What made you feel good today

[Hinfrance]

Did you keep the receipt?

But then I guess it's not really for making 'phone calls at all, is it?

[Jonathan]

Did you keep the receipt?

But then I guess it's not really for making 'phone calls at all, is it?

Oh NO!!!!!!  Is it too late to return it.....?

Oh hang on.  Is there any chance this is related to the "if you put an iPod on your back pocket it can break" story?  Or the "ooo MacBooks can explode" story?  (That one was true and was equally true of Dells and any other make that used Sony batteries).  Or the "Al Qa'ida use the iPad to slaughter American babies" story?

I can't remember a recent Apple launch that wasn't
1. Massively over hyped (no, they did not invent video calling - or the phone come to think of it)
2. Extremely smug
3. Accompanied by a thin looking story in the press that may or may not have been planted because of points 1 & 2.  Or may even be a piece of viral marketing by Apple's spin team (not only filling the media wall to wall with "the new phone is here" but also "THE NEW PHONE may or may not have a weakness")

Apple are big boys.  If there's a widespread problem with the iPhone 4 they will fix it.

BTW a blog like Cnet saying "if you want to be famous for 5 mins then just confirm you have this fault - don't worry if you're lying cos nobody will ever know" is neither journalism nor very interesting.

[Hinfrance]

Only winding you up Jonathan. There does seem to be  a real but not the end of the world design flaw, however, caused largely by the need to adhere to FCC regs in the states. The technical gen is HERE.

I'm sure it's very pretty and will get you lots of attention

[Jonathan]

The technical gen is HERE.

Ah cool.  That's why try as I might I couldn't replicate the fault (I hadn't looked exactly where you have to hold it).  With my tiny hands it would be awkward to bridge that gap.

Now if you want to make fun of the iPhone 4 there's a lot more mileage in the voice "control" system.  So far today it has misinterpreted "play Florence and the Machine" as "call Irv B" and "dial 01227....[my home phone number..." as, err, "call Irv B".  (Sorry Irv).  I'm now actually scared to use it.  I guess it would be nice if you could train it.  Or restrict commands or something.  But unless you talk exactly like Stevie J I wouldn't use it unless your hand was near the cancel button.

[hevans]

Interesting read, Howard.

A quick play with my android shows a similar tendency for left handed operation, and the final few paragraphs would explain why the phone does seem to lose signal when in my back pocket - it seems the best way to store it in the back pocket is with the screen facing the skin.

The bit with shorting the antenna, though looks like a design flaw. Phone is in the pocket, keys about, etc. There's a reason previous generations of phones had the antenna protected behind plastic.  Not to mention that people's skin is conductive (although not as much as a brass/aluminium key).

Now if they could harness the conductive power of the human body to provide the antenna solution, that would be a real development, i.e. hold the phone and you get a better signal.

[Jonathan]

Phone is in the pocket, keys about, etc.

ARE YOU CRAZY???  Put something that gorgeous in a pocket with keys?  I'd rather leave my house unlocked

[picsfor]

Phone is in the pocket, keys about, etc.

ARE YOU CRAZY???  Put something that gorgeous in a pocket with keys?  I'd rather leave my house unlocked

A bit of understanding please Jonathan. He doesn't understand - he's not a Mac user 

[Hinfrance]

Now if they could harness the conductive power of the human body to provide the antenna solution, that would be a real development, i.e. hold the phone and you get a better signal.

Well it works with the remote control for the car - touch the transmitter to the side of your head and the range almost doubles. And it works with most other RF receivers, most of the time. So why not 'phones?

Have you considered that Irv might be Steve J's best mate?

PS, I love the Daily Mash take on this

[hevans]

Phone is in the pocket, keys about, etc.

ARE YOU CRAZY???  Put something that gorgeous in a pocket with keys?  I'd rather leave my house unlocked

ah, yes...sorry. So, what colour is the velvet charging cushion?

To be honest, I don't think that shorting of the antenna is an issue anyway. It looks like you have to work hard to achieve a short. The only circumstances I can think of where it might occur is if it's wet. Either way, it'd be a rare occurrence.

For me, though, it's still too big to be a practical phone - too wide and tall. I like a small device I can keep in my front pocket...next to the keys and in the right place to keep the testicles warm.

H.

[Oldboy]

the right place to keep the testicles warm.

H.

Have it switched on to vibrate do we?   

[hevans]

the right place to keep the testicles warm.

H.

Have it switched on to vibrate do we?   

Oh Yes! Call me! 

H.

[anglefire]

My iPhone 3Gs is now running OS4 - and i like it a lot.

Still got a year to run on the contract, so I'll wait for the iPhone 5 or 6

[spinner]

Well it works with the remote control for the car - touch the transmitter to the side of your head and the range almost doubles. And it works with most other RF receivers, most of the time. So why not 'phones?

That doesn't have anything to do with the metal plate in there does it?

[Hinfrance]

Seriously Spin, try it. Walk away from your car trying the remote control. When it no longer works, walk another couple of metres away, hold the remote to the side of your head and press one of the buttons - it should work.

I use this 'trick' all the time to open or close the locks when it would otherwise not be possible.

There's lots of stuff in my head, but none of it is a metal plate

[Jonathan]

Just got a Tweet from a dress designer about the latest issue of "Attire Bridal" (it's OK - I'd hardly heard of it).

http://www.attirebridal.com/previous_issues_detail.cfm?Issue_ID=20

Yeah that's my snap on the cover  Plus a few more inside.