UPDATE: Apple issues iOS4.0.1 software upgrade ahead of tonight's iPhone 4 press conference
Updated 16.07.10
Pressure is mounting on Apple ahead of tonight's iPhone 4 press conference with the news that US Democratic senator Charles E Schumer has written an open letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
In the letter, Schumer says: "I write to express concern regarding the reception problem with the Apple iPhone 4. While I commend Apple's innovative approach to mobile technology and appreciate its service to millions of iPhone users nationwide, I believe its incumbent upon Apple to address this flaw in a transparent manner.
"The solutions offered to date by Apple for dealing with the so-called 'death grip' malfunction – such as holding the device differently, or buying a cover for it – seem to be insufficient. These proposed solutions would unfairly place the burden on consumers for resolving a problem they were not aware of when they purchased their phones.
Last night Apple released an iOS4.0.1 software upgrade intended to ensure the signal strength bars are correctly displayed. We'll bring you coverage of the Apple press conference from 6pm tonight.
Published 15.07.10
Apple is to hold a press conference at 6pm UK time on Friday, July 16th. The company is expected to address the issue of reception problems on the new iPhone 4, outlined below.
Apple has come in for increasing criticism for what is seen as its inadequate response to the problem, and following yesterday's report by the respected US testing organisation Consumer Reports, pressure has been mounting on the Californian company to respond.
A sharp drop in the firm's share price may have helped focus the management's minds.
Published 14.07.10
Speculation is mounting that Apple may be forced to recall its much-hyped, and highly successful, iPhone 4, or at least issue a hardware fix.
A report by the leading US testing organisation Consumer Reports says it cannot recommend buying the new iPhone due to a design flaw with the antenna which adversely affects reception.
The magazine says the reception problems are not software related, as Apple claims, and cannot be fixed with an update.
"When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side, the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal," says Consumer Reports in its blog. "Due to this problem, we can't recommend the iPhone 4."
The magazine tested three iPhone 4s in a radio frequency isolation chamber, which cuts off outside radio signals, and connected the phones to a special mobile phone tower emulator inside the chamber. It also tested an iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre and found neither had reception issues.
"Our findings call into question the recent claim by Apple that the iPhone 4's signal strength issues were largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software that 'mistakenly displays two more bars than it should for a given signal strength'," says Consumer Reports.
Apple has already said it will offer a free software update within the next few weeks to fix the problem with the way the reception bars are displayed on the phone, making them taller and clearer.
What makes this latest report so damaging is that Apple's shares fell by 4 per cent last night, wiping $9.9bn (£6.5bn) off the company's value.
To date, Apple's only acknowledgement of the issue is a statement it put out on July 2nd.
Read more about reported problems with the Apple iPhone 4 in our earlier News story. We'll be publishing a full review of the iPhone 4 in our September issue, on sale from July 27th.
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Comments
See, if lee.hammond69 had said 'no-one bats an iLid'...
How many facts? Just the one... doh! I surrender ;o)
Reading these posts one facts becomes abundantly clear. The people that love Apple cannot write in English.
Nobody bats an I lid at all the major faults Sony ericson have had with vertualy all there
Phones over the the last couple of years !!.
This is just a minor fault on a small percentage
Of iPhone 4s. And is being blown out of all proportion
!!.
WHAT ANTENNA PROBLEM!!!!
I have got an Iphone 4 and know over 12 people with one and none of them have this antenna issue, i even tested this down oxford st in all the mobile phone resellers and all the demo unit did not have this fault.
I can and so can the other people i know with one over the left corner with 2 sets of hands from 2 people all in the left corner and get full bars!!!!!! NO SIGNAL LOST AT ALL.
This issue probably affects a small batch about 3% of the 1.7 Million handsets sold.
Yeh you say what about the people reporting the issue in the forums, well i do not see 1.7 Million posts!!!!
Its not a design fault as it would affect every handset, The recall thing was also mentioned with the 27inch imac with the screen with a yellow tinge and it only affected about 5000 - 15000 people.
I find it absolutely astonishing that this issue slipped through quality control. I would have thought with such a hyped project that Apple would have taken their time with this one rather than rushing the launch as they clearly have done, i would have thought Mr jobs will be cringing at the thought of an incredibly embarrassing recall.
Knew it was good to wait to get one instead of diving straight in I just got my iphone 3GS anyway but was tempted to upgrade sooner rather than later...it seems the old adage is true: Good things really do come to those who wait...maybe
If this is cover up this could seriously harm their reputation... read long term drop in share price if you will.
After all people don't often remember the problem, but they remember how it was handled!
If this was a ** and bull story and they have used smoke and mirror tactics to deflect the problem, the cost of the fix could pale in comparison to the long term loss of goodwill!
I think the problem here is Apple's handling of the issue more than anything else.
Recall, the amount of "hype" they made over that phone, shocking stuff.