“Non Issue. Just Avoid holding it
that way”
Steve Jobs, responding to a Customer
concern over the Apple iPhone 4.0
The question was asked if AT&T
was ready for the Apple iPhone as stated in the article
“Is AT&T
ready for the iPhone 4?” published June 16, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by
Marguerite Reardon, CNET News.
Granted they had begun doing
upgrades since last year in anticipation of the increased traffic from the
Apple iPad and the Apple iPhone as stated in the article “AT&T
considers incentives to curb heavy Data usage”, published December
9, 2009 3:08 PM PST by Marguerite Reardon, CNET
News.
Much ado had being made by the
Chairman Julius Genachowski of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) as
to the impact of these heavy Data usage devices being on Telecom Provider
AT&T’s Broadband Wireless 3G Network as stated in the article “FCC: iPad use
could further strain AT&T 3G”, published February 6, 2010 4:56
PM PST by Jim Dalrymple, CNET News.
Which the AT&T
CEO Randall Stephenson, hoping to allay investor fears of a surge in
usage on their already overstressed 3G Network by diffusing any possibility of
persons having multiple contracts as stated in the article “AT&T CEO
sandbags iPad 3G subscriptions”, published March 3, 2010 12:30 PM
PST by Erica Ogg, CNET News.
Even going to the point of
instructing Apple on how to make the Apple iPhone efficient in its usage of
broadband, which is mostly out of their control, as stated in the article “Report: AT&T
schooled Apple on iPhone issues”, published March 30, 2010 10:44 PM
PDT by Steven Musil, CNET News.
Meanwhile, Telecom Provider AT&T
has been quietly upgrading by deploying an 850 MHz Network and upgrading its 3G
Broadband Network across the United States of America as stated in the article
“Wireless
operators accelerate upgrade plans”, published January 26, 2010 4:00
AM PST by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News.
Fellow Telecom Providers Verizon,
Sprint, T-Mobile and Clearwire are also doing likewise as stated in the above
article in anticipation of increased traffic from 4G, be it LTE (Long Term Evolution)
or WiMax 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d) roll-outs slated to occur this years as per
the article “On call: Welcome
to 4G”, published March 9, 2010 11:01 AM PST by Kent German CNET Newsand examined in detail in my blog article
entitled “The 4G
Revolution and the Summer of 2010”.
AT&T as apparently now reached
the Big Apple, having completed upgrades to their 3G Network in that part of
the Network (their Network is a MONSTER of backhaul, mostly copper based T1 and
newly installed microwave radios!!) as stated in the article “AT&T
completes 3G upgrades in NYC”, published June 29, 2010 8:23 AM PDT
by Lance Whitney, CNET News.
Then the Big News came. AT&T has
decided that the days of “all-you-can-eat” Data Plans are over and that they
would be introducing Data Caps, essentially what Telecoms Providers in Jamaica
have being doing since the inception of 3G Wireless Broadband as stated in the following
articles:
1.
“For New AT&T
users, no more "all you can eat" Data”, published June 2
2010 By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer, Yahoo
News
2.
“AT&T phases
out unlimited Data plans”, published Wed June 2, 12:07 pm ET, by Ben
Patterson, Yahoo! News
3.
“AT&T to end
unlimited use of mobile Data plan”, published Thursday June 2 2010,
by Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer, San
Francisco Chronicle
The article “AT&T's new
pricing takes smart phones to the masses”, published June 3, 2010
4:00 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News
and in the article “New AT&T Data
plans for iPhones, iPad, more”, June 2, 2010 2:39 AM PDT
Matt Hickey, CNET News from my favorite
news aggregator, CNET, provide more than ample proof that this announcement is
huge in its implications and scope.
Some amount of user backlash was
expected as reported in the article “AT&T Sparks
User Backlash With End to Unlimited Plan (Update1)”, published June
4 2010, by Hugo Miller and Olga Kharif, BloomBerg
Markets. The “all-you-can-eat” experiment is now officially over. Already
it is having a positive effect on the design of apps as developers are forced
to make consideration as it relates to Data usage in their smart phone apps as
evidenced in the article “Data Caps force
developers to be efficient”, published June 14, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by
Marguerite Reardon, CNET News.
This is now evidenced by the fact
that Skype has decided to charge for VoIP (Voice over IP) Calling as stated in
the article “Skype for iPhone
now support 3G, but free ride's ending”, published June 2 2010, by
Ben Patterson, Yahoo! News.
Hulu, under pressure from Networks
VC (Venture Capitalists) has decided to introduce a subscription based service
for users wishing to access it archive of content in 720p as opined in the
article “Hulu to soon
charge for content, sources say”, published June 9, 2010 9:53 AM
PDT, by CNET News.
New content is being free and
delivered via streaming in 480p corroborated by the article “Hulu launches
US$10 Video Subscription Service”, published Tuesday 29 June 2010 by
RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer, Yahoo! News,
and FaceTime.
