Iphone 4 Discussion

[anotheruser]

It's strange I have 2 UK sourced iphone 4's in front of me on AIS network here in BKK and for the life of me I cannot reproduce the signal drop. Tried for ages doing exactly the same as people on you tube and above links demonstrate. Perhaps might be due to AIS only 2G or different frequencies in Thailand to the USA?

Will try and reproduce it with 3G true sim card on their 3G network.

How are you going to reproduce it if you have great reception? You can't. The phone will show 5 bars from 50 - 100% reception. Say you have 90% to begin with, and you lose 20% with the death grip, you will never see anything but 5 bars.

Bottom line, you can only reliably reproduce this if you have 4 bars or less to start out with, you also need to wait 10 seconds.

Here's what I heard - there's a lot of vested interest in beating Apple stock down (AAPL). The theory behind this slingshot effect is this: Beat down a stock that has nowhere to go but up. Sell it off, anticipating a drop in price (recall!!). Then once the stock is a bit down, buy as much as you can and watch it go back up. You know it will go back up because the company is so strong there's very little risk.

Seeking Alpha says that that's exactly what hedge fund managers are doing. They only need a few % to make _tons_ of money. The slingshot effect.

If you do have the issue, then please for the love of God, get a 100 baht case and be happy! Too bad this exterior antenna design didn't work out so well. But nothing to lose sleep over?!

So you are in denial? I know you buy all Apple products.

[anotheruser]

Apple is holding a press event tomorrow.

[anotheruser]

LOL I have too much time on my hands as I am writing such a long post about a phone I don't even have.

Yeah you do. This isn't a car. You are not going to die if you don't return your phone in a recall. Worst case scenario - read this, horror of horrors - is that you need a case. OMG. A C A S E.

Cheap chinese cases start at 80 baht....

That's the worst case scenario. Scared?

The best case scenario is to get a case. I hope your iphone ships and is ok.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

Always the the die hard apple fans in here, if Apple say it’s ok then it’s ok don’t forget that, or just buy some duct tape to cover up

i like the iphone as well but will not buy something i have to "modify" to get it to work as it should but hey its only a software problem

[ThaiLife]

Is it coming Soon

[anotheruser]

Hi

Always the the die hard apple fans in here, if Apple say it's ok then it's ok don't forget that, or just buy some duct tape to cover up

i like the iphone as well but will not buy something i have to "modify" to get it to work as it should but hey its only a software problem

Said the guy that buys overpriced crappy motorbikes.

[trunknuk]

Out of interest: If I buy one of these with intent to resell - what's the early termination fee? If it's low then that might explain why you can still make money selling AT&T iPhones overseas..

$325. http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/legal/return-policy.jsp

So $210 for the phone + $325 termination fee + $50 1 months service = $585 = 18,400 Baht. If all goes well, an ATT iphone comes in at under 19k Baht.

[trunknuk]

Wow. A quick look at http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ and still no iPhone4 unlock. Can't believe it, but this might be the first time ever it's better to get your tech toy from the UK. http://store.apple.com/uk/ £499.00 | $769 | 24,300 Baht.

[kblaze]

Wow. A quick look at http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ and still no iPhone4 unlock. Can't believe it, but this might be the first time ever it's better to get your tech toy from the UK. http://store.apple.com/uk/ £499.00 | $769 | 24,300 Baht.

They just unlocked it. Now they are "cleaning up" the unlock for public use.

[nikster]

Out of interest: If I buy one of these with intent to resell - what's the early termination fee? If it's low then that might explain why you can still make money selling AT&T iPhones overseas..

$325. http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/legal/return-policy.jsp

So $210 for the phone + $325 termination fee + $50 1 months service = $585 = 18,400 Baht. If all goes well, an ATT iphone comes in at under 19k Baht.

Thanks for that. So i guess these ATT unlocked phones are going to be sold for a while to come...

I would never recommend anyone buying such a phone, the trouble you get into with updating is not worth it. But people who don't know this will still get tricked into buying them at MBK etc. Then come here on the forums when their phone turns into a paperweight...

