Who lies for you will lie against you - Bosnian proverb
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Apple looks for an Iphone antenna engineer
TOYMAKER FOR THE WELL HEELED Apple is on the lookout for an Iphone antenna engineer.
A post for the position of "Antenna Engineer-iPhone" went up on Apple's website yesterday to supplement similar ones from a week ago. Apparently Apple thinks it needs to hire someone who has an engineering background in order to come up with antenna designs, presumably after its prior efforts have proven to be somewhat less than bang on the money.
Apple's synopsis of the applicant's responsibilities are to "Define and implement antenna system architecture to optimize the radiation performance for wireless portable devices." So, its current band of journeymen must be all out of answers after their wrap-around coat hanger stunt on the Iphone 4 backfired so miserably.
Why Apple thought it was necessary to publicly advertise the position is all the more surprising after a leaked memo suggested that its finest produced a design worthy of some award.
The leaked document, guidance for customer care staff, was drawn up for the firm to weasel out of responsibility for its shoddy design, saying, "The iPhone 4's wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped." Well, at least Apple is indirectly taking the rap for the cellular and WiFi reception issues of previous models.
The document continues by ordering Apple's customer service representatives to "Not perform warranty service. Use the positioning above for any customer questions or concerns." The document also suggests that "tone when delivering this information is important." Indeed, sounding authoritative can go a long ways towards convincing customers that they don't really have a problem, or if they do it must be their fault and certainly nothing to do with the company.
Finally those believing that using one of Apple's sleeves will be just the job won't have any luck getting the firm to supply one. The document goes on to say, "We [Apple] are not appeasing customers with free bumpers", and why should it? After getting fanbois to fork over small fortunes, why should the firm stop at the chance to extract a further £25 out of its well-to-do, dependent users?
One assumes a company designing mobile phones employs antenna engineers, so the question is why is it advertising for applicants? Will these new recruits supplement the current team of wunderkinds or be replacements for those who are presumably sleeping with the fishes by now? Of course Apple won't disclose this, but fanbois can rest assured that their next Iphone purchase might just have an antenna worthy of picking up a signal.
For Apple the Iphone 4, despite its impressive sales figures is turning out to be a nightmare. Ever since its launch last week almost a day hasn't passed without another report of faults with Apple's latest, expensive high-end smartphone.
Thanks to delays, the latest shipments of fruit logo'd disasters are yet to slip into the hands of gullible buyers. After hearing of the glut of problems, the waiting fanbois must be eager to see what's broken on their shiny toys. µ
Tags: Apple
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I have owned a Motorola Droid for about 8 months, and there are things that I have issues with. It doesn't run as smoothly as the iphone3G, even though it has superior hardware. This says something about Google's software. Every time I see a friend with their iphone, I am envious because their finger flicks are registered very smoothly. Google released their latest android update, code named Froyo, which is supposed to address this issue, several weeks ago. But my carrier Verizon still has not made it available to customers. They're still trying to figure out how to dig more money out of us in exchange for the new tethering feature in Froyo. All in all, I think the iphone4 with a bumper would be a much better overall phone than my droid, even accounting for being on AT&T's network. A bumper case would insulate the iphone4 antenna from your skin, preventing the reception issues we're hearing about, and AT&T's network problems don't look that bad to me. None of my iphone friends has ever encountered the situation where they couldn't get a signal and I could.
R2D2 here,
Apple Inc. said Friday that it was "stunned" to find that its iPhones have for years been using a "totally wrong" formula to determine how many bars of signal strength they are getting. Since Job’s first fix “you’re holding it wrong” did not sell well he now has the solution: Use software to pretend that the hardware is working. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Oh, and that new software will also make you weigh ten pounds less and will add 10K to your bank account. Ahhhhhhahahahaha! Oops, help me Obi-Wan! I laughed so hard I fell over and can’t get up.
It’s July and hot on Earth. Better drink up that Kool-Aid.
No such problems with my Droids. The hardware is the best in the galaxy. You earthlings can expect another delivery very soon. The Millennium Falcon has just jumped to hyperspace to get my Droids there without delay.
The Force is with us! R2D2
What? Shipping a product that just plain fails to work intermittently and then blaming that on the user or calling it a non-problem? Are we talking about what Steve Jobs, Apple marketing, and their hordes of mind-control victims used to say about Microsoft's "Blue Screen of Death"? The main screen media needs to stop whoring itself the Apple and Jobs, and start being more objective in its treatment of the firm and all the free positive publicity it hands out prior to each new (and sucky) product release.
I need business partners for this one...
Think about it:
1) EXPOSED Iphone4 antenna contacts.
2) Lousy, undependable reception out of the box.
