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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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iPhone 4: Works for Me!


I have been the proud owner of an Apple iPhone 4 since June 29. Yes, I bought the thing on the first day that AT&T stores had the phone on their shelves to sell. Even so, I purchased the very last one that the AT&T store that I visited had in stock. With a week of heavy texting, photo-taking and app use, I have enough experience to pass judgment on the product. Count me in as a very happy camper.

It is true that Apple has admitted a software glitch that causes the “bars” that appear on the phone to drop if the phone is grasped in a certain way. I’ve seen it happen on my phone. What I have not seen, however, are dropped calls and dropped call quality. Many in the press who hate Apple have written articles decrying the company and this putative “defective antenna” syndrome. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every neutral empirical study and every scientific study I have seen published concludes that iPhone 4 is a better performer than 3GS, its predecessor. Add my voice to this chorus; I vacated a 3GS to my teenage son; my new phone is better at keeping calls; the calls are clearer.

Why then is Google News loaded with articles critical of iPhone 4? For starters, it could be the fact that it’s Google News. Google has created Android OS and has a stake in programming its news aggregators to publicize iPhone quirks. However, in all fairness, Google News also linked more than one study showing that iPhone 4 had better reception than its predecessor (And all must admit that iPhone 3GS did wonders with AT&T’s mediocre network). Google News appears to have been neutral. There are lots of people sniping at iPhone 4.

Could trial lawyers, smelling the over $30 billion of Apple’s spendable cash, be looking for an unjustified payday? Of course. Lawsuits have been filed. Apple will pay millions to defend these suits. As per usual, these cases do nothing but harm the economy. This is not the case of a statutory abuse. It’s a trivial programming error for which a fix will be supplied for free. Why should Apple be fleeced for an honest mistake that damages nobody?

I could wax on about theories and motives. It’s simply easier to say that I have iPhone 4 and it works great.