Edited July 16, 2010 by nikster

[HDRIDER]

Hi

Always the the die hard apple fans in here, if Apple say it's ok then it's ok don't forget that, or just buy some duct tape to cover up

i like the iphone as well but will not buy something i have to "modify" to get it to work as it should but hey its only a software problem

Said the guy that buys overpriced crappy motorbikes.

But the bike works, and works good, maybe i have to much money to burn since you think its overpriced BTW its for sale,,,,,,,,,so i can get a more expensive "crappy" bike

[nikster]

Hi

Always the the die hard apple fans in here, if Apple say it's ok then it's ok don't forget that, or just buy some duct tape to cover up

i like the iphone as well but will not buy something i have to "modify" to get it to work as it should but hey its only a software problem

Said the guy that buys overpriced crappy motorbikes.

But the bike works, and works good, maybe i have to much money to burn since you think its overpriced BTW its for sale,,,,,,,,,so i can get a more expensive "crappy" bike

Well don't believe everything you read on the internet. Lots of people have no issues with reception. Probably the vast majority, actually. It's just my guess but I think a lot of the grief comes from the CRAP network that AT&T has in the USA. It's garbage. I would have no receptions in major metropolitan areas. No reception in the middle of silicon valley. Dropped calls in San Francisco. On a Nokia and my iPhone, it wasn't the phone, it's the network that's total garbage.

Something like this would be unthinkable in Europe or in Thailand. So I think people in more developed countries, network-wise, will never notice this.

Final word is coming in a few hours when Apple holds its press conference on the issue.

[nikster]

from the press conference live... this is crazy, unheard of behavior by Apple.

they dish out HARD DATA on dropped calls!! along with a bunch of other data that other companies would never, ever, ever say out loud, let alone put in a press conference. Think different here indeed - this could be a huge PR disaster.

Anyway. The iPhone 4 drops more calls than the 3GS did (USA - crap AT&T network, remember). Less than 1 more per 100 dropped calls, so less than 1% difference.

Apple has also publicized return rates for the iPhone 4. 1.7% vs 6% for the 3GS when it was released. Jesus, this is a full on assault on this topic. What company publicizes return rates? I have never seen one do it.

Oh and free bumpers and cases for all, and refunds for those who already bought bumpers.

Hmmm... maybe this is just the RDF but I have a feeling this could become a fixture in business colleges world wide as a case study of how to turn bad PR into good PR.

Edited July 16, 2010 by nikster

[anotheruser]

Nikster, you really are nuts. LOL I hope you don't mind paying for those free bumpers as you won't be getting them for the phones you ordered. They will have to be shipped from the UK undoubtedly.

Now that Apple and even God himself admitted to the problems will you acknowledge it isn't just something I read on the internet?

Edited July 16, 2010 by anotheruser

[negreanu]

the CRAP network that AT&T has in the USA[/quote]

Agreed just tried iPhone 4 in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea this week and in not one of those destinations (Of course including Thailand) can I reproduce the Deathgrip signal drop on 2 iPhone 4's...

I really think this is a non-issue and is hyped by the media.

Edited July 17, 2010 by negreanu

[Chicog]

From the "other" board:

Interesting results from a CNET Poll:

Are you satisfied with Apple giving away free bumpers to solve the iPhone 4's antenna woes?

• Yes, I'll happily take my free bumper 37%
• No, and I'm considering returning my phone 28%
• No, but I'll keep my phone anyway 13%
• I never had a problem in the first place 23%

I wasn't that good at math at school, but that seems to be more than 0.55% to me.

[nikster]

Nikster, you really are nuts. LOL I hope you don't mind paying for those free bumpers as you won't be getting them for the phones you ordered. They will have to be shipped from the UK undoubtedly.

Now that Apple and even God himself admitted to the problems will you acknowledge it isn't just something I read on the internet?

Now that everyone in the world agrees that this was just a huge media frenzy hype storm, maybe you can acknowledge it too?

Even if you are a bit slow on the pick-up...

