Apple hiring antenna specialists

[Seadog]

PC Mag says that Apple is hiring several new antenna engineers for the iPad/iPhone. Sounds like someone's head landed on the chopping block.

 

[Seadog]

AnandTech have done some more scientific testing of the problem and come up with a few interesting results. Turns out the iPhone 4 actually performs slightly better inside a case than a phone like the Nexus One, which has had similar issues crop up, but it's slightly worse when held in the hand, reporting an average signal drop of 20dB. Here's where it gets a little wacky, though: the signal meter in iOS 4 is logarithmic, so that 20dB drop can either leave you looking steady at five bars or drop you all the way to zero, depending on what the actual signal level in the area is like. Take a look at the chart above and you'll get it: the range of values between one bar and four spans just 23dB, while the range for five bars is 40dB. That means holding the phone in an area with a strong five-bar signal will have no apparent effect -- you can lose 20dB at full signal and still see five bars -- but holding the phone in an area with weaker coverage will easily drop the meter to one bar, since the 20dB signal drop covers almost the entirety of the remaining 23dB scale. Oops.

I thought this was an interesting perspective on the problem. And the iOS update may also be of interest on the iPad.

 

[NumbLock]

The reception issues on both the iPhone 4 and iPad are a shame. About time!

It should have happened a year ago.

Detuning the antenna by physical contact with a conductive substance is so obvious as to be foolishly neglectful for any average EE.

The ibiggest Pad issue is probably software, but side-by-side comparisons to my laptop, and even a kids old, beaten iPod touch make the antenna weakness pretty obvious.