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stars
"Cannot perform its primary function of being a phone" on by techreviewer22
Pros: Nice Aesthetics, cool apps, but it ends there
Cons: Yellow spots on my display
Reception drops 2-3 bars every time I touch the phone
Calls Drop nearly every call I makeSummary: If you are a smart consumer (which you probably are since you are reading cnet reviews) then you will stay away from the iphone 4. I bought into the hype and left behind my verizon droid to get on board with at&t and apple. Are there some "cool" things on the new iphone? absolutely. If you don't care about performance, and want to be popular in front of your friends, then the iphone is for you. If you actually plan on making calls without them dropping, DO NOT get this phone.
I have seen all the "solutions" for the signal error and how I need to hold my phone differently.... Thanks, but no thanks. The phone has been returned- I am not going to pay top dollar so I can stand on one foot, pat my head and rub my stomach to get a signal. I'll have my hands wrapped nice and tight around the droid x and enjoy all 5 bars of signal
After all the excitement of receiving my preordered phone, it all went down quickly. My "retina" display had 2 large, noticable yellow spots. Reports are saying it is undried glue, and it may go away, but mine are still here. But my biggest gripe is that every time I touch my phone, i lose 2-3 bars of signal. Apparently apple is responding to this known issue by saying, "you have to hold your phone differently"
I apologize if this review will start to sound like a rant, but I need to share my frustration with the community. Cell phones have been around for almost 20 years now, and the iphone is supposed to be the best device on the market. I don't care how many apps it has, or how cool the front facing camera is, because if I can't make a simple phone call, then it is useless to me. I don't want to have to carry around an iphone and then a second phone to actually make calls. I can't really understand how all the reviews online are not bringing these problems to life.... maybe they are just scared of steve jobs, who know. All I know is that I didnt pay $400 for a screen with spots and a phone that cant keep signal. I will be returning the iphone promptly and sticking with my droid until the droid X is released.
Updated on Jun 26, 2010
- 30 replies to this review
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liar there are ways to fix those errors. But you can't fix the errors with a Droid
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The yellow spots: Go away after a while or you can get it replaced at Apple
Bars issue: Get iPhone 4 bumpers
iPhone vs Droid: Droid SUCKS mine was as slow as hell -
You left verizon for AT&T and then returned the phone. Understandable. But then you have a Droid X after that can only be used on Verizon. You expect us to believe that you payed $300 just to opt out of AT&T's contract just to go back to the Verizon Droid X, whose screen is infamously shatterable? I call bull. Just saying.
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I HAVE ONE ANT IT HAS NEVER DROPPED A CALL OR ANYTHING EVEN AT 1 BAR SO STOP WHINING!!
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Thank you for your candor. While AT&T is my carrier, I've not jumped on the IPhone bandwagon. Recently I thought perhaps I needed to reconsider an upgrade to the iPhone. Simply stated, I need a phone to be a phone first. The best of cell phone technology cannot compensate for poor reception or dropped calls.
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thats y they have customer service.they replace your phone right there no questions asked.find a solution not excuse to get upset its an electronic device do you think this is a perfect world
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I agree with you completely. They didn't even test the phone enough to realize putting the antennae on the outside doesn't work? I had a 3G before this and when I moved to NY the reception did get worse, but at least the phone worked. I literally can not make calls with it. Its not an inconvenience, it just plain doesn't work. I liked my old Iphones and my mac, but they really screwed up on this one.
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I am 99% sure you are an Android phony posing an someone who bought an iPhone 4. You Android phonies are a sad lot. Lying about products you don't own.
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I am considering getting an iPhone 4 and have heard that getting a case circumvents the signal issue associated with holding the phone... did you have a case on your phone and still experience those problems? And would you strongly recommend the droid?
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Um. didn't you have 30 days to return it and go back to VZW if you weren't happy? lol I mean...why keep it if you're not satisfied. I sure wouldn't.
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Every smart phone has the antenna issue. And Apple has stepped up with a solution that is elegant and FREE. And Consumer Reports agrees the solution works. Watch the Apple press conference and learn about the issues http://*******.com/386bhe7
As for dropped calls, I've had iPhones for over 2 years and the dropped calls are the same a what i had with Verizon. The one thing I'll say is Verizon did have better coverage, but AT&T has made big steps here. Where do you live? Is it a metropolitan are or way in the burbs? If there's no towers service will be bad.
Yellow Spots, take it back and they'll fix it or replace it...Apple is not perfect, but they fix things without question.
Yes, return the phone get a Droid, stay with Verizon but stop complaining and whining. (by the way watch your bill with them they are notorious for adding little annoy charges that are not yours. Pogue of the NY Times has noted this.
Droid (and all smart phones) have the same antenna issue watch the video. -
I can't help but notice all the people claiming I didn't even own the phone. I don't understand why so many people get offended when someone has a negative view of the iphone. I am not a fanboy of any particular phone or operating system- i'm just a frustrated consumer. I paid top dollar for a phone and had a poor consumer experience so i'm sharing it with the community. The fact that some of you are reading my experience and calling me names like "dirt bag" is confusing and alarming to me. You people defend this phone like it is a race, religion, or belief.