The main point I think is: If you don't want it, don't buy it! If you already bought it and don't want it - return it! For a full refund. Just like 1.7% have already done. No big deal at all. For my part, I don't think anyone outside the USA will notice the 1% difference in dropped calls for the i4 vs the 3GS. I've never had a dropped call in Thailand or Europe.

[MKAsok]

[nikster]

Best summary of the press conference

[MJo]

And they have now released more details on this freebie rubber they are shipping out for all customers.

Edited July 18, 2010 by MJo

[nikster]

Apple press conference, redone by CollegeHumor... how to _really_ hold your iPhone 4. ROFL

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1938961

Unfortunately, I can't get this to show embedded. Oh well.

Edited July 23, 2010 by nikster

[bkkmick]

Seen iPhone 4 for sale today in Seacon Square for 39k.

[nikster]

@ Antennagate: Norway's largest newspaper tested, and concluded that this is a problem with the crappy US mobile networks. In particular they couldn't find any difference between different brand phones when it came to keeping the signal and holding the phone in a certain way. They tested out on the edge of coverage.

Just what I thought... you can't really compare the US networks with other countries. I don't know why, but they're pretty bad over there.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/07/29/norways_largest_paper_iphone_4_antennagate_is_a_us_problem.html

[Thakkar]

Seen iPhone 4 for sale today in Seacon Square for 39k.

For those traveling soon to HK, iPhone 4 available for ordering from today at HK$4988 for the 16GB and HK$5888 for 32 GB, unlocked. Ships in 3 weeks.

[LaoPo]

@ Antennagate: Norway's largest newspaper tested, and concluded that this is a problem with the crappy US mobile networks. In particular they couldn't find any difference between different brand phones when it came to keeping the signal and holding the phone in a certain way. They tested out on the edge of coverage.

Just what I thought... you can't really compare the US networks with other countries. I don't know why, but they're pretty bad over there.

http://www.appleinsi...us_problem.html

If a -very sophisticated; communication wise- country with only around 4.7 Million people and 5.3 (!) million cellphones* and huge remote areas have tested those phones and find nothing particular wrong with them, other than normal connection problems, it says something about the hype the media has created about the iPhone4.

Hmmm....summertime ? Sales are still going strong and the case will be soon forgotten.

* https://www.cia.gov/...ok/geos/no.html

LaoPo

[negreanu]

Seacon square iphone 4 us locked version hence the price

Edited July 30, 2010 by negreanu

[MacArthur]

Got one in MBK, 16Go unlocked (from HK).

45 kbht, the best price whereever you go in MBK.

Spend 4 hours to deal and negociate. Prices starts at 65k in some crazy shops!

[nikster]

More dumping on the whole antenna issue in the Sydney Morning Herald (from the article):

Apple customers who queued through wind, rain and their lunch breaks to snap up the new iPhone 4 were almost disappointed to learn their mobiles were not succumbing to the ''death grip'' that caused signal problems and corporate embarrassment for Apple in the United States.

Later, they totally bury it by comparing it to the Y2K bug: But like the fizzle after the Y2K bug in 2000, many Australian iPhone users have been left wondering what all the fuss was about.

LOL. The Y2K bug!

@MacArthur - 45 k still seems like a lot, maybe I'll just sell mine when they arrive here. I really don't care if I have this 1 month before anyone else in Thailand.

[negreanu]

Got one in MBK, 16Go unlocked (from HK).

Not bad price for 16GB. It will be from UK not HK as 3 week wait for the just released HK model today?

Lucky to pick up the 32GB from a Thaivisa member for 40k

Edited July 31, 2010 by negreanu

[MacArthur]

Got one in MBK, 16Go unlocked (from HK).

Not bad price for 16GB. It will be from UK not HK as 3 week wait for the just released HK model today?

Maybe not bad price but still not cheap!

I confirm from HK and not UK.

Available in HK since last Friday via operators. Stocks have been sent in advance and grey market always goes fast. However that's true that you still need to wait 3 weeks through Apple Store.