If the research that Stiftung Warentest is to be used as a basis, then that means there are at least a couple of million iPhone handsets that have antenna issues. This is because the problem is not really a faulty antenna, but with the actual phone design that fails to keep the antenna away from human touch. In fact, the antenna is so exposed that the signal strength drops to a ridiculously low number when touched.

To give a more logical comparison, most phones lose about 10% to 20% of their signal strength when touched in a regular way. Some can be made to choke out on network signal up to more than 50%. The Apple iPhone, even when touched just slightly on the exposed portion, will lose about 90% of the total signal strength.

With this, it is now wonder that people complain about dropped calls on the iPhone. The handset truly lacks any form of provisions or hardware features that would prevent users from accidentally touching the exposed portion. It is ironic how the iPhone 4 seems to be the iPhone killer that competitors have been waiting for. This is an otherwise impressive handset that has been beset by a major design flaw.

In the meanwhile, current iPhone 4 owners may choose to avail of Apple’s free bumper casing offers by downloading the official app.

Apple is right about certain things, like the fact that the mobile phone antenna is prone to losing signals when they come into contact with the human hand –and the fact that human hands are not good amplifiers of mobile signals.

However, Apple’s allegation that this is a ‘challenge’ is not as true as one might think. Sure, the problem is there, but other mobile phone manufacturers have been doing great in finding solutions for it. Some mobile phone networks locate the antenna in areas of the handset that are not easily touched by the hand such as below the device or by keeping the antenna internally.

A recently uploaded video of the Nokia N97 smart phone, by Apple, shows the device with full signal strength. When a hand wraps around the device –as it is normally held, the signal drops down all the way to two bars. While significant, this has never been a serious issue. And the reason is because the N97 Mini can still make and complete voice calls even if a hand is touching the device –something that the iPhone 4 cannot do.

Also, Apple failed to mention the fact that the N97 Mini has been around for almost a year now and that the smart phone has never had a serious history of dropped calls complaints from existing users. This means that even if the device does have a few dropped calls every now and then, it does not happen often enough to be a concern.

Apple, however, certainly believes that they are not alone when it comes to suffering from an antenna issue. Steve Jobs stated that the issue is a challenge to the whole industry. What Apple seems to have forgotten is that with the literally thousands of unique handsets out there, only they are suffering from an antenna issue.

Sure, other mobile phones will lose a bar of signal, or even two, if it is held in a unique way. But none of these devices would actually drop user calls. The iPhone 4 however, is likely to drop a call if held in the left hand –a position where the exposed antenna strip is located. To state that the issue is an industry challenge is a long stretch, even for a company as Apple.

To further support their claim, Steve Jobs has also pointed out several mobile phones which are apparently suffering from antenna issues as well. Included in the presentation was the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the Samsung Omnia 2 and an HTC Android smart phone.

However, none of these devices have a history of massive call drops similar to what the Apple iPhone 4 is suffering from. And the makers of the various phones are not too happy being dragged into the mess that Apple is already into.

Research in Motion, creators of the BlackBerry, is among the first to speak up about the matter. They released an open letter that directly addressed the issue of antenna performance and clearly stated that no BlackBerry handset requires the use of a casing to be used properly.

They are quite right, in fact, aside from the iPhone 4, there is hardly any other device that requires a casing to function right.

Steve Jobs and his team at Cupertino seems to believe that iPhone 4 users have the uncanny knack of always being in locations that have little to no signal which is why, they explain, that calls are bring dropped in the middle of a conversation.

However, further investigation and research into the situation has revealed that he problem is not based on having a faulty meter, but on the fact that Apple’s antenna was really badly designed in the first place. This means that the first users who complained about the issue were right, and that Apple was only trying to distract people from the real issue by bringing up the signal meter problems.

The big catch here is that this is one solution that no simple patch or software update would ever fix. No matter how Apple reprograms the software for getting a signal or reception, the fact remains that the antenna has a major exposed weak spot that severely lowers the value of the handset –after all, using a phone where most calls are likely to be dropped is not really something that smart phone owners want to have.

According to reports, many existing users are trying to find solutions for themselves –as Apple is indignant about not supplying users with free cases or bumpers. Some would simply buy a casing or a bumper (which, as stated, Apple should be giving out for free), other would opt to cover the exposed area with a strip of tape, a coating of nail polish and similar other substances.

It originally did not take long for early Apple iPhone 4 owners to realize that there was an issue with handset’s antenna. Reports about dropped calls started popping out within days of the launch. It only took a short time before the problem has been isolated by users to a design flaw in the antenna.

Of course, Apple could have taken a very important step at the point and come up with a special program to help out existing users. But since the issue was a hardware problem, Apple did not want to tackle the daunting task of repairing the over 1 million devices they had already manufactured. Now, the issue has gotten to a point where the Apple’s own stock value has taken a hit due to the lack of consumer support for the company.

In an effort to restore public belief in their products and to convince stock holders that Apple is still in charge of things, the Cupertino based company has called for an emergency conference to discuss the iPhone 4. While actually letting the world know what they plan to do would be a big step, we all know that certain solutions would never solve the problem.

Take a software based patch for instance. Since the design flaw was in the hardware side of things, it cannot be fixed by a software solution. There is no way that an app or a patch could ever reconfigure how an antenna is able to receive receptions and signals. It is easy to see how crucial this conference is for Apple, and in some ways, what they plan to do here might determine the fate of the company in the mobile phone industry.

