One of the surprising things about the iPhone 4 reception saga was that most of the our favorite tech journalists did not report the antenna issue when they reviewed iPhone 4.
Walt Mossberg of Wall Street Journal was probably the only one who reported that iPhone 4’s performance in making voice calls on AT&T's network in the U.S. was decidedly mixed.
One of the reason probably was due to lack of time. Walt Mossberg has now published a follow-up on the reception issue but this time with six weeks of real-world testing.
Here are some of his observations:
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iPhone 4 is the best smartphone in its class because of the following reasons: ultra high-resolution screen; easy, integrated video calling; slick software; strong battery life; a remarkably thin body; and a world-beating selection of 225,000 third-party apps.
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iPhone 4 performs better than iPhone 3GS and other AT&T smartphones in areas with strong AT&T coverage and capacity. But he has observed that iPhone 4 performs worse than iPhone 3GS in weak coverage areas.
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Touching the dreaded weak spot makes the signal strength bar fluctuate, sometimes it drops from 3 to 1 and at times it actually makes the bar rise. But according to him, the dropping of bars didn’t affect the call and the call continued normally.
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The bumper case for iPhone 4 greatly reduced the call problems but it didn’t eliminate the dropped calls observed even in good coverage areas.
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As we had reported earlier, iPhone 4’s external antenna freed up space for a larger battery. Mossberg found iPhone 4’s battery life to be outstanding, which has been one of the weak points of older iPhone models.
Mossberg finally concludes:
So that's my six-week, real-world report. Despite the hot-spot issue and the exposed antenna, the iPhone 4 does better than the 3GS for me in decent coverage. But I still wouldn't advise adopting it as your primary phone if you live, work or travel in areas with poor AT&T reception, or if you prefer a network under less stress.
So if you are still undecided on whether or not to buy Apple’s iPhone 4, this real world report should be quite helpful in making up your mind.
We would go a step further and recommend readers to buy iPhone 4 if they are still sitting on the fence. If you find out that it doesn’t work well in your area then you can always return it within 30 days for a full refund.
Let us know your experience with iPhone 4. Is it similar to Mossberg’s observation? Let us know in the comments.
[via WSJ (subscription required)]
Love mine
oh and, fuck you first posters hahahahaha
honestly, after a month of usage, I never have antenna problem on my iphone 4. Occassional drop calls which I blame the shitty ATT network.
Thank you Walt I totally agree…I live and work in a weak San Francisco ATT covrage area and my experience was horrible. So I returned it for a refund.
Got my iPhone 4 yesterday. The antenna bar drop can be reproduced 100% each time when I touch that edge. I will always use a case to shield my phone and hopefully I can live with it. Fingers crossed.
I'm Walt Mossberg…Shut Up!!
Got mine on Day 1 and I still love it.
oh but i do definitely have the antenna problem, not that I really care
I returned mine…what do i have to loose. Wait until October 1. Steve will have a fix and you can buy the Iphone 4 V.2
..and one more thing – I'm back to my 3G after three weeks of Iphone 4. Hole-e sheet this thing sucks. I miss my 4!
my experience:
- got in line at 3am in the morning by the Apple store at the Grove, Los Angeles
- finally got inside the Apple store and purchased my i4 by 2 pm afternoon
…
till this day i have not observed any reception issues, prob just a couple dropped calls from the shitty ATT.
I love my iPhone 4 !!!!! This phone is fast , I love not waiting on pages to load !!!!
I have had 0 problems with drop calls !!!! I'm a happy iPhone 4 owner ….. Can't wait to see what's next…
If you live in an AT&T fringe area, the iPhone 4 is not for you, I have a 3G iPhone which works fine in my low signal area, had gotten an iPhone 4 with bumper case but returned it as it could not hold as 3G signal and most call attempted by it were dropped, so I went back to my 3G and will wait till the iPhone 4 has a better antenna solution or one at least as good as the 3G.
My wife and in both purchased the phone on release day and it has performed flawlessly.. Blows my 3GS out of the water .. Even crazier when you use an N speed router.. AT&T isn't that great but our phones are amazing
call out is ok but 3G is fucking sucking slower than my original iphone 2G Edge. Fuck you steve jobs a man always trying to stop jailbreaking with new update. again Fuck you Steve jobs but now it is legal.
holding out for the white model but if there delayed too long i will go to the black version and join the masses
I live in a urban area where AT&T doesn't suck. I'm free and clear from tall buildings but if I'm close to a mountain than signal will drop. I haven't had any drop calls or attenna issues like some other people in certain parts of the world. My AT&T hasn't been a problem for me since I've been with them in '98.
I think LA is one of the few cities that have the least issues with iPhone n att
Great phone but come on good battery, no way!!!! 3days of usage at a minimum to consider it as having acceptable battery life, mine can't keep up with 1 full days moderate usage! Apple would do do well offering 2 models a thin and slim and a road warior that is not as big as adding a piggy back battery but that triples bat life
Besides this it's a super phone
You're an idiot
If you think AT&T network is bad,come to my city (Saint Louis,MO)and start using Tmobile….the worst 3G/EDGE signal,the fluctuations are so bad that emails gets stuck and all you see is SENDING….
