The sun has set and risen again following Apple’s unprecedented iPhone 4 press conference, and the folks behind TiPb and the SPE network have had time to listen, absorb, cry fair and foul, and figure out our thoughts. Here’s the post-mortem from your favorite editors and writers at TiPb, Android Central, CrackBerry, Nokia Experts, WMExperts, as well as the Cell Phone Junkie.

Hit the jump to hear what we think, then hit the comments to tell us what you think.

Dieter Bohn, Editor in Chief, Smartphone Experts

Apple has addressed my biggest concern, which is the not-so-vague feeling of distrust, uncertainty, and genuine malaise I was starting to feel towards the reception of my iPhone 4. Until the press conference and Apple’s admission that “we’re not perfect,” I would constantly worry that I was not holding different. I’ve dropped more than a few calls and with previous iPhones and other phones, it never gave me much feeling for concern because I always figured it was just AT&T. However a trip to New York, iPhone 4 in tow, had me at my wit’s end. I was unable to connect calls, keep calls, or get data in anything approaching an reliable manner.

Normally, as I said, I would have chalked it up to AT&T. With this iPhone antenna issue, however, I was constantly wondering if I was just holding the phone wrong. I’d keep trying with increasingly awkward hand positions when normally I would have given up and let AT&T defeat me. When you introduce an intermittent variable that a human may or may not have intermittent control over to a technical problem, what you’re really introducing is a troubling mistrust.

Although Steve Jobs made the kinds of “we love our users” points that you’d expect him to make, I was actually gratified to hear them – because they were combined with an honest admission that the iPhone 4 drops marginally more calls than it ought and that there is a “weak spot.” Now if I drop a call or lose data I have the same sorts of questions that arise with intermittent, human-intervention technical problems, but I have less of a feeling of doubt about the whole thing.

All that said, when signal is medium to strong, I have great reception. Also, when I use an iPhone case, I have no problems whatsoever. So a case it is. That, or per Steve Jobs, I’ll preempt Eminem and see if I can’t get stylin’ with a well-placed band-aid.

Leanna Lofte, Writer, TiPb

First of all, I loved that the press conference opened up with “The iPhone Antenna Song” video. Pure win. As for the content of the conference, it went pretty much exactly as I was expecting. I was never convinced that the antenna issues were a software problem, especially when talk of it being a problem on other devices started to surface. I believed it was hardware related from the very beginning. The problem with the iPhone 4, is that there is a visible line on the device that initiates the reception failure. This makes it psychologically seem like a bigger deal when compared to other phones. In reality, maybe we should be grateful that we know exactly where we shouldn’t touch? Ok, maybe that’s going a little far, but the fact remains that this issue isn’t isolated to the iPhone 4. I was never convinced that Apple would recall millions of phones unless they had a guaranteed hardware fix for the problem, which seemed highly unlikely to me. Apple had to do something to make customers happy and calm down a bit, so free bumpers it is! In reality, this “fix” will cost Apple pennies and it was a smart move on their part.

I was surprised to learn that the iPhone 4 is only 1% worse in terms of dropped calls compared with the 3GS. I wonder if this statistic is skewed in some way, but it’s more likely that I got buried too deep in the hype. My personal experience actually matches Jobs’ claim; dropped calls and reception between the iPhone 4 and 3GS is the same – no noticeable difference.

Jerry Hildenbrand, Writer, Android Central

I can appreciate the candid, old style Steve Jobs way he handled the event. Poking fun at yourself and others, and flashing a big grin is the “work all night in the garage” Steve everyone loves. However, to me the real situation is that signal attenuation was not the issue. A design that places a trouble spot in an area very likely to be touched is the problem, and this was brushed to the side. This is why a rubber bumper can fix the issue on the iPhone4, but isn’t needed on previous iPhones or the competitors products.

For those in areas where “bridging the gap” causes dropped calls or slow data, the bumper will alleviate it, and offering them to those who need one was the right call. There really is no other plausible solution. But ignoring the questions about the antenna design, or deflecting them by showing “bars” from other manufacturers isn’t the response I had hoped for from someone who holds the trust of millions.

