14 DAY TRIAL // Although more procedures may be required to establish that iPhone 4 has a flawed antenna design, early tests tend to indicate that Apple does have a reception issue with the new smartphone. The company’s CEO has been quoted as saying that people are simply holding the device wrong, which doesn’t provide much comfort for early adopters. However, word on the web is that iOS 4.0.1 is coming to the rescue.
In a report published yesterday in light of the bad PR Apple was receiving, AppleInsider reveals that a fix for the iPhone 4 reception issues may be coming as soon as Monday, June 28. Some of the site’s readers reportedly said that Apple's tech support forums had confirmed iOS 4.0.1 as the upcoming software fix addressing these issues. According to those readers, the update would ship “early next week (as early as Monday)”, the site related. In the meanwhile, the Apple Discussions posts were reportedly taken down, along with other associated discussions on the topic. According to the report, an issue tied to radio frequency calibration of the baseband is what the 4.0.1 update needs to address.
Without a doubt, Apple hasn’t been ignorant to the fact that, should there be issues with the iPhone 4’s reception, a firmware update would be able to address them quickly. Recalling millions of devices would spell disaster for what is now the company’s strongest business pillar. Yet the news doesn’t seem to fall in line with Steve Jobs’ comments on the matter.
According to an email conversation published online, a person named Rory Sinclair asked Apple’s CEO whether it was possible the company was dealing with a design flaw, after seeing the aforementioned reports on the iPhone 4 reception issues. Mr. Jobs reportedly answered “Nope. Just don't hold it that way”. Needless to point out, these are not words Apple fans would typically expect to be coming out of Steve Jobs’ mouth.
Rory insisted on getting more out of Apple’s CEO. Mr. Jobs finally took upon himself to explain that “every phone has these areas of sensitivity, depending on the location of the antenna”.
In case this problem can be easily fixed by software update, what Apple’s head should have said was: “if there are any bugs that may need ironing out, our techies are on the case”. Or so we believe, otherwise “don't hold it that way” really sounds like nothing more than a sarcastic remark from Apple’s chief executive officer.