Oh no, please tell us this isn’t the start of another “antennagate,” but it appears that Consumer Reports is again making headlines for throwing the iPhone 4 under the proverbial bus. “The Verizon iPhone 4 has a problem that could cause the phone to drop calls,” notes the American product reviews publication. That’s not a huge surprise, considering that the Verizon iPhone is pretty much the same device as AT&T’s version, the only external difference being slightly displaced volume buttons and mute switch.
As before, the iPhone 4’s antenna design is leading to both dropped calls and, says Consumer Reports, the inability to make calls in areas where weak signals are present. (Weak signals? On Verizon?)
I kid, I kid. But really, after the great antennagate debacle of 2010, if I never heard the phrase “signal issues” again it would be too soon. If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, I’d love to know the location of your rock so I can hide out until antennagate 2.0 blows over.
Anyway….
iPhone 4 Antenna Still Doesn’t Work, Says Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports says the Verizon iPhone has the same issues as the AT&T version – it loses its signal when a specific area of the phone’s outer casing is covered by your fingers or thumb. The only solution to this issue is to put the iPhone in a case of some sort – like, for example, the iPhone 4 bumper cases that were at one time offered to unhappy AT&T customers through Apple’s now-discontinued free case program.
In the new article, Consumer Reports details how it performed its tests, its conclusions, and all that technical jazz, but the bottom line reads:
“…we are not including the Verizon iPhone 4 in our list of recommended smart phones, despite its high ranking in our Ratings.”
I’m sure Apple is very concerned. Despite the media insanity (and let’s be frank, the truthfulness) of the antenna issues, the company went on to sell a record-breaking 1.7 million iPhone 4’s within its first three days on the market. Apple sold 16.24 million iPhones last quarter. And Verizon ran out of inventory on its first day of iPhone sales.
Hmm, looks like people are just fine with buying a case for their iPhone.