Ally Kazmucha, Writer, TiPb

I would have liked more of an answer as to why touching one specific spot causes such an issue, and why Apple didn’t just make the break in a place users are less likely to come in contact with while on a call or browsing the web. Free bumpers will not appease everyone, but as El Jobso stated, if you aren’t happy with your purchase, bring them back for a full refund. I live in an area where service isn’t the greatest, and I think sometimes the service issues are confused with hardware issues. I think it really comes down to what you need to do with the phone and how unwilling you are to part with it. Technology is always changing, if you’re going to be an early adopter, you have to roll with the punches. The iPhone 4 is no different.

Malatesta, Writer, WMExperts

Windows Mobile and Windows Phone may suffer from such occasional hardware inconsistencies (CDMA Palm Treo Pro is just awful for reception, see this doozy of a fix), but having multiple devices for consumers to choose from, instead of just one-flagship phone, gives consumers options. If you’re going to put all of your eggs into one basket, you better make sure that basket is 100% perfect or nearly so. Kudos to Apple for giving away those free cases, but we think that this problem should have never had happened in the first place.

• WMExperts’ response

Kevin Michaluk, Founder, CrackBerry.com

I used to really like Steve Jobs. After today’s BB 9700 slander and antenna propaganda, not so much anymore. So much he said she said mamby pamby I know you are but what am I bull$#!t.

• CrackBerry.com’s death-grip poll
• RIM’s official response

Matt Miller, Editor, Nokia Experts

Steve Jobs said that everyone in the smartphone industry has a problem with reception and the iPhone 4 is a marvel of engineering. I don't recall him specifically mentioning Nokia, which makes sense since my personal experiences with over 25 Nokia smartphones shows them to clearly have superior RF reception. Even though Nokia clearly shows where the antennas are in their manuals, I find I get excellent reception pretty much no matter how I hold my device.

• Nokia’s official response

Phil Nickinson, Editor, Android Central

Steve Jobs and by extension Apple (or vice-versa) remains the P.T. Barnum of our era. You’re going to get a hell of a show, and some of it might even be true. Apple’s in PR damage control mode, that’s largely a new position for them. Showing a Windows Mobile phone (Samsung Omnia II), an Android phone (HTC Droid Eris) and a BlackBerry (Bold 9700) almost seemed like blatant deflection. “Yeah, we may have a problem, but check out these guys!” There is a larger problem, and that is that everybody — all of us — are trying to become amateur RF engineers. We’re not. We’re not going to be.

I would have paid money to have been at the presser, if things really got as heated during the Q&A as it sounds. Apple’s relationship with the media — mainstream and otherwise — has always been interesting. But Jobs is sorely mistaken if he thinks every media outlet should want to be Apple’s friend. That’s not our job. True, it’s far too easy for false or otherwise trivial information to be blown out of proportion or reported incorrectly. But that’s also the world that Apple’s products have helped perpetuate.

One last thing: Glad Apple spent $100 million or so on testing facilities. But I’d love to hear from somebody at the FCC.

• Android Central’s response

George Ponder, Editor, WMExperts

From the get-go, I think the problem was handled poorly by Apple. I agree that other phones have similar issues but Job’s handled the iPhone’s problem poorly. Job’s initial solution, don’t hold the phone with your left hand, should never have left the confines of his office. I’ve loosely followed the iPhone 4 saga and have only read recaps of Job’s conference. While there are issues with the iPHone 4, Apple customers should be grateful they have a new phone to complain about. I can only hope us Windows Phone owners will be so lucky come October. With a new phone that is. Apple can keep all the performance issues….

Anyways, here’s my two cents.

Apple should have caught this design flaw and while the bumper case will solve the problems, customers won’t be happy. The look of the iPhone 4 (without the case) is part of the phone’s appeal. It’s like using a bumper sticker to cover up a ding on a Porshe’s bumper.

It sounds as if Job’s spent a lot of time pointing the finger elsewhere instead of at Apple for not catching this from the start. As if Apple can do no wrong.

Oh… and what happens after September 30th? Will the next batch of iPhone 4’s have a design fix? Or will those customers get stuck with dropped calls or the cost of a case?

Bla1ze, Editor, CrackBerry.com

I’ve watched the conference video. I simply cannot replicate the issue with my BlackBerry Bold 9700 as Steve Jobs demonstrated. To be fair, I am on Rogers and not AT&T although not exactly sure how much difference that makes.

I’m still not convinced the issue with the iPhone 4 is as big of an issue as some media outlets are portraying it to be. But, to say that the issue does not exist entirely is a farce.