What really bother me is that nobody talks about the Google phone aka NEXUS ONE,that is bad,bad,bad signal…do some research or go to youtube.The reception is so bad sometimes that you have no service,my bed is by the windows and most of the time I had no service….that is a total joke Tmobile/Google….the say it is because the device performs better in strong 3G areas….ridiculous.
So next time you se somebody complaining about the iphone 4,think about the Nexus One.
i looooooooove my iphone 4. its they media that just hyped up all this drama. probably some iphone haters. iphone is always gonna be on the top, thats why everyone tries to find one lil thing wrong with it.
For those iphone 4 haters: there THREE ways to talk on your Iphone 4 without touching it. ONE: SPEAKER; TWO: BLUETOOTH; THREE: WIRED EARPIECES. Stop complaining!!!
I just want to disagree with this Mossberg guy on how he said that the iPhone 4 performs worse than the 3G in the weaker areas. My AT&T coverage in my house is pretty weak, so when I had my 3GS, I always had to switch my 3G off and use the edge network just to make and receive calls….but with my iPhone 4, I never have to turn off my 3G and I am able to make and receive all my calls with no problem. I also get much fewer dropped calls than my 3GS. Well, this is just my own "real world testing" for you all.
I had my iPhone from day one I have reception problem. I can go from 4 bars to none at anytime. But oddly enough I can still make phone call. So that's just it n
Live in the Wasington DC area and iPhone 4 works great here. No drop calls yet or any other issues. I even have trouble fully reproducing the antenna issue so never really have any signal issues – but for some odd reason during a recent power outage in my area, the AT&T signal did suck big time but now it's back to normal.
However, I did end up returning my iPhone 4 this week. I decided I wanted the 32gb model instead
. Being downgraded back to the 3G model totally sucks after being spoiled with the awesomness of the iPhone 4 for a couple of weeks :-/ …
Though i understand the test he made was his own real life test, i disagree on one thing he said and i quote
"iphone 4 is the best smartphone in its class because of the following reasons: ultra high-resolution screen; easy, integrated video calling; slick software; strong battery life; a remarkably thin body; and a world-beating selection of 225,000 third-party apps" end of quote.
Then he made another statement, quote again "But he has observed that iPhone 4 performs worse than iPhone 3GS in weak coverage areas"
First of for something to be the best it's defense has be very good because that is the fundamentals of any strong hold. iphone is a phone first and the rest so if its phone capability is not as good as my old Nokia 610, then i'm sorry you can not sell me on the note that it's the best smart phone in the market in its class.
By the way i am an iphone user and currently have 5 iphones to my name from 2G to 3GS but holding off the iphone 4 till issues are fixed after returning mine. I also live in the DC metro area with no reception issues.
Though i understand the test he made was his own real life test, i disagree on one thing he said and i quote
"iphone 4 is the best smartphone in its class because of the following reasons: ultra high-resolution screen; easy, integrated video calling; slick software; strong battery life; a remarkably thin body; and a world-beating selection of 225,000 third-party apps" end of quote.
Then he made another statement, quote again "But he has observed that iPhone 4 performs worse than iPhone 3GS in weak coverage areas"
First of for something to be the best it's defense has be very good because that is the fundamentals of any strong hold. iphone is a phone first and the rest so if its phone capability is not as good as my old Nokia 610, then i'm sorry you can not sell me on the note that it's the best smart phone in the market in its class.
By the way i am an iphone user and currently have 5 iphones to my name from 2G to 3GS but holding off the iphone 4 till issues are fixed after returning mine. I also live in the DC metro area with no reception issues.
Hahasss… R u the sonny I know? I'm quite sure is u from the way u speak! Hahass… Yea JB is now legal!!
ive had NO antenna problem on o2 in UK i can hold my finger on it all day long and nothing
battery is excellent!
just desperatly waiting on a jalbreak for sbsettings and other apps !
You all know of course that The antenne is NOT really an issue.
In poor coverage areas it might become one like with any other phone + you also know that with cellphones if the signal is weak the transmission uses more power to accommodate (poor signal=weak reception= emission has to be stronger) and this way affects battery life. Especially if you use 3G unnecessary.
My battery
My battery lasts a good 2 days of normal use. If I need to save battery life I just switch to edge. Easy!
White iPhone 4 Clone By Chinese http://bit.ly/ddtWyy
AT&T best in US by far if all the iPhones were on any other net it would not just every once in a blue moon drop a call it would just alltogether crash
Again it's the shitty i4 cause I use my 3gs like a 14 yr old uses his winky and never ever a problem
That's what happens when you drop and bang your phone around it turns into a piece of crap
I'll wait , My 3.1.3jb 3gs on Three perform exellent here in Stockholm , Sweden.
Hate dropped calls.. As it gets my phone drop out of my car window.
I am still using my jailbroken and unlocked iphone 3GS.
I have not made up my mind to switch to the iphone 4. I will wait for the next iphone 4a with all issues fixed.
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Loser