Today: Apple calls reporters to an iPhone 4 news conference.
Woz offers iPhone signal advice.
Full Story after the Jump...
Apple CEO Steve Jobs was warned that the iPhone 4's innovative wraparound stainless-steel antenna design could result in dropped calls, Bloomberg News reported today. Quoting "a person familiar with the matter" who "is not authorized to speak on Apple's behalf and asked not to be identified," Bloomberg said Apple's top antenna engineer, Ruben Caballero, and a wireless carrier that sells the device expressed concerns about the design.
Meanwhile, the maker of Mac computers and "i" devices has summoned the media to its Cupertino headquarters tomorrow morning for a news conference about the iPhone 4. Apple wasn't revealing additional details about what it plans to announce, but we'll assume it's related to the antenna issue. Earlier this week, you might recall, Consumer Reports revealed it "can't recommend" the iPhone 4. According to the magazine's website, it found antenna problems on three iPhone 4s that it bought, and couldn't find the same problem on other AT&T devices including the iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre.
In the past few days, Apple has struggled with media attention ranging from negative headlines in tech blogs to a "Top Ten Signs You've Purchased a Bad iPhone" list on "Late Show with David Letterman." In fairness to Apple, many iPhone 4 owners have reported improved voice and data download service. However, others have complained of a "death grip" that blocks the signal when the iPhone 4 is held in a way that covers a gap in the antenna on its lower left corner.
Helpfully, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (known as "The Woz" here in Silicon Valley) has his own solution. for problems related to the iPhone and wireless carrier AT&T's network. "If you can afford it, carry a second Verizon phone for backup," The Woz told an interviewer, according to the TechCrunch blog.
Apple stock, by the way, closed today at $251.45, down $1.28, or 0.5 percent.
Source Info: Mercury News
