Josh OngAfter 6 weeks of constant use with two iPhone 4 units, Mossberg found that in areas with "average or strong AT&T coverage" the iPhone 4 generally performed better than the iPhone 3GS, but performed worse than the 3GS in areas with weak coverage. One iPhone 4 was a review unit provided by Apple, while the other was purchased by Mossberg.
Mossberg took issue with Apple's claim that the iPhone 4 performs better than the iPhone 3GS in areas with poor reception. In his experience, compared to the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS actually dropped less calls and showed a 'no service' status less often.
Mossberg's conclusions were consistent with his original appraisal of the smartphone. In his initial review, Mossberg praised the iPhone 4's design and features, but criticized the lack of network choices.
Since AT&T "operates a network that has trouble connecting and maintaining calls in many cities" and has abandoned unlimited, flat-rate data plans, Mossberg was unable to recommend the smartphone to people in poor AT&T reception areas.
Regarding the 'death-grip' issue, Mossberg noted that gripping the phone would cause the signal bars to "fluctuate," but didn't find the issue to be of serious concern. In some cases, he noted, the bars actually rose when the left-hand seam between antennas was deliberately touched.
Mossberg concluded the post by acknowledging that the iPhone 4 worked better for him than the iPhone 3GS in decent coverage areas and reiterating that he does not recommend the handset to users who suffer from poor AT&T reception where they "live, work, or travel."
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145 Comments
I wonder what Jimmy Fallon did with his iPhone 4. Did he end up keeping it or go over to the Android world? As for Mossberg, I notice the same thing too at times. The "death grip/touch" at times actually does give me one more bar. Odd.
After a month of usage, I've found that the reception issue isn't much of a bother, but the proximity sensor is maddening. Fix dat s**t now.
Other problems:
I send pics to my mom via Gmail taken with my iPhone 4's camera in portrait orientation and she receives them sideways. She uses Gmail's web interface.
Sometimes the person I'm calling sounds garbled (like digital noise) for 5-10 seconds, then it goes back to normal.
I sometimes get 2-3 second freezes in Safari -- especially when switching between tabs.
Accelerometer is sometimes slow to respond.
Consumer Reports - take a hint from Mossberg... It's not too late to say, "hey, turns out it's a pretty damn good phone!" of course, that wouldn't drive web traffic and press coverage.
Yeah no problems with the "Death Grip" for me. Similar experiences and I have used it in a half dozen cities so far.
The proximity sensor glitch is a real pain though. Hope they have a fix working soon. I have called so many random numbers while checking voice mail, hung up on people, etc. Honestly, a lot of these "dropped calls" people are blaming on the "Death Grip" might actually be proximity sensor related issues with the end call button.
Consumer Reports - take a hint from Mossberg... It's not too late to say, "hey, turns out it's a pretty damn good phone!" of course, that wouldn't drive web traffic and press coverage.
No ads on the Consumer Reports web site. None in the magazine either. In fact you can't even look at the content of the web site without being a member.
Confounding, I know.