US consumer group warns against iPhone 4

Apple's problems on account of the iPhone4 antenna seem to be growing including admission of a class action suite on the same grounds. I would assume this would require a hardware design fix also


GSMA Business Briefing
July 13, 2010

Consumer Reports – the influential US consumer organisation – has become the latest critic of Apple’s new iPhone 4, recommending in a report this week that consumers should avoid the phone because of its well-publicised signal problems. Analysts believe the report could have an effect on sales because the group's recommendations are used as a guide by many US consumers. "Consumer reports is a respected publication. This could have an impact on iPhone sales," Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu told Reuters. The firm said in its study that it has tested other phones - including the iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre - and found none had the signal-loss problems of Apple's latest iPhone. However, Consumer Reports said the iPhone 4 scored high on other testing grounds such as battery life, sharp display and high-quality video camera.

Apple admitted to the signalling problem on its new device earlier this month and is currently working on a free software update to fix the problem. According to Reuters, the company has been sued by iPhone customers in at least three complaints related to antenna problems. "Our findings call into question the recent claim by Apple that the iPhone 4's signal-strength issues were largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software that 'mistakenly' displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength," said Consumer Report’s Mike Gikas. "Apple needs to come out with a permanent - and free - fix to the antenna problem before we can recommend the iPhone 4." Apple’s share price dropped 1 percent yesterday following publication of the report.