Technology Development

Yesterday, some of you may have watched or read about the Apple press conference. There, Apple discussed the issues the iPhone 4 has been experiencing with its new radio antenna design. Apple then decided to take a bite into their three leading competitors phones by attempting to show how they suffer the same problem.





Apple showed a BlackBerry Bold 9700, which when "death gripped", went from full bar signal to almost no bars. Perhaps this Bold 9700 was on AT&T, however, even a poor network shouldn't cause such a drastic drop in signal strength. Since these claims, RIM co-CEOs, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, had this to say in response:

"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. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM's customers don't need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple."

It will be interesting to see if this becomes an even more heated debate. We're certain that RIM responded accordingly. Do you think Apple stepped out of line with their preposterous claims? Have you experienced severe signal loss on your BlackBerry with a "death grip"?