The chief argument here is that the iPhone (the newest 4, the older 3G/3Gs, 2G), is famous. So famous that if a single iPhone had a serious defect, it would still make it to the headlines. This is the same case now; there has been a single case of an iPhone 4 that had its USB port go on fire (apparently due to a defective part).

Yes, of the over 1.7 million iPhones that were sold, one had a flaming defect. There were no human nor animal injuries sustained, though we highly suspect that both the smart phone and the USB cable are now effectively out of action.

Anyway, this is not Apple’s first time handling such an issue. Just about a year ago, an Apple iPod overheated and caught on fire while it was in the pants of a young boy. The boy was reported to have sustained second degree burns. While this is certainly a lot scarier, the occurrence has never happened again –or so Apple would want us to believe.

There is actually one instance of the older iPhone catching fire –one that Apple certainly made sure to put a lid on by settling the issue out of court with the victims (a girl and her father). It is assumed that they were paid a considerable settlement (which is basically a whole lot of money) and that they had signed a confidentiality contract or a non-disclosure agreement.

This may come as a surprise to most users of the Apple iPhone, but the device’s OS and hardware have been so badly designed in terms of security that users might as well be screaming to the world where they are and what they like to talk about.

One of the biggest problems about the iPhone is how much data it actually caches about the user. While some temporary data storages may take up a minimal amount of space, Apple is allocating plenty for the iPhone –and the phone is certainly keeping tabs about its users.

Obviously, this is something that most smart phone users would want to know, after all, data security is a major. But fortunately, the people taking advantage of the situation are not wicked, malicious identity thieves- but cops doing some hard research on plenty of documents for certain reports.

Police and law enforcement agencies are working hard observing and recording the logs of various suspected criminals and through the Apple’s weak security system, these men of the law are able to hunt down criminals. The iPhone can keep track of text messages that have been written in a span of (approximately) three months (thanks to what was supposed to be a typing aid feature). The device also keeps track of a handset’s last location with a quick GPS screenshot whenever the map feature is turned off.

Even uploaded geo tagged photographs can be used in investigations –which further goes to prove that many of these criminals are not even careful enough to learn how to get rid of such data and content.

In July of 2008, version 2.0 of the iPhone 3G platform was released to the public and was reportedly full of bugs. A fix all patch was then released in August, a month after version 2.0 went live. The patch notes indicated that a number of performance related issues would be corrected upon installation of the patch. The description was very vague, but the noticeable improvements included improved keyboard responsiveness, quicker backups and less lag in the Contacts app. According to ZDNet’s observation, the update also resulted in an improved reception:

“One major improvement that I am seeing is that the reception capability has improved with the working 3G/EDGE data auto-switching”.

Or so we thought. The signal bar formula they used for the current operating system may have remnants of the old update, causing it to display one to two bars more than the actual signal reading of the device:

“Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place”.

So was this something that the Apple company neglected? Probably so. After all, there are more important wow factors to focus on such as its HD recording capabilities or its spiffy new Retina Display. The Cupertino company failed to check the basics including the signal bar display. The iPhone 4’s screen adhesive did not even have enough time to dry before it was out the door.

At least the problem can be corrected by yet another software update. Hopefully Apple is not out to give quick cosmetic fixes this time around.

The man is making a stand regarding the emerging technology (if one can still categorize video calls as such). After all, video calls have been around for years but the technology has never really been adopted by mainstream users. While it is a novelty to catch up with distant family members or to have business conference held over the internet, video calls have mostly stayed out of the range needed functions for general smart phone owners –and even if the iPhone 4 makes the technology easier to access, it will not mean that we will see a significant rise in number of people will be using it.

Apple’s new front facing camera will certainly be used for video chatting purposes online, but as for the new FaceTime feature, Apple would have to convince network operators to be more generous with bandwidth, and even then, more users are not guaranteed.

The issue lies with the very nature of video calls –they are inconvenient. People need to set a time and place for video calls to be held; it would be impractical to be taking your morning jog while handling a video call at the same time. The only way to take a voice call is in knowing ahead of time that someone will call, and find a nice, safe comfortable place to sit down and chat. On the other hand, you can be running around town doing errands with a Bluetooth headset on your ear taking a regular voice call without any trouble.

Video calling is a novelty that moves in the opposite direction that smart phones are trying to go. While the technology can co-exist with the hardware, it is hard to see this becoming a new standard for many users.

Although it is far from forgotten, the blue blur has not had the exposure it needs to win the hearts of the gaming masses again. Thankfully, Sega decided to make good with their promise to bring Sonic the Hedgehog to the iPhone. This was confirmed when Sega decided to give chosen journalists a sneak peek during the E3 game convention held at Los Angeles.

This specific title will be a multi platform release. Aside from Apple’s iPhone, it will also grace the Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The story arc follows the one in Sonic and Knuckles which was released for the Sega Mega Drive. It will bring plenty of familiar elements such as the horizontal scrolling game play. This project is being lead by the Sonic Rush (Nintendo DS) franchise developer “Dimps” in cooperation with the Sonic Team.

Sega’s current goal is to polish the game controls to make it just the combination of touch and tilt. A virtual directional pad reminiscent of a console game controller is also provided for accuracy.

Since the retro style is kept intact and the game retains its distinct flavor, Sonic’s old fans will really have something to look forward to. Those new to the game will most likely find it enjoyable as well, seeing as there are few games on the iPhone resembling the title.

Sega did give their word that they will not compromise so the amount of content in the handheld versions will be at par with the console releases.