CDMA iPhone 4 Also Suffers from 'Antennagate'

In what shouldn’t be considered surprising news, tests carried out on the Verizon iPhone 4 in various conditions have confirmed that Apple’s CDMA variant of the popular smartphone is also prone to losing signal strength, as well as seeing its Wi-Fi capabilities diminished when the user covers the external antenna(s).

Although Apple itself confirmed that all mobile phones are susceptible to losing signal when held using what is referred to as the “death grip,” many hoped that the CDMA version of the iPhone 4, which boasts a new antenna design, would not suffer from the same “antennagate” issues.

Apparently, it does, according to tests carried out by iLounge, a technology site covering all things Apple, but mostly focusing on the company’s iDevices.

By conducting what the site calls a “standard suite of iPhone 4 performance tests,” they found that the CDMA iPhone 4 suffers from signal attenuation problems similar to the ones attributed to the GSM (AT&T) counterpart.

The site posted a “Verizon iPhone 4 antenna attenuation video” in which it is visible that the CDMA iPhone 4 can lose substantial cellular signal strength when held in the “death grip” position, albeit not as much as the AT&T phone did.

Wi-Fi signal is also diminished, according to their tests, when held in a different position - landscape mode.

In some cases, the grip slows reception of data by such a high degree that it sometimes stalls completely, iLounge said.

Apple has recently announced that, beginning Wednesday, February 9th, all qualified customers will be able to order an iPhone 4 on Verizon through the Apple Store for delivery, or reserve for in-store pick up beginning February 10th.

Beginning at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday, February 10, the CDMA iPhone 4 will be available to all qualified customers at Apple’s retail stores, as well as at 2,000+ Verizon Wireless Communication Stores across the U.S.