Hey presto, just need a special Iphone4 case that connects to a slim coax connector that runs up your sleeve and into an omnidirectional phased antenna array on the new "Ibeemy" fashion headwear. Just think of the smugness of Ifans who are able to pick up reception where all other normal mortal phones go dead! Antenna loops could even be Apple-shaped...send your $10,000 ponzi investment to Ibeemy4@hotmail.com
I find it fasinating that the way to fix the issue is to hold the phone less tight. All handheld antennas are more efficent with a larger ground surface. Holding the phone tighte increases the grounding and should give better reception. So one can conclude the Antenna is not grounded correctly to the case.
I've written about the iPhone 4 reception problems and the likely cause here:
http://robertthorpeconsulting.com/wordpress/?p=116
Apple certainly employ antenna engineers. I used to be a colleague of one of them at a different company.
Sorry i4oners! YOU'VE BEEN PUNK'D!
Disconnecting antenna can fix the issue.If not just contact me.
To all those who are complaining; Return your phone for a full refund. Once the problem is fixed, purchase a non-flawed Iphone. Pretty simple.
Apple isn't perfect and either are you!
Steve Job's assertion that the antenna problem is a "non-issue" and the phone works better than any previous iPhone is simply false.
I used a 3G model for a year followed by a 3GS for another year before getting my iPhone 4. I never dropped a phone call at home with the 3G or 3GS, but I will lose calls 100% of the time if I hold my iPhone 4 in my left hand in what I consider to be a normal position with my thumb on the volume control buttons.
The response by Apple to this serious problem shows profound arrogance and disrespect for their customers. One shouldn't have to attend training classes to learn how to properly hold a cell phone. If any other company produced a phone that had the problems the iPhone 4 has they would never sell the device. Apple is starting to make Microsoft look good.
I think this has more to do with preparing for new, pending US legisltation which requires all new phones to bare a label which details the level of radiation the phone emits.
It seems they want to ensure they keep their "green" image intact by hiring someone who can optimize their antennae without emitting a large amount of radiation.
This way, when they release their next phone, they're prepared and their numbers look good.
They fired the antenna designer that worked on the iPhone 4. That's why this new job is available from Apple.
:)
I found this article quite strange. You're essentially dogging a product simply based on user hearsay and not based on any facts. Do you have an iphone 4? Our company just received a shipment of 10 of them and we haven't had a single problem out of any of them. I've owned the previous 3 models of iphones and have never had a single problem, so i'm curious what you're basing your findings on.
Regardless of you or I say, it's a free country, if you hate the iphone so much, don't buy it : ) simple as that really.
The reason the iphone does so well by the way is not because of a fanboy following, i think this is where the media is sorely mistaken, the reason the iphone does so well as so does any apple product is because most of the population is not very tech savvy and apple provides a technical product that doesn't require any tech savvy. I know this after working in the IT industry for 10 years where users will call you with questions regarding their machines and the machine is not even turned on; the only response to a population that doesn't care to understand technology is to create toys that are easy to use with mom and dad in mind and not a teenager who knows how to build a computer : )
the antenna design on the iphone 4 is plenty of evidence they don't employ any actual engineers. I could do better with nothing but wikipedia articles to aid me.
Hey jobs you jackass, I guess the connectivity of the phone thingy really is an issue HUH?
Tell us how to hold it again, first finger and thumb or entire hand wrapped around it!
I guess the original antenna designer of iPhone 4 is now fired so a new vacant position cropped up ... lol...
So, let me get this straight. To fix this issue (it is an issue that affects all iphone 4s), one has to pay, out of his or her own pocket, an additional amount (does not matter how much-it's the principle beyond it), to fix Apple's design flaw? Hmmm. That sounds pretty crappy to me. Is that a way to treat customers? I know, my company would never treat customers that way. I have two Iphone 4s and both have this issue. I own a droid and a blackberry for testing purposes. Additionally, I have a 3G and a 3GS. This issue does not occur in this manner on any other phone that I have used. It's physics - the antenna is accessible to flesh; therefor, there will be signal degradation and/or complete loss.
While yes, the phone has an issue with the antenna, our household which has 2 iPhone 4's has not experienced any other issues as a matter of fact, we only have praise for the phone. A simple cover from Best Buy at $15.00, which would have been purchased regardless of any issues, for protection purposes, has fixed the problem. Seriously, the Apple haters and media are making more of this than iPhone owners. I guess Kate and Brittney are behaving these days so, they need to justify their existence by bashing something.
The author presumes that because Apple is advertising for an antenna engineer, therefore (here comes the ridiculous leap) they don't currently have any.
I see Microsoft is advertising for html coders. Does the author also conclude that they don't have any?
What is the Inquirer advertises for a technical reporter? You may have a point then.
its as if just after pushing the phone into the market a management conversation went something like this..."so how did the verification go on the iphone? ...QA engineer " yeah it was great we turned it on and off and everything!....but did you actually make a call (its primary function) ...shrugs shoulders "dunno"