14 DAY TRIAL // While AT&T was the first to get bashed for the iPhone 3G's poor signal, the focus is now on the device itself, which, according to an analyst at Nomura Securities, packs a faulty chip. It is also being reported that, even following Apple's release of the iPhone 2.1 software update, reports of dropped calls are still flying in.
With claims that a faulty Infineon Technologies chip residing in the Apple iPhone 3G is unable to cope with the task load, Nomura Securities analyst Richard Windsor looked into the issues and concluded: "the device is at fault," as a Cellular-News report reveals.
Richard Windsor has a track record of correctly analyzing issues with the iPhone, according to the same news source. The report adds that, despite these issues, Apple is on track to sell the estimated 10 million handsets by the end of the calendar year, while it will also be able to correct the problem in future versions of the device. Sadly, it looks like less of a possibility for Apple to correct the issues surrounding connectivity through another firmware release.
An older BusinessWeek report also revealed that the Infineon chip used to provide 3G connectivity in the iPhone was likely the cause of these issues. Forced to keep up with the immense data consumption of the device, the connectivity was poor or lost in some cases, the report noted.
Sources cited by the publication said that Apple had been so conservative with the software settings that the device couldn't accurately determine whether the 3G signal and bandwidth were sufficient to support the features using it. One source even suggested that Apple had programmed the chip to be especially demanding, leading to network saturation and forcing iPhone users from HSPA down to EDGE.
Facing at least four lawsuits and numerous other negative reports of angry iPhone developers, Apple has put itself in a tight spot, especially when considering the recent release of Google's Android platform, which may attract some of the disappointed Apple fans and developers.