What Apple is doing:

• Released iOS 4.0.1 (reception algorithm fixed, other small bugs)
• Free bumper case for every iPhone4 purchased, if you already purchased one, you can get a full refund!
• Starting in about a week, you can choose from a variety of cases on Apple’s website (not just a bumper case) and shipped to you for free
• If you’re still not happy, you can get a full refund, no questions asked, no restocking fees.

Apple mentioned in their press conference that they have some of the most advanced antenna testing facilities. According to the video, Apple has 17 anechoic chambers, over $100 million invested in a period of 5 years, and has on staff 18 PhD scientists and engineers working on their antenna designs. Apple went ahead and tested several other smartphones and showed how reception is lost on those as well. Apple also claims that only 0.55% of iPhone 4 customers have called in to AppleCare about reception/antenna problems.

Interestingly in the press conference, Steve Jobs presented AT&T data which showed that the iPhone4 drops more per 100 calls than the iPhone 3GS. Job’s theory is that there were less cases available for the iPhone4 at launch which reflects in the increase of dropped calls. He mentions that they will continue to research the issue.

The proximity sensor problem was mentioned. Jobs stated that they know of the problem but it’s only affecting a small percentage of their users. I wonder what it means when I was able to determine different proximity sensor distance activations per phone at the Apple store demo table. Jobs did say that a fix will hopefully be available in the next update.

View the Full Conference Video Here

UPDATE: So there’s been a couple of solutions suggested for this:

1. Reset Network Settings (Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings)
2. Reset All Settings (Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset All Settings)
3. Perform a soft reboot of the iPhone
4. Perform a hard robber of the Iphone

For me none of these worked, so I took it to the Apple Store to get a replacement. They told me that they had heard of the proximity sensor problem and an internal memo had been sent out saying that it’s software related and a fix was coming soon so they weren’t going to exchange my phone. However using their floor models, I started testing the sensitivity of the proximity sensors.

I put two of their phones along with mine side by side. Turns out they would turn off the screen at different object lengths from the sensor with mine and one of the others being the shortest; the other floor model was able to sense my finger and turn off the screen at a distance of about 1/2in farther. As I was pointing this out to the tech guy, I had a group of customers starting to pay attention. At this point the tech guy told me that they would exchange my phone right away.

So far I’ve had no problems with my newly exchanged phone. It definitely seems like a calibration problem that will most likely be fixed with a software update, but I rather have a properly calibrated sensor to begin with.

iPhone App - Blue Atlas 3	Blue Atlas 3 v3.2 From the four, this is my favorite so far. The interface is easy to use and I like how it standardizes the look of the listings. You can view the listings on the map or as a list as well as apply several filters. Similar to the other apps, you can filter by “For Sale” “For Rent”, price limits, and if it’s a home/apt/co-op/land that you’re looking for. It seems that Blue Atlas grabs it’s apartment data mostly from apartments.com. For my area, it showed a good number of listings.
iPhone App - NBApartment	NBApartment v1.1.1 This app also has a nice interface to it and is easy to use; I do feel that I have to click through more pages just to get the same information as I do from Blue Atlas 3. Also NBApartment is limited to apartments. The apartment limitation is no problem for me since that’s what I’m looking for but if I was only going to download one app, I would go with Blue Atlas 3 since it has both apartments and real estate search. Additionally NBApartment grabs the majority of its information from Google Base and Craigslist which from previous experience I know those listings can be misleading.
iPhone App - CribQ	CribQ v1.0.1 I would consider this app more of a google map mesh for Craigslist. It does a simple parse of Craigslist ads and displays the addresses on its map. If you click the listing on the map, it shows a small blurp from the Craigslist ad on top which you then have to click to view the full ad. Some ads have photos while others don’t, but the text is presented as written on the Craigslist ad which makes it look a bit messy. My least favorite from the working apps above but may be helpful if you’re just looking through Craigslist. In addition the interface isn’t as convenient as the above apps. For example, to automatically show listings in my area, I have to go to options and change location every time I start the app.
iPhone App - PadMapper	PadMapper v2.1.0 I couldn’t review this app since it didn’t work for me. When trying to load the map and/or the listings, it would just pause on loading and never shows anything; for this reason, I don’t recommend this app.

All these apps can be found in the App Store and have been reviewed using an iPhone4 running iOS 4.

There are some limits imposed though… max. deposit per check, per day, and per month. Download the Chase App from the AppStore.

USAA and Chase now have mobile deposits… Wells Fargo, where you at?

1) Beautiful Screen

The iPhone 4 has one of the most beautiful screens I’ve seen on a phone. It feels nice to the touch and the resolution is outstanding. You can really tell the difference.

2) Super long lasting battery

This was almost my number one top favorite. This battery lasts much longer than previous iPhones. With moderate-heavy use I can make it through a whole day including the next morning / half-day. With little use, I can probably make it two days without having to plug it in.

3) Compact and Portable

I strongly believe that a phone should be portable and convenient to carry. So sure it’s not a 4.3″ screen (ie. HTC Evo or DroidX) but it does fit nicely into my pocket without it sticking out like a sore thumb.

4) Excellent photo / video camera

Love the quality of the camera and makes it convenient for impromptu photos or video clips.

5) In-phone HD video editing and publishing

This is one of the most outstanding capabilities I’ve seen. I remember just 4-5 years ago when my main system was struggling to edit HD video… now the iPhone 4 can do it all on the phone (iMovie App required)

6) Bright LED camera light

Recently I got the change to try out the LED light on the phone and I was surprised to see how bright it really was… definitely a big pro for the iPhone 4.

I’ll still be taking the iPhone back to the Apple store for an exchange since a friend of mine has an iPhone 4 that’s not experiencing the proximity sensor problems that I am. I’m exchanging… not returning it

The Lawsuits

Ars Technica has done a good job of collecting the documents and PDF of the lawsuits. You can read their article here or view the cases directly:

• McCaffrey et al v. Apple Inc et al
• PACER: Dydyk v. Apple Inc (5:10-cv-02897)
• PACER: Benvenisty v. Apple Inc (5:10-cv-02885)
• Nguyen v. Apple Inc complaint (PDF)
• Goodlick v. Apple Inc complaint (PDF)

Apple’s Signal Strength Statement

Some clippings from the statement:

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones… We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising… Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong… We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula… if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

You can read the entire statement on Apple’s site.

I don’t know about you, but completely losing a call as shown on many YouTube videos is more than just a miscalculation of the bars.