Am I the only one that think Nokia has been taking one to many cheap shots at Apple these days?
The gizmodo thing, the phone grip thing and now this. Seems a tad low IMHO. How about focusing on supporting the n900 more

Like the article I pointed out says, "Nokia needs to shut up and get some class."

I would hope all the money they spent at least goes to something. =P

please nokia makes fantastic robust devices. criticise them on their high end devices but no one can say nokia is taking cheap un deserving shots at apple.

its like a nerd at school finally saying 'hah hah' to the jock who fails a maths test.

apple has a long history of mocking and shamelesly ridiculing competitors. IBM, Microsoft and now everyone by saying all phones suffer the antenna problem.
the e71 was a real problem but that was it. nokia invest more time and money in making great phones than anyone else. all these sheep companies like htc, samsung, motorolloa - who once helped move the industry forward have adopted the quick profit theology of apple. producing a new device every month with no sense of longevity and customer experience. i guess the consumer is to blame for demanding an apple type OS with pretty colours and lots of things to touch.

call me outdated but i preferred the old sony ericcson and htc - i feel the phone market is becoming so superficial that nokia feels it needs to replicate poor competitor behaviour. it should stick with it does best but it has every right to boast of all its achievements. if it wasnt for nokia we would have had a noticeably different mobile market today.

We just did.

Did any one bother to check the comments on that you tube video, the poster of the clip, say's that the problem turned out to be the AT&T micro cell.

Actually the iPhone 4 has the best antenna DESIGN available. By using the stainless steel band, you give the phone a professional and appealing aesthetics AND give the antenna more direct access to radio signals.

What Apple did wrong was put a cheap/inferior receiver/module compared to the norm:
since the design should've allowed for better signals, it would have to be a bad software stack (i highly doubt) or antenna that is weaker ... to bring the reception quality down (even when you aren't touching the bridge)

(actually you can, continue reading)

And another thing Apple did do wrong was put the bridge in the wrong spot. If they expect people to use this without sticking duct tape or having to put a case on.
I am right handed so I probably wont cover that bridge while on a call. But if I have to multitask (jot a note etc) I will change hands and now cover the bridge.
If they put the bridge on the top or bottom, there would be an issue of dropped reception when holding the phone in landscape (horizontally). For instance, streaming media while playing games or watching videos (multitasking) or even streaming videos ... I will still be bridging the two bands.
So where to place it?
On the left or right side on the the top (near corner).
1) I won't be touching it while holding the device in landscape (TICK).
2) I won't be touching it while holding the device in portrait (small tick) ... while people can shift the phone down from the usual grip position to accidentally bridge with the inside of the index finger medial phalanges. But the incidence would be much lower and users wouldn't need to but could easily adapt to avoid the issue.

Win, Win?

No!

As mentioned earlier, this places the antenna much closer to your central cortex (brain) so there is increased radiation danger.
It is all about compromises.

1) Go with the inferior but proven design (Nokia, Samsung, HTC etc)
Design= Mediocre reception, Mediocre radiation, Mediocre aesthetics
2) Go with the iPhone 4 design and lose reception
Design= Low reception, Mediocre radiation, High aesthetics
3) Go with the iPhone 4 design and destroy the design by placing a duct tape or use a phone cover over the bridge.
Design= Mediocre reception, Mediocre radiation, Low aesthetics
4) Go with the iPhone 4 design but have a large plastic/non-conductive material placed where the bridge rests by the OEM
Design= Mediocre performance, Mediocre radiation, Mediocre aesthetics
5) Go with the iPhone 4 design but place the bridge on the top left (or right for left handers) corner
Design= High performance, High radiation, High aesthetics

Ofcourse, these are some possibilities, the OEM may choose to tweek the actual antenna and design to make it more appealing, or less radiation to people, or better reception than what is inferred.

If I was designing a slate phone (like the iPhone) as a user:
My first choice would go to numb 5 if the radiation level was acceptable.
Then numb 1, I want a universal design, not areas where the aesthetics looks poor
Then numb4, it may not be the best but it is acceptable and gives a universal design
Then numb 3, poor aesthetics but good reception is better than no reception
Then numb 2, ppfffh!

Hear, hear about the focusing on N900 more. The cheapshots about what they do and do not concentrate on still doesn't deliver a damn thing new/better to the table. It's just talk... and talk is indeed cheap.

I would love to have seen a secondary N900 that would have worked on AT&T's frequencies in the US. It's not like they don't make those type of radios. Seriously, just pop that out, on the same network as the iPhone and give people true freedom.

Why didn't that happen?

But also... support it better. Bring the next OS to it. Officially.

Instead of talk about antennas. I had to hold my N810 a certain way to get a rapid GPS lock. If my left hand went too high on the back side, I'd lose wi-fi. I've seen the E71 lose signal by gripping it a "certain way". I've also witnessed the iPhone 4 losing signal too. Same for the iPhone 3GS - just hold it upside down in your right hand - it'll drop one bar usually.

So yeah. Cheapshot all day - either way. But damn Nokia. You've had 8 months where you could have brought the N900 to AT&T - head to head challenge. You could have stated that "We'll officially bring MeeGo and not forget our early adopters..." and see how that would have worked in your favor.

You could have said more than "our antennas are better than yours" when honestly most people don't even know what you still sell outside of the cheap *** 6102i and other candy bar phones that are freebies now on contract in the US.

And Apple... I hated almost all that was said today. It just smacks of not saying the truth... y'all goofed.

Sadly gerbick (as you've said) nobody really cares about us consumers. They're all out to appease their stockholders even though by pleasing consumers they make a better long term profit.

And I'm not arguing with you; but doesn't that just... well, show how short-sighted some companies are?

Keep pissing off your customers, and in this day and age, they'll go to your official forums, to affiliate forums like this, to Amazon.com, to other very visual places and complain like no other.

And then they'll stop buying your stuff. They'll spread their vitriol. And even the most deep-rooted fan will grow cold to your products. I'm waiting on that to start happening to Apple - they've become the Microsoft as of late. Nokia has become cold, it seems.

And yeah, I'm really starting to get a bit bummed out because as much as I like gadgets, I hate the companies because they've become very transparent as to how much they see us as only a dollar and the shareholders want to find that way to squeeze out that next buck from us.

I... just ****ing hate it. And worse... hate it when the people that still believe in that brand just ramp up against the people that are skeptical for rather valid reasons.

Nokia, Apple... I'm not just a profit margin. And soon, I'll use neither of your products. I can remember a day when I didn't need/use a cellphone. I can return to that rather quickly.