Video Surfaces of BlackBerry Bold 9800 with “Death Grip” Problem
A YouTube video surfaced and was quickly deleted that showcased the upcoming BlackBerry Bold 9800 “Torch”—only problem is that in the video showed the bars on the phone drop as it was held. While this might not normally be that big of a deal, ever since Apple CEO Steve Jobs called out Research In Motion (RIM) and other smartphone manufacturers for having similar problems to Apple’s “Antennagate,” all of the attention has been placed on everyone but Apple and its own problems. RIM put out a strongly worded statement over the weekend that said its phones do not have the same “death grip” problems that Apple’s iPhone 4 does, but the now deleted video raises some interesting questions. Are all smartphones really affected more strongly by the way that the phone is held than was previously thought?
Videos still abound online however of plenty of other smartphone models showing similar signal attenuation problems to what Apple’s newest phone is suffering from. While no one is claiming that the problems are as severe as Apple’s, Steve Jobs might have just aired some dirty laundry that smart phone manufacturers have been trying to keep hushed. It is only natural that a computer that fits in the palm of a hand should have its signal partially blocked by a hand around where its antenna is hidden. The internal components of these devices are getting smaller and smaller as more features are jammed into their tiny cases and while it might be embarrassing for RIM to have to explain why it’s most anticipated phone in years can lose signal bars when it is held a certain way, it really should be expected.
While we will have to wait until the release model of the Blackberry Bold 9800 comes out to see how bad the signal attenuation is, getting dragged into a head on battle with Apple over the issue is probably not a good idea for RIM. The 9800 needs all of the good publicity that it can. It is not an iPhone, it is a BlackBerry and while the Apple faithful will still flock to whatever Jobs puts out, BlackBerry customers are not nearly as loyal or as happy with their phones (as recent surveys have shown).
Angry that Apple is trying to drag RIM down with it?
Worried that the BlackBerry 9800 really might have some type of problem? .
Take a moment to leave a comment and tell us all what you are thinking.
Sean:
http://www.gaj-it.com/21412/is-the-blackberry-9800-another-victim-of-the-iphone-4-grip-of-death/
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/19/blackberry-death-grip/
Tags: antennagate, antenna, reception, Blackberry Bold 9800, RIM
Too little, too late Blackberry. You lost me.
[Reply]
whatever. just did a grip test on my 9630, yeah it drops some bars. whatever. this slider is the SHIT!!!!!!! get the iPhone function without the IRRITATING non-tactile response keyboard. bbry rocks, it never breaks, it never quits, drop it in the pool, it bounces back, and on VZ it works everywhere. mark my words – Verizon gets this bitch to work, and the wont need an iphone. F-the iPhone. overhyped pocket PC. for real workers with real text to enter, bbry will always rule. go TORCH!!!
[Reply]
It is worth mentioning that the issues with poor reception on the iphone have been widely reported by users and it was only after considerable media attention that Steve Jobs held a news conference. His decision to react defensively by mentioning possible reception issues with other phones is a distraction from the fact that it was the iphone that was singled out by users and technology writers as having a problem with dropped calls. Other cell phones have not been as widely criticized. Steve Jobs was able to demonstrate that all phones can experience weaker reception (as indicated by the reception bars), but this was little more than a marketing trick as a less strong signal does not equate to a dropped call. This is not about people trying to bring down a company as Steve Jobs alleged, but about a poor design that needs to be fixed.
[Reply]
It doesn’t matter anymore. For Blackberry to still have an unusable browser is just pathetic – while the competition moves forward with the likes of 2-way-video-conferencing and so forth. I’ve been a faithful BB loyalist for over 5 years, but I’m tired of having to carry my laptop as a backup and asking my kids to look up something on their iphones or androids. Sorry RIM, if not a dollar-short, certainly a day late that you are.
[Reply]
But Blackberry hasn’t released the 9800 yet. Apple DID release a phone on the market with an issue. Apple just needs to own up to it decision to put an antenna on the outside of the phone as a flaw, and not drag other phone companies into their issue. I can reproduce the “death grip” on my Blackberry Bold 9700 almost how Apple demonstrated…however I don’t usually cup my hand around the bottom of my hand and cover the microphone when I am using my phone. That is not a natural way to hold the phone for data usage or how I hold my phone to make a call. When I hold my friends iPhone 4, my natural grip seems to be blocking the antenna. That to me is the flaw. Just fix it and move on Apple. Don’t bring other phones into your flawed design. How Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola, HTC, Samsung and whoever else make their phones has nothing to do how Apple engineers a phone.
[Reply]