iPhone Techie

Right after the iPhone 4 Conference this afternoon Apple had posted a webpage on their site which talks about antennas and also how every smartphone can lose signal strength if you hold it in a certain way.

To demonstrate this, Apple people have tested iPhone 4 alongside other smartphones which include the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris, Samsung Omnia II, iPhone 3GS.

The opposite of amplification, attenuation happens whenever a signal is obstructed. All antennas — including television, radio, GPS, and cellular antennas — can experience attenuation. And with most antennas, the density and composition of the human hand can cause attenuation to a greater degree than some other materials. On a mobile phone, signal loss typically occurs when your hand attenuates the most sensitive part of the antenna. In the photos and videos below, we demonstrate how different grips cause attenuation on many popular smartphones — including iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS

BlackBerry Bold 9700
In our tests, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 dropped from 5 bars to 1 bar when held in a way that attenuated the signal.

HTC Droid Eris
In our tests, the HTC Droid Eris dropped from 4 bars to 0 bars when held in a way that attenuated the signal.

Samsung Omnia II
In our tests, the Samsung Omnia II dropped from 4 bars to 1 bar when held in a way that attenuated the signal.

Read More