RIM, Nokia and HTC Dispute Apple's Claim of Universal Death Grip

[Michael Knutson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20100717/tc_zd/252846' target='_blank'>http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20100717/tc_zd/252846</a><br /><br /></div><p>"<em>Research in Motion, Nokia, and HTC hit back at Apple Friday after chief executive Steve Jobs claimed that all smartphones have "weak spots" that could lead to the "death grip" problems witnessed on the Apple iPhone 4."</em></p><p><em></em><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1279469606.usr17748.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p><em>image source: <a href="http://www.mad4mobilephones.com/images/vintage-mobile-phones.jpg" target="_blank">Mad 4 Mobile Phones</a></em></p><p>Research in Motion (RIM), Nokia and HTC have all responded to last Friday's Apple claim that all the leading smartphones have "weak spots" leading to the "death grip." RIM<script type="text/javascript" src="http://onesite.thoughtsmedia.com/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/langs/en.js"></script>'s response was that Apple's claim was "unacceptable," and that RIM have used "innovative designs which reduce the risk of dropped calls, especially in areas of low coverage." Nokia's response acknowledged that the problem is real, but that their phones have been designed "... to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand." HTC's response (referring to the Droid Eris) was that "at the end of the day, customers aren't seeing a problem with our device, and that's the ultimate measure." Samsung had not responded at the time of this article. I don't know about you, readers, but I'm not eager to go back to the days of the brick-phone. I'll keep my iPhone 4, thank you!</p>

[Bob12]

Interesting responses considering I've owned phones from RIM, Nokia, and HTC and the manual that came with everyone of them cautioned about ways not to hold the phones as it would interfere with the signal. And I agree with you, Michael -- I'll keep my iPhone because at the end of the day, [I'm not seeing any] problem with [my iPhone], and that's the ultimate measure." :)

[Jeff Campbell]

I'm pretty much with you two on this ;)

[doogald]

I own an Eris, and it may be true that people aren't calling HTC about antenna issue, but they sure were calling them, big time, about the "silent audio" bug. Since the 2.1 update in early May, many Eris users were having all audio drop out in the middle of calls, with the only solution being a restart of the device. They have just this weekend - more than 60 days after the issue started - released a patch that supposedly fixes the problem. And, yes, this was after initially denying to users calling in that there was a wide-spread problem. Many Eris users have been through several replacements, many experiencing the the same issue with multiple replacements.

People are definitely making a mountain out of a molehill. Apple has handled this badly, yes. The iPhone 4, from what I have heard and read, is a better phone than the 3Gs, with a better antenna, even for those with the antenna issue. There sure seem to be a lot of people who are very happy to see Apple having these issues. It seems silly that we continue to pick sides in these virtual, non-existent in reality corporate battles, and cheer when the company we dislike experiences problems. It would be nice if all of that crap just stopped.

[Bob12]

Well said!