episode of the Gadget Lab video podcast was produced by Annaliza Savage, with editing by Michael Lennon and audio engineering by Fernando Cardoso. If you want the audio version of this podcast, subscribe to the Gadget Lab audio podcast on iTunes.
See Also:
For some iPhone users, months of waiting in anticipation for the iPhone 4 and hours of standing in line ended in a big disappointment. Glitches forced some users who had pre-ordered their phones to go home without a device in hand — even though they thought they were eligible for an upgrade.
Glen LaFratte, a Dallas, Texas, iPhone user, is one of them. LaFratte bought two 3G S phones — for him and his wife — last June. He paid the full price of nearly $700 for each phone.
To his surprise, when he reserved a pair of iPhone 4s a week ago, he found his wife’s phone was deemed not eligible for the upgrade pricing of $200 for a 16-GB version and $300 for the 32-GB model.
LaFratte says he bought both the 3G S phones on the same day and even showed AT&T store representatives a receipt to prove that. But so far, he hasn’t heard back from AT&T with a fix.
“How much blood do they want?” he wrote in an e-mail to Gadget Lab. “Apple needs to dump AT&T. I cannot understand why a huge computer manufacturer like Apple lets a cellular company control their pricing and cripple them.”
Apple’s iPhone 4 debuted in retail stores Thursday morning to huge crowds. Meanwhile, a number of users are complaining about network reception problems with the device, especially when the left and the bottom of the phone is touched or squeezed.
Apple had said that any current iPhone customers whose contracts were due to expire this year would be eligible for the lower upgrade price of $200 for the 16-GB iPhone 4 and $300 for the 32-GB version.
The problems with the upgrade are not widespread, with just a handful of users reporting the issue to Gadget Lab so far.
Among them is Josh Strom, who handles system support for Wired, who faced a similar baffling upgrade problem.
After waiting in line for two hours, Strom found out his pre-ordered iPhone 4 won’t be available for the upgrade price of $200. His current iPhone 3G contract ends this month.
“I am frustrated and really upset with AT&T,” says Strom. “They just couldn’t tell me why I cannot upgrade my iPhone.”
Meanwhile, other AT&T users are discovering that the upgrade pricing may not be for everyone.
At the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference this year, Steve Jobs made an offer that seemed too good to be true.
“I am thrilled to announce that AT&T is going to make an incredibly generous upgrade offer. If your contract expires any time during 2010, you are immediately eligible for a new iPhone 4 at the same $199, $299 prices if you top up your contract for two years. You can get up to six months early eligibility for the iPhone 4,” Jobs told the attendees while introducing the phone.
That declaration, though, left out the fine print. Some AT&T users found that unless your current phone is an iPhone, the upgrade offer does not apply, even if you have another smartphone from AT&T.
Another user, Chris Heery, faced a system glitch that froze him out of the reservation system in the store. He’d canceled his pre-order in the hopes of picking up a phone from the store on the day of the launch. Heery says he might now have to wait until the end of this week so AT&T can sort the issue out and give him an iPhone 4.
If you are eligible for an upgrade and have been denied one by AT&T, let us know what happened. Post your experience in the comments.
Photo: Kevin Aungle yells triumphantly as he exits the Apple store with a 32-GB iPhone 4 in Emeryville on June 24. Aungle slept in his car the night before the new iPhone was launched and says he waited a total of 15 hours. (Stefan Armijo/Wired.com)
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
