Hasta La Gadget!

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.

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Whoa. Nokia’s premier range of devices, the N Series, will bid adieu to the Symbian operating environment and go MeeGo full time after the introduction of the N8. That’s what we’ve just heard directly from the Finnish horse’s mouth. Nokia will naturally keep Symbian around — of course there’s a whole Symbian^4 to come — but will utilize it on more mass market devices as it seeks to push smartphones further down the product hierarchy. So it’s not necessarily bad news, as such, it means we’ll likely see Symbian trickle down to handsets priced more like featurephones and less like miniaturized laptops. What it does mean, however, is that Nokia is pushing forward with its modernization plans, and doing so more aggressively than previously thought. Which we consider to be a pretty awesome (and necessary) thing.

Nokia N8 to be final Symbian N Series device, all MeeGo from here on out originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tired of waiting for the invite that’ll never arrive? Not so eager to snap up an Android phone just to automatically get ushered into the party? Good news: Google Voice is now open to the US public at large (sorry, everyone else!), enabling everyone who wishes to get a single number to ring all of their phones, have voicemail that acts more like email and send / receive free calls and texts within the US. Currently, Google has over a million active Voice users, and we suspect that figure will skyrocket after today. If you’ve been ignoring this hoopla until the invite barrier was crushed, feel free to hop on past the break for a video demonstration of what’s on offer. Then hit that source link to sign up. Happy calling… callers.

Continue reading Google Voice now open to the American public

Google Voice now open to the American public originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Right on time, Apple has unleashed iOS 4 for owners of the iPhone product codes 1,2, 2,1, and 3,1 — in other words, the 3G, 3GS, and yet-unreleased iPhone 4. Owners of more recent iPod touches are also in luck. Interestingly, the build is 8A293 — the exact same that was released to developers before as a GM seed — so Apple apparently found no showstoppers pressing enough to necessitate a new build before pushing it to the public at large. It’s coming up in iTunes now, so go on — what are you waiting for?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iOS 4 now available for your iPhone 3G, 3GS, newer-generation iPod touches originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like Verizon and Motorola are coming clean with the Droid X a little earlier than planned — it just appeared on the official Droid page, complete with confirmation of that 4.3-inch screen size. Interestingly, rolling over the image reveals a box that says it has a “720p screen,” which would be crazy — especially since the Droid X prototype we played with had what looked to be the same 854 x 480 resolution as the original Droid, although we couldn’t confirm it at the time. A true 720p screen res would also be far denser than the 800 x 480 panel on the EVO 4G, so we’re thinking Verizon actually means 720p out over HDMI, not anything else. We’ll see though — the official launch event is still set for June 23, and we’re still waiting to find out about the slider Droid 2, so there are a lot of potential surprises still to come.

Update: We just confirmed that the Droid X prototype we saw had an 854 x 480 display, so we’ll have to see if Motorola and Verizon have a serious surprise for us come Wednesday — we know at least one Engadget editor who’s crossing his fingers.

Update 2: Sure enough, Verizon has changed the ad to read “Captures 720p” instead of “720p screen,” so that would basically confirm the 854 x 480 display. A nerd can dream, though! See the revised site after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading The Droid X gets real on Verizon (update: 720p video capture, not display)

The Droid X gets real on Verizon (update: 720p video capture, not display) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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