Mickey Papillon, the Cell Phone Junkie

Going into the Press Conference, I figured we would see Apple announce a couple things. First, I did not expect a full on recall, so no surprise there. Thinking about the cost of the bumper and how much of a profit center Apple has with this, i did not expect them to be given out. What I did think was that they would be letting those that had issues return the iPhone for a newer model that would have some sort of Stevie dust on it that would make it work. Actually, i expected them to say they would be insulating the antenna moving forward so that the attenuation didn’t happen moving forward. The fact that they didn’t mention anything about what they plan to do with new devices moving forward was troubling. I assumed they would at least try to make changes (even slight ones) for future ones to calm everyone down.

Regarding the demo of the different devices, showing that they could have the same issue was a cop out. Of course this happens on any phone. It’s a RF transmitter and receiver. What they didn’t cover (which should have been the main thing they talked about) was that your body is conductive, and it de-tunes the antenna when you simply press your finger on the black strip, bridging the 2 antennas. You don’t need a “death grip” on the phone to make it have problems.

Also, I think the proximity sensor issue was downplayed. I (and my wife) have had lots of problems with this. Many disconnected calls, calls put on mute, and DTMF tone transmissions from this flaw. It should be corrected immediately.

Finally, the AT&T HSUPA issue is a big one for certain markets. In tests I ran this week, my 1st Generation iPhone has faster consistent upload speeds than the iPhone 4. Realizing this is only in certain markets, and fixable by Alcatel Lucent, maybe they didn’t think to mention this. However, its one of the biggest reasons for the time being that I am not using the iPhone. AT&T should be giving all customers in these markets credits each month that the issue exists. Sending email is a chore when your upload speeds are only 50kbps, not to mention the 2MB photos that the camera takes. Upload a photo to Facebook while on the go? Forget it…it’ll take you 10 minutes a pic…

Overall, I think they said what they needed to, and this will eventually blow over. However, I still am not thrilled by the continuous denial of issues even existing.

Rene Ritchie, editor, TiPb

This was a no win situation for Apple. Ever since the problem surfaced and Apple and Steve Jobs issued “hold different, buy a case” emails, the win-ship set sale and they weren’t on it. All they could do was damage control, all they could do was try to move the mass media frenzy on to the next story.

Their strategy to do this was humility (showing the video, claiming to be human, apologizing), deflection (showing other smartphones suffer from the same problem), and bribery (free bumpers and cases for everyone).

The humility part worked. They got off to a good start. The deflection stuff didn’t. They spent too much time on what should have been a bullet point. Sure every smartphone has this problem but no other smartphone has an external antenna with such a visible and inconvenient single point of problem. Luckily for Apple, RIM and Nokia have chosen to respond, ensuring they’re now part of the problem. We’ll see if HTC and Samsung are smart enough to sit this out. As to the free bumpers, at first the bribery seems to conflict with the deflection. If there’s no problem, why give bumpers? Simple. People like free stuff.

Apple made a technological trade-off. In order to get bigger battery size and better reception overall, the consequence is that single point of attenuation (sure, design factored into it — but it really is better for battery life and for reception as well). Not stating that was what causes the apparent conflict. However, since the real problem for Apple is one of public perception now, giving away free bumpers becomes a precedent-setting public solution. (One Nokia, RIM, and Apple themselves for the 3GS might later regret).

Overall it was ugly and ham-fisted in parts, and the deflection section weighted far too heavily, but hey — free bumpers. Apple wants to make every customer happy. They’re battered and a little bloody but more than likely they’re past this now.

Phil Nickinson is right, though — heaven help whomever releases the next big phone. YouTube is going to light up instantly with antenna tests, and message boards with free case requests, now and for a long while to come.

• TiPb’s coverage

Jeremy Sikora, Writer, TiPb

Deep down I was hoping Apple was going to be able to pull a rabbit out of their hat and say software update would fix it and those of you with the issue could rest easy. That clearly wasn’t the case and it’s free cases for everyone, which I’ll gladly accept even though I don’t suffer from the “death grip” syndrome.

And your take?

You’re part of team TiPb and the Smartphone Experts community as well, and we want to hear your thoughts. Sound off in the comments!

Apple iPhone 4 press conference post-game – TiPb and SPE sound-off is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have released an official response from RIM to Apple’s iPhone 4 press conference yesterday and Steve Jobs’ demonstration of a BlackBerry Bold 9700 suffering from similar signal-drop when death-gripped:

“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”

CrackBerry Kevin ran a death-grip poll on CrackBerry.com and as of this writing 14% had the death-grip, 72% did not, and 14% saw bars drop but come back.

