The science behind the iPhone 4's antennas

Unrelated, but perhaps worthy of a TUAW investigation.

Has anyone with a 3G (like me) or a 3GS noted any improvements in drop outs with iOS4?

Specifically there are two spots where I drive to work; one usually (>80%) drops a call, and a spot on the Mass Pike westbound approaching 495 has ALWAYS dropped an AT&T call, be it on iPhone, BB, Ericsson, and Samsung phones.

I was making calls the day after updating to iOS4, and it wasn't until later I realized - with requisite "coulda had a V8" smack to head - that neither call dropped out. I specifically checked over the next few days, and wow, no dropouts.

So either AT&T updated their systems a bit, or iOS4 also tweaks the antenna settings on older phones.

The crux of the problem is that humans are bags of salt water and we hold phones by their sides ..

Sooo, any seams that need to be there that must not be bridged by human hands, need to go at the TOP and the BOTTOM of the phone (if anything at the bottom is in the way, then it needs to be moved)

Pretty simple.

This is worth reading:

http://www.antennasys.com/antennasys-blog/2010/6/24/apple-iphone-4-antennas.html

has anyone proven that they are dropping calls or decreased network activity because of the apparent signal loss?

this is a huge design flaw, rule #1 of RF engineering, dont block the antenna, well, buliding the antenna as a bezel of the phone is insane. plus how about of several years worth of rf energy now directly pulsing into your hands, you can feel the tingling and little RF shocks with sweaty hands, surprised others aren't noticing that.

This guy doesn't seem to realize the extent of the problem. It can be caused with the simple touch of a finger. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gb3aQ5XoQw

I bet if your hands are a tiny bit sweaty or your skin resistance is low the antenna's work less well than intended. This is because you then cause a "short" between the 2 which might cause loss of signal.

So... Wash your hands, make sure they're dry or use one of those Apple bumpers...

I realize it's an issue, but find it hard not to see how Apple haters are piling on this. The agendas are showing.

If I were Apple, I'd offer a free case/skin. Or if there's an OS update that will address that, just let people know.

As for the haters out there, would you really care if it were a Toyota problem and you drove a Honda? If it were a Dell problem and you owned an HP?

It's a 1.0 redesigned product. Stuff happens.

I've tried and tried. I've looked at every video I can, and you know what I just can't replicate this problem on neither my phone or the other line on my plan. I've let other people try, and they can't do it either. And in all of the videos that are out there, none have an actual natural hand position. If you cover the spot with your palm, your fingers are digging into your face. Who holds their phone that way? So no, it definitely doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

I've been able to reproduce, but have also noted that the phone still maintains calls as good as if not better than my 3G which is the ultimate goal in the first place. The issue seems to be related to the bridging of the two different antennas at the lower left corner of the phone and it gets worse the more moist your palm is. The more moist it is the more conductive your skin is and therefore a stronger bridge between the antennas. I tried placing a piece of tape along the left and bottom edge of the phone and this made the signal degradation go away. I don't plan to keep the tape there. The phone seems to be fine as is. If however, I find that I am dropping calls because of this, I'll put some of the clear protective covers along the edge of the phone; I like my phones naked. Despite this issue, I'd recommend this phone over any other just based on overall quality and function. Unless someone can scientifically demonstrate that the iPhone 4 is any worse than the 3GS, 3G, or any other phone in this area, I'm labeling this as a non-issue for now.