Nokia and RIM say the iPhone 4 design is faulty

Jul 17, 2010 07:50 GMT  ·  By

On Friday, Cupertino-based Apple held a press conference to discuss the antenna issues affecting its iPhone 4 handsets, and said that all smartphones on the market show similar problems. To prove its point, Apple demonstrated that handsets from other mobile phone makers are plagued by similar signal issues, including Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices, Nokia's smartphones, or Samsung's phones.

As expected, these companies reacted to Apple's assertions, stating that the specific issues plaguing the iPhone 4 will never be found in their devices, courtesy of the extensive experience they have in the field. In other words, they knew that the antenna design in Apple's device was faulty, and made all that was possible to avoid using it. Thus, their devices do not lose signal when held in hand, regardless the manner in which one holds them.

As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict. In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. 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. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design,” Finnish handset vendor Nokia said on the matter, reports Engadget.

But this is not the entire story. According to Canadian smartphone maker Research In Motion, Apple came to the market with a handset that does not offer the performance it should, and it is not trying to get other companies too into this. Moreover, RIM says that its long experience on the matter enables it to come up with handsets that can offer great reception even when the network coverage is poor.

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 is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, 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,” RIM co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie said, according to crackberry.