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Sunday, August 15, 2010, 09:25 pm
Antennagate hits Verizon's Android Motorola Droid 2
Apple's efforts to describe the antenna problems associated with iPhone 4 as an engineering issue facing all phone makers is getting a little help from Motorola, which has released Droid 2 to a series of complaints from users regarding poor signal.A report by TechCrunch says "a good number of reports" from users of Verizon's new Android-based Droid 2, built by Motorola, are complaining about signal problems even without touching the phone.
The report also noted that all four of the Droid 2 phones tested by Engadgetin its review of the phone demonstrated "endlessly fluctuating bar counts," in addition to problems reported by two other reviewers.
Most of the Droid 2 users commenting on the report said they had also experienced signal problems with the new phone, which just shipped days ago, although a couple users said they hadn't seen any problems. Others reported a problem with low battery life.
Not holding it wrong
Motorola's problem differs from the issue related to iPhone 4; users can attenuate their signal on Apple's latest phone only by holding the bare phone in such a way that the lower left corner is covered up.
Using iPhone 4 within a case, or holding the phone in a more open grip, have both been reported to solve the issue, branded as "Antennagate" by the media after Gizmodo first published videos of a user demonstrating how the phone's signal could be manipulated at will.
With Droid 2, users who are experiencing the problem report that it happens even while sitting idle and "without holding it wrong," according to the report.
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Previous Comments View All
Quote:
Originally Posted by therakker 
I got the Droid Incredible as a replacement for my iphone because At&t doesn't work at all in NYC. The reception has been amazing and no dropped calls anymore where I had at least 3 a day from At&t. But the bar situation is completely worthless. I usually have 1 bar, and it jumps around all day so I don't even bother looking at them anymore. Made tons of calls with no bars at all. Surprised this wasn't something Apple brought up in their conference. Will hang out in my Android lair until iPhone comes to VZW.
I got the Droid Incredible as a replacement for my iphone because At&t doesn't work at all in NYC. The reception has been amazing and no dropped calls anymore where I had at least 3 a day from At&t. But the bar situation is completely worthless. I usually have 1 bar, and it jumps around all day so I don't even bother looking at them anymore. Made tons of calls with no bars at all. Surprised this wasn't something Apple brought up in their conference. Will hang out in my Android lair until iPhone comes to VZW.
Keep hanging. The only reason a CMDA phone makes sense for Apple to develop is to expand into the Chinese Markets.
Maybe I'm missing something, but does it say that they are dropping calls? I thought we established a while back that bars are meaningless.
Apple is right; this problem is a matter of 'unsettled science.' Whole divisions of companies (and entire companies themselves) are approaching the issue from different perspectives because the scientific problem hasn't yet been 'solved.' People know this, which is why the number of iPhones coming back is tiny.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackintosh
Maybe I'm missing something, but does it say that they are dropping calls? I thought we established a while back that bars are meaningless.
Maybe I'm missing something, but does it say that they are dropping calls? I thought we established a while back that bars are meaningless.
I thought the anti-Apple folks made it clear that it was the CRUCIAL issue, no? I remember ALL CAPS screaming about it.
The truth is, they probably have to change their way of displaying bars and make it change only every twenty or thirty seconds or so. If no calls are getting dropped, so what?
He he he! Now what are the apple haters going to do???????
If this is true then why isn't it plastered all over Gizmodo, along with a string of videos showing evidence, a petition to fix the issue and a long hate-filled rant by Jesus Diaz?
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
A report by TechCrunch says "a good number of reports" from users of Verizon's new Android-based Droid 2, built by Motorola, are complaining about signal problems even without touching the phone.
A report by TechCrunch says "a good number of reports" from users of Verizon's new Android-based Droid 2, built by Motorola, are complaining about signal problems even without touching the phone.
Can someone help find this report? I can't seem to find it on TechCrunch. I can't seem to find any other reports about this issue online. I would think that sites that Engadget and Gizmodo would have mentioned something about it in their reviews/previews.
Quote:
The report also noted that all four of the Droid 2 phones tested by Engadgetin its review of the phone demonstrated "endlessly fluctuating bar counts," in addition to problems reported by two other reviewers.
Seems like it's a software problem if the bars are fluctuating but no calls are being dropped.
Everyone who adds part of the name of a hotel that was involved in a scandal over 30 years ago to an unrelated issue is an idiot.
Can we agree to call this one Droid-gate? 
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I got the Droid Incredible as a replacement for my iphone because At&t doesn't work at all in NYC. The reception has been amazing and no dropped calls anymore where I had at least 3 a day from At&t. But the bar situation is completely worthless. I usually have 1 bar, and it jumps around all day so I don't even bother looking at them anymore. Made tons of calls with no bars at all. Surprised this wasn't something Apple brought up in their conference. Will hang out in my Android lair until iPhone comes to VZW.