cancidas
2010-07-14, 02:30 AM
from CNN:
The most talked-about phone in the U.S. -- Apple's iPhone 4 -- has a design flaw that's best fixed with a sliver of duct tape, according to Consumer Reports.
"It may not be pretty, but it works," writes Mike Gikas on that nonprofit consumer group's electronics blog.
The patch -- which sounds like it'd be more appropriate for kitchen plumbing than for a phone that retails for $200 to $300, plus an AT&T contract -- is supposed to correct an apparent problem with the iPhone 4's metal antenna.
In a controlled test, Consumer Reports found that people who hold the iPhone 4 in a way that covers up an antenna connector on the phone's lower left side will experience poorer reception and possibly dropped calls.
But if you slap a piece of duct tape over that antenna connection, the reception problems go away, the group says.
"When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side -- an easy thing, especially for lefties -- the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal," Consumer Reports says.
more and video here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/13/iphone.4.duct.tape/index.html?hpt=C1
The most talked-about phone in the U.S. -- Apple's iPhone 4 -- has a design flaw that's best fixed with a sliver of duct tape, according to Consumer Reports.
"It may not be pretty, but it works," writes Mike Gikas on that nonprofit consumer group's electronics blog.
The patch -- which sounds like it'd be more appropriate for kitchen plumbing than for a phone that retails for $200 to $300, plus an AT&T contract -- is supposed to correct an apparent problem with the iPhone 4's metal antenna.
In a controlled test, Consumer Reports found that people who hold the iPhone 4 in a way that covers up an antenna connector on the phone's lower left side will experience poorer reception and possibly dropped calls.
But if you slap a piece of duct tape over that antenna connection, the reception problems go away, the group says.
"When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side -- an easy thing, especially for lefties -- the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal," Consumer Reports says.
more and video here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/13/iphone.4.duct.tape/index.html?hpt=C1