Yes, I purchased the iphone and was extremely impressed with the design, the apps, all that jazz. But I just cannot justify paying all that money for a phone that had an antenna issues and also showed up to my door with spots on the screen. If my experience offends you, then you really need to take a step back and reconsider your priorities in life -
Bet you don't even own the phone.
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So Bwgbear1 you think that this guy not being able to use his phone to MAKE CALLS and his super cool retina display with spots are enough reasons to give the PHONE a 1/2 star ? .......Nice ...........a PHONE that cannot make CALLS and you don't want people to rate it down ?......EPIC
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I believe this post is a bit harsh. I received my 4 a few days ago. I have tried to replicate any reception problems (and I live on the fringe of a reception blackhole), but I have failed to see what others have experienced. I know Apple has acknowledged a problem, but I believe it is on a much smaller scale than people are claiming. In fact I have slightly better reception than my IPhone 3G model. Even if there is a reception problem (partly because of AT&T), it should not drag the rating down to a 1/2 star.
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In Reply to the above. This is totally false; depends where you live and if you are in an area that has dropped calls. I was on Verizon and found better service with AT&T. The Verizon account was on a Company phone. I used my IPONE, because I could enter my schedule and talk at the same time on my 3G phone which is two generations ago. I was a Blackberry user for years; Curve last phone used. I can text faster on the IPHONE. I just ordered the 4IPONE and I know I will be pleased. I hate phones that uses sliding hard key boards. If your using digital lets be digital. The Iphone is so much easier to use than any other phone I have used since phones came out. BUY IT BUY IT.
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A review by an Android fan. Half a star, really? Let's see, you join one day after the iPhone 4 debuts, post a review with three cons that are widely blogged about on the internet and you add that you use Android phones. Then you reply to an iTunes article about how you can put any song on an Android phone. I get the suspicious feeling you are not being very subjective here and just bashing Apple to bash Apple. One reason why I take most of these user reviews with a grain of salt.
Tech is tech and even I can be impartial. I have no affiliation with Android or Apple but can't stand people that feel one is far and away better than the other. They BOTH make each other better with competition. You fan boys just don't get it at all. Your review is not helpful and just a waste of space. -
Sorry but i just gotta ask ...... Why are so many people that forgiving towards Apple ? ...... yeah they make mistakes, yeah they have problems sometimes with their products, you guys don't have to say things like ... huu you don't like your Iphone so that means you really don't have it because it is the best thing since sliced bread....... if the guy cannot even make a phone call with his 500 dlls phone than he will obviously be angry, i have an Ipod Touch and its awsome but i cannot imagine my reaction if it would have had those yellow spots on the display , this is the super duper Iphone 4 advertised as the next best thing in cell phones there are no excuses for these problems . Period
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Agreed. Some very cool hardware, is not enough.
FIX THE PHONE!, THIS IS A PHONE FIRST -
Never had any yellow spots, and I've yet to have a single dropped call. I don't think you've owned this phone at all. I've burned through 4000 minutes since the 24th of June without any call issues!
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I love the phone but there is no excuse for the yellow spots. If you have yellow spots just return the phone! The reception issue must be with certain phones because I have never had that problem. Also, if you put your hand over any antenna it's going to lower your signal strength. Personally, I have been on T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon and I have had the most trouble with Verizon. Verizon has the best signal, but charges you the most, finds ways to penalize/tax you for everything, until the Droids had terrible phones, and terrible customer service.
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After reading this review I question whether you actually own an iPhone.
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Can you believe these iPhone guys. What freakin idiots. How gullible do you have to be?? Spots will go away yea right. Hold the phone another way? You guys are so stupid its a phone! You should be able to hold it anyway you want! Apple screwed up admit it and get over it
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Some of you guys are funny...spots disappearing in a few days....can't make phone calls for the next few years, or having to buy out your contract once the euphoria wears off is just rediculous. Get a real phone......and to think Palm went out of business for design flaws while Apple grows on thiers what a joke!
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Glad I have a HTC Incredible. What a pile this thing is. My wife is bringing this back, paying the fortune to get out of AT&T, and joining Verizon. What a disapointment. I agree; bumpers? Hold it different? Screw it! If you can't build it right, don't build it.
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The yellow spots go away within a day or two, it's just adhesive that hasn't fully dried yet because the phones are shipped as soon as they are assembled. And for the reception, it's a software bug that prevents the phone from switching frequencies when the antenna is blocked. In the mean time, hold it with your right hand instead of your left? Use a bumper? I know it's inexcusable that you would have to do something like that to get service, but it's only temporary until iOS 4.1 is released next week.
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I already ported my hold number back to Sprint. What a piece of crap these things are. People with good reviews obviously don't make phone calls.
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Well said! I can't believe how many people ignore this issue. Seems they just want to be noticed because they have a cool iPhone4. Who cares! A phone should work, period! If it doesn't, then it's a POS!
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The yellow spots do go away.
The reception going down is that you're touching the black band on the lower left part of the phone that is sensitive to human skin. Not holding the phone that way or buying a bumper/case will fix the issue. -
hey the yellow spots are suppose to go away according to engadget within a couple days maybe a week so wait on that, and for the calls lost if you put your fingers or hand on the black band separating the metal on the left side it will make the signals bars go down... try holding it in your right hand and not left handed. hope that helps
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