When you factor in that we don’t know how RIM calculates bars, what dropping and coming back up means, and add the crucial crazy that makes iPhone 4 antenna issues so maddening — that not everyone has them, and the whole situation has snowballed into equal parts fact and frenzy,

Steve Jobs might have done better mentioning the industry-wide death-grip problem as a bullet point and saving the videos for the Q&A if he got called on it because there was every chance it could come back to bite him in the a$$. Likewise, RIM might have been better off not making a public statement, going with humor, and letting the public weigh in for a while because this can now come back and bite them in their own co-a$$es. Why?

Same reason Steve Jobs’ should never have sent that “hold different, get a case” email response. RIM has now cued everyone in a weak signal with a BlackBerry to rev up their YouTube engines and start asking for free cases. TiPb’s already getting email:

I reported last week to [that] I could do just what Apple said in their news conference today, it was nothing against Blackberry. I own a Bold 9700 and a iphone 4 and my statement was it was no big deal. This is my third Blackberry and third iPhone. For you to say you have avoided the problem is in fact a misstatement. Your phone does the same thing without a case on it that the iPhone does and it does no harm to either phone.

Now for the big question Since my Bold 9700 does what the iPhone does are you going to fix my phone because it must be defective.

Thank You, Dwight

TiPb’s own Alli Kazmucha, who’s in a weak signal area, has been able to reproduce the BlackBerry Bold 9700 death-grip as well:

I managed to replicate [the death-grip] on a 9700 in less than 15 seconds, and on a 3GS.

We have bad coverage around a certain area in town, and like Apple said, in poor coverage areas it can be replicated. People forget that key point.

I’ve replicated it on my iPhone 3GS as well.

Nokia and RIM have both chosen to respond. We’ll see if Samsung does as well, and if HTC and Motorola decide to get into “antennagate” as well. One thing’s for certain, Phil Nickinson from Android Central is right when he says any new phone that gets released from any company now is going to be under increased — and in some cases ridiculous — antenna scrutiny.

Good.

[CrackBerry.com]

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official response from Nokia to Apple’s iPhone 4 press conference yesterday, despite Steve Jobs not demonstrating a death-grip on a Nokia phone the way they did RIM’s BlackBerry, HTC’s Droid Eris, and Samsung’s Omnia. Here’s the full response:

Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models. Nokia was the pioneer in internal antennas; the Nokia 8810, launched in 1998, was the first commercial phone with this feature. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on. As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict.

In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That's why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.

Matt Miller from our sibling site Nokia Experts claims similarly solid experience with Nokia devices over the years. However, Nokia might have done better just letting it lie. There will always be a few devices, like the Nokia E71, and a few users with access to YouTube, like the one in the video below, who do have problems. And now everyone with such a problem is going to start demanding free bumpers…

[Nokia Experts, video via Electronista]

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Earlier this week, Consumer Reports concluded that the iPhone 4 has antenna issues and therefore did not recommend it until Apple offered a free fix. During Friday’s iPhone 4 press conference, Apple announced that, through September 30th, they will be providing free bumpers to iPhone 4 owners and offering refunds to those who have already purchased one. However, Consumer Reports still does not recommend the iPhone 4.

Consumer Reports believes Apple’s offer of free cases is a good first step. However, Apple has indicated that this is not a long-term solution, it has guaranteed the offer only through September 30th, and has not extended it unequivocally to customers who bought cases from third-party vendors. We look forward to a long-term fix from Apple. As things currently stand, the iPhone 4 is still not one of our Recommended models.

Wait… what? Let’s back up. Consumer Reports has confirmed that Apple’s bumper does indeed alleviate the iPhone 4’s signal-loss problem. They also stated that they would recommend the iPhone 4 once Apple provided a free solution to the signal-loss problem. This is exactly what Apple has done, yet Consumer Reports will not give their recommendation. Yes, Apple’s solution is only in effect until September 30th, at which point they will “reevaluate” the issue and perhaps “have a better idea,” but why not recommend the iPhone 4 until that date? It seems rather contradictory.

What do you think? Is Consumer Reports being inconsistent, or is their lack of recommendation justified? Sound off in the comments below!

[Consumer Reports]

Even with a free bumper, Consumer Reports still doesn’t recommend iPhone 4 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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