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 Channel Futures

Sales & Marketing


Apple’s Antenna Woes: Not Our Problem Says RIM, HTC, Nokia

  • Written by Dave Courbanou 1
  • July 19, 2010

The iPhone 4 may very well go down as one of the most beloved and the most hated best-selling Apple device ever. After Steve Jobs’ press conference on the antenna design, issues and fixes, he noted popular phone manufactures — like RIM, HTC and Samsung, along with a note about Nokia in a previous press release — all have phones that can suffer the same issues the iPhone 4 does. But Nokia, RIM and HTC are saying Apple is crying foul. They’d never let bad antenna design ruin their phone, those companies claim. But what’s the real story?

Here’s the way I see it.

Yep, Apple screwed up. They have an antenna design that in areas of low signal strength (or in some cases, meaty hands) can really kill reception. Apple has always striven for style, so  perhaps their design was a tad over-looked? Who knows. Point is, Apple has rectified the problem by offering free cases. Kudos to Apple and Jobs. They did the right thing.

But Apple would like to stress that while their problem is their own, it is not unique to the iPhone 4. All phones have a spot that when gripped a certain way can cause some loss in signal strength. They made a show of it at their press conference and on their site.

So here comes HTC, RIM and Nokia, looking to make some good press out of Apple’s bad press and rile up their smartphone base. The (apparently) official statement from Co-CEO’s of RIM comes via Crackberry.com …

Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation…RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple…should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple. – Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie

Meanwhile, HTC has taken a more subtle approach, as Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg Manager, Mark Moons Tweeted some interesting things. (Thanks to 9to5Mac for translations.)

“Is Jobs really commenting on other manufacturers’ reception to make up for his own design flaw? I’m surely seeing this wrong …”

and

“… okay, I’ve stopped following the cry story of the ‘litte fruit’ … got better things to do … He’s making the whole industry look bad …”

And Nokia? This official statement seems to originate from Engadget, noting that…

“Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models. Nokia was the pioneer in internal antennas…Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on…we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict…That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand.”

If you’re an Apple-hater you might be inclined to side with RIM, HTC and Nokia. But if you think about your past phones, iPhones or not, you may actually realize Steve Jobs is right. I’ve had old Nokia phones and I’ve had LG phones too. Smushed in my pocket, I’ve lost reception and missed calls. Even my Droid, if it’s in my pocket with the screen facing outward (antenna towards my leg) has lost reception completely in areas of low signal. I typically pull it out of my pocket and set it down until the bars light up, making sure my hand doesn’t prevent it either.

It seems to me Jobs was fed up. He’s not trying to put down other smart phone companies, but he’s trying to say “Look, they have this issue too, it’s not uncommon at all, it just seems to be an more specific issue with certain users of iPhone 4, and the media is amplifying it, due to the phone’s popularity.”

But for Nokia, RIM and HTC to lash out like this (you must admit, the wording is a tad on the harsh side) seems immature. It also seems like HTC, Nokia and RIM’s first chance to kick Apple when it’s down, since the iPhone’s success clearly pushed them to compete harder than they had in the past.

And as for Jobs “distort the public’s understanding”, neglecting “antenna performance over physical design” plus, making “the whole industry look bad”? Seems extreme, no?

In the end, ultimately, the consumer decides how this particular industry does, and selling 3 million iPhone 4 doesn’t seem that bad at all.

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Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Mobility Sales & Marketing

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9 comments

  1. Avatar Daeng Bo July 19, 2010 @ 3:39 pm
    Reply

    I’m not an Apple hater (OK, maybe a smidgin), and I say Jobs made a real faux pas. You don’t answer your detractors with “But the other kids are doing it, too ….” It’s just bad form, and makes Apple sound whiney. They need to take the hit (which they did by offering workarounds) without pointing fingers to spread blame. Their design decisions are theirs alone. They didn’t collaborate with RIM.

  2. Avatar Bill July 19, 2010 @ 3:40 pm
    Reply

    The problem is unique to Apple. No other cell phone designer has ever put the active antenna where it is held by the customers bare skin. To claim the other manufacturers have the same problem is a lie.

