Andy Lockett

Let’s face it, there’s a serious design flaw in the new iPhone 4 released on the 24^th June of this year. If you haven’t already heard – it’s a signal problem. Clasping your shiny new iPhone 4 in your hand will cause the signal to drop, sometimes to nothing, instantly. There are theories flooding the net claiming the scientific reasoning for this, truth is, nothing specific has been proven or decided on. Rumours of antenna short circuiting have been amongst the most common of rumours. Other rumours include; incorrect signal algorithms, lack of signal strength to antenna due to a hand being in the way(!) and, of course, cheap hardware. Nevertheless, the stocks of iPhone 4′s continue to sell-out across the US and Europe.

Still don’t believe it?

I do. Why? Well, take a look for yourself on Apple Jobs. The day before the release of the iPhone 4, Apple posted 3 jobs for antenna engineers. Apple have since claimed that their algorithm is incorrect; so why the hardware engineers? It’s a design defect.

So, you’ve got an iPhone 4?

Well firstly, count yourself lucky. There has been a huge shortage of stock of these new iPhones with phone/network shops in the UK selling out within the hour of new deliveries. I personally got forced into settling for the 32GB version from a very secluded O2 store in my area – even they had sold out on two previous visits.

I can personally say that caging the phone tightly in my hand does cause a drop in signal, though only by 1 or 2 bars. I don’t intend on holding my iPhone with such rage in the future, so it won’t be a problem for me. Thinking about it logically and fairly, it’s not going to be a problem for many people, but hopefully a firmware update will come around soon enough to maximise signal. Either that or a devastatingly large-scale recall is inevitable. I think we know which one Apple will be looking towards…