The built in Video Calling
competitor to Fring, the only other alternative for Video Calling, initiates
the Video call over the GSM Network but routes the Video call over AT&T’
Municipal Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Network.
I am hundreds of miles away in
Jamaica from the craziness in San Francisco and New York and the rest of the
world driven mad by the Apple iPhone 4.0, yet the buzz and the craziness of
Americans, no matter what tribe or ethnicity they claim to be, should boggle
the minds of most well thinking Jamaicans. We, as pragmatic Jamaican people,
rarely stand in lines, only for the US Embassy, government of Jamaica food
Stamps, Free Food or anything free for that matter and in Government Tax
Agencies.
This is all corroborated by the blog
“Live blog:
iPhone 4 goes on sale”, published June 24, 2010 3:00 AM PDT by CNET
News staff, CNET News. On Thursday 24th June
2010 the Apple iPhone 4.0 landing completely outstripped the hype of the
previous Apple iPad launch that debut earlier on the weekend of Saturday April
3rd and Sunday April 4th 2010. The headline
should really have been “White people gone bananas over Apple”.
The same story was also evident
later when AT&T launched the Apple iPhone from its stores as stated in the
article “iPhone 4 goes on
sale at AT&T stores”, published June 29, 2010 5:48 AM PDT by
Marguerite Reardon, CNET News: long lines,
chaos – just for a taste of the Apple and satiate their gadgetry sweet tooth.
Indeed, one must take note of sales
figures of one million, five hundred thousand (1,500,000) Apple iPhone 4.0’s in
one (1) day, a record corroborated by article “First day iPhone
4 sales estimate: 1.5 million”, published June 25, 2010 10:10 AM PDT
by Erica Ogg, CNET News! Undoubtedly more
than the Apple iPhone’s initial launch back in 2007 and the Apple iPhone 3GS
launch in 2008, which took a weekend in both instances to brush the one million
(1,000,000) mark!
This is in a completely different
league from even my baby, the Apple iPad, which claimed three hundred thousand
(300,000) scalps based on statistics coming out of the Apple iPad launch as
tabulated by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster as stated in the article “iPad 3G sales
estimated at 300,000 for launch weekend”, published May 3, 2010 4:13
AM PDT by John Paczkowski, CNET News.
Conservative estimates of one
million, three hundred thousand (1,300,000) million units by June 2010 was a
gross underestimate! The Apple iPad went
on to achieve the hit the one million (1,000,000) mark in twenty eight (28)
days since the debut of the device on the weekend of Saturday April 3rd and
Sunday April 4th 2010, creating history for Apple Inc and CEO
Steve Jobs for ANY device release from Apple to date.
Natalie Del Conte is indeed
privileged to “touch with these hands” the Apple iPad two (2) days before it
official launch.
Though the numbers are huge, it is
the RATE of adoption of these new devices that is amazing, despite the
breakdown in the Apple Pre-Order system as stated in the article “Apple, AT&T
get record number of iPhone orders”, published Thursday June 17,
12:19 am ET By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer, Yahoo! News. Apparently Pre-Ordering the
Apple iPhone did not help much.
And yet there is an overlooked hero in
all of these upgrades that is already improving AT&T lackluster image.
Albeit not scientific proof, but the External Loop Antenna, as I have
christened my design (that’s right, it mine…..copied from WWII Germany!!!!) is
having an impact on how smart phone receive broadband signals. This due to the
circular polarization of the 3G signals and already a trendsetter for smart
phone engineers working at Handset Vendor’s and how they design antenna for
mobile phones.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that
the new External Loop Antennae has improved reception, call quality and upload
and download speed of Voice Calling, 3G and Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) on the Apple
iPhone as stated in the article “iPhone 4's
Antenna Bosts Voice and Data Rates, with One big Flaw” published
Friday June 25, 8:38 am ET by Mark Sullivan, Yahoo!
News.
However, on the very same day of the
launch of the Apple iPhone 4.0, many Customers complained of signal strength
and dropped call signals. This was due to gripping the Apple iPhone 4.0 on its
left most side, as one would do if you are left-handed, as was the odd
complaint by the Left-Handers Club as stated in the article “Apple critized
by left-handed org over iPhone 4”, published June 26, 2010 6:51 PM
PDT by Chris Matyszczyk, CNET News.
Another possibility is that you have
the phone in your left hand and browsing the Internet, touch screen style, with
your right according to the articles:
1.
“iPhone 4's
Antenna Bosts Voice and Data Rates, with One big Flaw” published
Friday June 25, 8:38 am ET by Mark Sullivan, Yahoo!
News
2.
“Apple tells iPhone 4 owners to get a
grip”, published Friday June 25 2010, Yahoo! News
3.
