In his attempt to prove that the iPhone 4 antenna problem is nothing but an exaggeration, Steve Jobs made a demonstration in Apple’s press conference on Friday with 3 rival smartphones showing how they lose signals when held from antenna spots. The move was a desperate one as Apple had no other choice but to show evidence that its product was no different than the rest available in the market. Looks like it didn’t go too well with a couple of people.
BlackBerry manufacturers RIM are hitting back at Steve Jobs calling his claim about their smartphone complete hogwash and Nokia (whose phones weren’t mentioned by Jobs) have joined in for some more fun on Apple’s expense. RIM co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have released a statement where they take on the claims made by Steve Jobs rather forcefully. They start by saying:
Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years.
They go on to explain that RIM has avoided using antenna designs like the one used in the iPhone 4 and have instead installed innovative designs that perform well even in low reception areas and BlackBerry users do not need cases for good connectivity.
That can be regarded as a reply that RIM had a right to give but not being included in Jobs’ address didn’t deter Nokia from jumping in once again on the ride. The cell phone giants issued an interesting statement of their own today making clear their priorities when making a cell phone: flawless connectivity. The gist of the statement is nothing but that Nokia prioritises antenna performance over physical design if they ever come in conflict. They end by taking another punch at Apple’s lack of testing and research in human behaviour and the way people hold their phones.
Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.
Maybe you can’t win them all, Apple.
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