Mobile-review.com - Mobile phones, news. 25 June 2010

TheiPhone 4 has had a less than smooth start after its official launch yesterday. Marred by stock shortags, yellowing screens and the now infamous signal dropping issue the handset has come in for some bad press over the past 24 hours. Well it's not stopping there as news comes to light of another problem with Apple's latest handset. This time it's the volume buttons that are causing a fuss. Some handsets have been produced with the volume buttons reversed i.e. the + button is where the - button should be and vice versa. The buttons works just fine, but they are in th wrong place, presumably as a result of some manufacturing cock-up at Foxconn. You can see for yourself in the video below that was sent to 9to5Mac.com by one of their readers.

Video: Shooter Game On iPhone Makes Use of Gyroscope [ 25-06-2010 15:48 ]

When the iPhone 4 was unveiled (officially) at Apple's WWDC event earlier this month one of the most promising new features for app developers was the gyroscope. Steve Jobs showed off a game of Jenga that utilised this new feature and to be fair it did look pretty impressive, butt hat was just one app and of course people want to see where this new feature will lead. Well a video has appeared of another app to make use of the gyroscope and we have to say it looks pretty damned good. The app is a first person shoot game called Eliminate: Gun Range and the chaps at Engadget have been having a bit of a play with it. Their summary is basically that the addition of the gyroscope gives the game a sort of augmented reality feel to it, whhich is perhaps difficult to describe in words, but take a look a t the video and see what you think. The other point here is that this perhaps hints at the improvements we might see down the line to actual augmented reality apps like Layar.

Video: Droid X Ripped Apart [ 25-06-2010 15:20 ]

For those of you who enjoy seeing handsets in the buff we have a treat for you ... the Droid X! The fine chaps over at DroidX.net have gone ahead and stripped one down to its part for your viewing pleasure and what's more they've even included a handy guide should have the inclination to follow suit. Obviously don't do that if you ant to keep your warranty intact. At any rate we've posted the video of the action below, but make sure you check out the guide itself, even if you're not goin to dissect a DroidX the pictures alone are worth a look.

Google Presses Kill Switch On Apps For 1st Time [ 25-06-2010 13:25 ]

Is there some more disconcerting about Google using a remote kill switch than Apple or Microsoft? We're not sure, although there is certainly a feelingt hat there is. At any rate the big G flipped just such a kill switch this week in response to two apps that were infringing on its terms and conditions. The two apps in questions, built by a researcher to test security, were intentionally misrepreseting their purpose so as to get people to download them although Google notes that neither was intended to be used maliciously nor did they have access to private data, but, as mentioned, they did break the terms and conditions. Google goes on to say that most users who had downloaded the apps had already deleted them when the kill switch was activated. Google are puttingt his forward as nothing more than a clean-up operation rather than as censorship or anything like that. Users should get a notification sent to their handset if an app is removed to keep them informed.

iPhone Antenna Problem: Jobs Says 'Hold the Phone Differently' [ 25-06-2010 11:42 ]

Yesterday's iPhone 4 launch threw up a few problems, not the least of which were reports from several new iPhone owners that holding their shiny new handset in a certain way caused the signal to drop, or at the very least gave the impression that the signal had dropped. There was, and is, some debate over whether the iPhone is actually losing signal or whether it is an issue with the signal meter on the screen. What is undeniable though is that a decent sized number of people have reported the issue and it all stems from holding the handset in a certain way, namely bridging the external anetnna that runs around the outside of the phone with your hand. Some are saying that whilst they have observed the phenomena the handset's ability to make a call doesn't affected whilst others, notably some of the chaps at Engadget, are saying that have noticed dropped calls.

So what has been the response from Apple? Well read Steve Jobs' reply for yourself and see what you make of it:

To sum up Jobs' very short sentence 'hold it a different way'. Whilst that may seem flippant to some it's probably the most practical advice anyone can give at this moment. Is it an acceptable response though? That's up to Apple's customers to decide, but it's a fact that doesn't actually resolve the issue, which is presumably a hardware issue and thus not easily fixed. Indeed, if there were a fix in the works wouldn't Jobs have made mention of this? Engadget contacted Spencer Webb who runs AntennaSyd, which designs RF solutions. Mr Webb had some interesting insights into the issue, such as mentioning that whilst antennas are tested with reference to a huma head being present the human hand is not taken into account during such tests. That would be one explanation as to why this particular flaw seems to has slipped past Apple quality control. It's the presence of the hand that is causing the problems as Mr Webb indirectly points out:

The iPhone 4, however, moved the antenna action from the back of the phone to the sides. This probably improves the isotropy of the radiation pattern, but only when the phone is suspended magically in air.

Whilst some of the Engadget taff have reported dropped calls, asmentioned above, some haven't, which is leading them to the conclusion that this issue is a result of a problem in manufacturing rather than an intrinsic design flaw. Apple will definitely be hoping that it's the former rather than the latter.

Friday 25 June 2010

Yet Another iPhone 4 Problem: Reveresed Volume Keys [ 25-06-2010 18:52 ]

Video: Shooter Game On iPhone Makes Use of Gyroscope [ 25-06-2010 15:48 ]

Video: Droid X Ripped Apart [ 25-06-2010 15:20 ]

Google Presses Kill Switch On Apps For 1st Time [ 25-06-2010 13:25 ]

iPhone Antenna Problem: Jobs Says 'Hold the Phone Differently' [ 25-06-2010 11:42 ]