“Poor iPhone 4
Signal? You're holding it wrong, Jobs says”, published Friday June
25 2010, Ben Patterson, Technology Writer, Yahoo!
News
Soon, people even posted Videos
showing the phenomenon on YouTube of the signal attenuation that occurred when they
cupped the phone in their left palm or simply covered the lower left hand side
of the Apple iPhone 4.0 with a conductive material or simply their sweaty palms.
Thus providing Video evidence to
corroborate the claims reported by the above web articles. Apple was then
forced to issue and official statement which read: “Gripping any mobile phone
will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places
being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a
fact of life for every wireless phone”.
Apple went on to further state that
Customers must “avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers
both sides of the black strip in the metal band”.
Or simply use one of many available “cases”,
thereby a remedy to a “problem” which is really an issue which speaks volumes
to how people care their Apple iPhones 4.0 as opposed to it being a design flaw.
By right, Customers who invest such
huge sums of money in their smart phones whether via purchase up front or in
the form of Postpaid Contracts should not let their investment be easily
scratched or mauled by everyday life. The investment in a US$30 bumper, a must
have accessory for your prized Apple iPhone 4.0 or any smart phone for that
matter is a necessity.
It is the least one can do in
support of Apple and the other smart phone “wannabees” in the form of Google
Android powered HTC, sporting so-called “smart” phones with beefier 8 Megapixel
cameras (it’s a phone, not a camera!!) and other unnecessary specs upgrades.
The recently announced smart phone HTC Droid Incredible 4G on Telecom Provider
Verizon 4G Wireless Broadband Network.
Additionally, there are other
alternatives as listed in the article “Top 4 iPhone 4
Alternatives”, published June 8, 2010 6:52 pm, by J.R. Raphael, PC World. Yet, none of these can approach
the level of excitement of an Apple product launch, despite Telecom Provider
Verizon being a very popular, robust CDMA 2000 Network. Telecom Provider
Verizon is functional, not cool.
Furthermore, Apple must be commended
for its retailing of the US$30 bumper, which Apple has been kind enough to
advertise it’s otherwise unknown bumpers to people out of concern for
maintaining the value of their investment in an Apple iPhone 4.0. It is good to
note that the Apple iPhone 4.0 improved External Loop Antenna design, its next
talking point after FaceTime.
Furthermore, it is already
delivering the goods as promised by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, showing improvements
in reception on Telecom Provider AT&T 3G Wireless Broadband Network as
suggested by the unscientific anecdotal analysis provided in the article “iPhone 4's
Antenna Bosts Voice and Data Rates, with One big Flaw” published
Friday June 25, 8:38 am ET by Mark Sullivan, Yahoo!
News.
Combine with the ongoing
improvements in Telecom Provider AT&T 3G Wireless Broadband Network, it is
a safe bet (with Supreme Ventures Jamaica Limited Just Bet of
course!!) to say that by December 2010, if the latest on the
progress of their upgrades as stated in the article “Is AT&T
ready for the iPhone 4?” published June 16, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by
Marguerite Reardon, CNET News is to be believed.
Combined with the imposed Data Caps
as aforementioned and the consideration in design of the Apps by Developers to
be more efficient in their usage of Telecom Provider AT&T 3G Wireless
Broadband Network as stated in the article “Data Caps force
Developers to be efficient”, published June 14, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by
Marguerite Reardon, CNET News.
The above provided evidence, that
even if Telecom Provider Verizon were to get the Apple iPhone on their 3G
Wireless Broadband Network, most lemmings……….I mean customers……….would stick
with Telecom Provider AT&T with their Apple iPhones and not
defect to Verizon, following AT&T all the way towards the beach, not the
cliff as Brian Cooley so smugly puts it, as lemmings are famous for drowning
themselves, the original Video game Lemmings not being
true to the actual animals instinctual habits.
To echo the words of the CEO Steve
Jobs: “Non Issue. Just avoid holding it that way” and invest in a bumper,
expressed quite eloquently in a more Wall Street-esque phrasing squirreled out
by annoying TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) complainant as stated in the
article “Poor iPhone 4
Signal? You're holding it wrong, Jobs says”, published Friday June
25 2010, Ben Patterson, Technology Writer, Yahoo!
News: “Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna
performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the
placement of the antennas.
This is a fact of life for every
wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it
in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in
the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.” Problem solved……….!
The External Loop Antenna is a hit!!!
But after all this hype, one thing
John Public in Jamaica is most certain of, look on as I write, wry smile, as I
am an antenna design hobbyist as well as a technology blogger: after all this,
as the American would say, the “Hoopla” over a “non-issue” of a design change
that actually improves the Apple iPhone 4.0, the attention give to this issue
has made Antenna Designs, specifically External Loop Antennas sexy again…….and
I must say it is my idea, copied from WWII Germany…………!
Strange Encounters of the Third Kind
indeed!!
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