  3. Avatar Dave Courbanou July 19, 2010 @ 4:03 pm
    Reply

    @Bill,

    Other manufacturers do have the same issue. I detailed my own personal issues with non-iPhones, and a simple look up on YouTube will show tons of phones that will drop signals when held the wrong way. Yes, Apple did put the antenna in a bad location, but no one is disputing that.

    @Daeng Bo

    I don’t think Apple is trying to spread the blame, I just think they’re trying to show consumers that the issue is not unique, it’s just a very prominent issue on the iPhone 4. Apple isn’t saying all other smartphones have the EXACT same issue, they’re saying all other smartphones can suffer from this similar problem. But again, not spreading the blame, Apple fully admits there’s an issue here with their design. It’s not a “but the other kids are doing it too” thing, it’s merely trying to show that the issue, however bad it is with the iPhone 4, is very much not a special thing. It happens everywhere.

  4. Avatar Joe Panettieri July 19, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
    Reply

    I respect Dave as a peer blogger here on The VAR Guy. But in this case, I think Apple let down customers and the media by downplaying/dismissing the problem with an 11th hour press release on the Friday afternoon heading into 4th of July weekend. Definitely a sign of a company trying to hide something…
    -jp

  5. Avatar Dave Courbanou July 19, 2010 @ 5:42 pm
    Reply

    I think Apple did everything they could given the circumstances and are rectifying the problem with free cases. I don’t think Apple owes the media anything. They own their customers a response, and they gave it to them. More importantly, the press meeting regarding the iPhone 4 antenna happened this past Friday, on the 16th of July, so I seriously doubt Apple was trying to hide anything going into any weekend.

    The initial antenna press release was given on the 2nd of July, which detailed the sperate (but equally problematic) software issue regarding signal bars which was present in all iPhone with iOS 4.0. Apple has release iOS 4.0.1 to fix this issue.

    As a reminder, Apple cited only 0.55% of iPhone 4 customer’s had issue with the signal to call Apple Care. As a reminder, that’s only about 16,500 people out of 3 million of the iPhone 4’s sold.

    Lastly, time and time again, Apple has said if you’re unhappy with the phone, return it for a full complete refund without stocking fees, within 30 days of your purchase. This sense of entitlement to a perfect consumer device is troublesome. At the end of the day, it’s just a phone, whether it comes from Apple or not.

    I think a better question to ask is — not if Jobs / Apple is hiding something — but rather — why is the media so voraciously happy to pick apart Apple all of a sudden?

  6. Avatar Bill July 19, 2010 @ 7:36 pm
    Reply

    Apple’s problem isn’t signal attenuation like other devices. Apple exposed their active antenna to people’s conductive skin. Touching the actual antenna changes the properties of the antenna itself. It is a problem far worse than attenuation, and one no other device has.

    Why is the media on Apple for this? Because Apple is the one claiming how revolutionary their antenna is!

  7. Avatar Victor July 19, 2010 @ 7:52 pm
    Reply

    Hi Dave,

    You actually list good information and details. However, I believe it is all psychology. Apple relies on this to sell their product. I think they probably engineer a very good product. But the product is sold as we are the best and the rest is inferior. Look at the Microsoft ad campaign. So, the media sees a chink in the armor and it is a story to them. It happens in politics and for other companies. Look how bad the press and users treat MS. Some of it maybe deserved but there is a lot of blood lust at times with the media. Because the media needs you to read their stories. JP also makes a good point about their timing. The problem is that any company that has a media relations department is going to follow what they believe the best way to lower the coverage of a problem in the press. However, the press does need to point out problems. So is the media picking on Apple’s problems or shining the harsh light of reality on them.
    Keep up the good work, you Apple fan boy :).
    Victor

  8. Avatar Gary July 21, 2010 @ 1:04 pm
    Reply

    Why do people who do not like Apple and who do not have an iPhone care? The answer seems obvious to me.

  9. Avatar Dave Courbanou July 21, 2010 @ 5:32 pm
    Reply

    @Gary,

    I share your sentiment. It does seem like people like to come out to attack Apple, especially when they have zero experience with their products or down’t own the device itself.

    @Victor,

    Thanks for the kind words. I try and be as impartial as I can, despite my love for Apple, and I don’t’ disagree that Apple screwed up, but I do feel like this “Antennagate” has gotten more press than it really needed.

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