Consumer Reports says that it can’t recommend the iPhone 4 because the device
has a serious hardware flaw that causes signal quality to degrade. It believes that the ‘Death Grip’ problem is a hardware
bug and not as easily fixable as Apples says it is. Ironical as it may seem, the iPhone 4 is the highest ranked device in Consumer Reports smartphone ratings.
While the iPhone 4 scores an impressive 76 out of 100 points and its display, navigation, Web browsing, multimedia and battery life are rated as “Excellent”, I find it astonishing that Consumer Reports does not recommend customers to buy it. Give me a break – either you say that the device is just not good enough or you tell the people to go ahead and buy it. Saying that it’s the best phone out there but we don’t recommend buying it is mind boggling to say the least.
Last week, I wrote in detail about the root cause of ‘Death Grip’ problem and how Apple plans to fix it. Consumer Reports says that its test results showed that when a user covers the lower-left side gap, where two pieces of the external antenna meet, the loss of signal strength may cause the iPhone 4 to drop calls in areas where AT&T Inc.’s network coverage is weak. The finding indirectly accuses Apple at misleading people into believing that it’s a software bug.
Apple, already wary of the bad press that it has received over the iPhone 4 antenna, was quick to delete all threads about the Consumer Reports findings from its popular Support Discussions forums
. Though the negative review from Consumer Reports hasn’t slowed down the demand for the iPhone 4, I’m sure that Steve Jobs would like to fix the antenna bug sooner than later to stem the negative publicity surrounding this fantastic device.
Should the antenna issue prove to be software related, Consumer Reports will be forced to bite its own words? However, if it does prove to be a hardware flaw, it will be catastrophic for Apple. On a personal front, I believe that the iPhone 4 is the best smartphone ever, even with the antenna issue. However, I do believe that it’s important to fix the antenna software ASAP to set the record straight.
Are you holding back on buying the iPhone 4 due to the antenna issue? Share your opinion by leaving a comment below this post.
