Apple’s press conference is still doing some Q&A as I write, but the gist of it consisted of Apple saying that all phones have the reception issue when held in certain ways and that they don’t actually have a problem that is unique to their device. Still, they say that they want to make customers happy and so they are offering a free case to iPhone users or accepting returns for full refunds through September 30th. Apple says they will present a few different cases for customers to choose from as they are unable to make their own first-party bumper cases quickly enough to keep up with demand. Apple also says that if you bought a bumper case, you’ll be refunded, however, third-party cases will not receive refunds. Customers can apply for free cases from Apple on their site, “late next week”.

I wrote yesterday about why a free case wasn’t going to cut it:

I personally won’t be satisfied with a free bumper. I want a new phone, and one that works. I’m a phone holster kind of guy, and naturally, a bumper on my phone wouldn’t slip in an out of holster very easily. I also don’t like the idea of buying a flawed product then requiring that an accessory be always present to fix it. I quite like the aesthetics of the iPhone 4, despite the fact that they are responsible for the reception issues. I don’t want to cover up the sides of the phone.

Hearing Apple say that they don’t think they have a problem when myself, and many others have been putting up with the issue, is very frustrating. This feels like a good opportunity to go for a new phone. I’ve been using the iPhone since the 3G, but I’d totally snag a Droid X [portal page] or HTC Evo 4G [portal page] if I could; the major roadblock for me is that neither of those phones are available on AT&T, and at the moment there really aren’t a lot of good options to choose from other than the iPhone on AT&T.

The only phone I’d likely consider is the upcoming Samsung Captivate which is due to be released on the 18th. Apple is offering a “full” refund on the iPhone 4, which for me would mean $299 back, but if AT&T doesn’t return my upgrade availability then I won’t be able to get a subsidized deal on a new phone, thus making returning the phone a huge waste of money. I just locked an offer in with Gazelle.com to sell the iPhone 4 for $493, just in case.

Let’s not forget that I had to agree to a new two-year AT&T contract to purchase the iPhone 4, and I’m doubting that AT&T will undo that if I return the phone. Apple was very unclear on this point in their press conference, but if AT&T doesn’t return “upgrade eligibility” to customers who return their phones, then you’d be better off selling your phone to recoup the costs than returning it to Apple.

Apple says they want to make every customer happy… I’m certainly not happy right now.

We’ve stayed out of iPhone 4 [portal page] reception coverage until now, but things are finally getting interesting as Apple readies a press conference for tomorrow at 10 AM PST (1 AM EST) in which they are expected to address the issue.

Apple has been slow to recognize the problem, initially asking users to hold the phone differently and saying that all phones experience the same problem to some degree. The broad outcry of this issue has made it apparent that the iPhone 4 has a much more severe reaction to this issue than other phones and even previous iPhones.

After saying that all phones experience the issue, Apple thought that the issue lay with a software bug that was causing bars to be incorrectly displayed, and indeed they were. AnandTech has done some thorough testing which revealed the skewed representations of the bars (each bar didn’t represent the same amount of signal). Apple, today, released an update from iOS 4.0 to 4.0.1 for users of the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 which corrected the bar formula, and increased the size of the first three bars. I suppose Jobs figured we just couldn’t see them even though they were there, thanks to the blinding holy light that the “retina” display emits.

Still, anyone who has actually used the iPhone 4 can tell you that this isn’t a software bug, and Apple’s determination to fix the incorrect bar formula hasn’t silenced the people experiencing the issue in the least.

Fast forward a few days and Consumer Reports… er… reports that the iPhone 4’s reception issues are indeed hardware related, though this was also confirmed by a number of other places and should have been very obvious to anyone using the phone. In my own testing, WiFi was clearly affected based on grip, showing that the problem certainly isn’t cause by a bug that altered how reception bars were being displayed.

I’m sure Apple has been feverishly working behind the scenes to figure out what the problem is and find a solution to it, though it’s a bit upsetting that it seems as though it took Consumer Report’s widespread report to get them to acknowledge the issue when so many people were already informing Apple of the problem. Shortly after Consumer Report’s post, Apple announced that they’d be holding a press conference on Friday the 16th (tomorrow, or perhaps today by the time I publish this).

I upgraded my own iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4 and immediately began noticing worse call quality and a vast increase in dropped calls. I rarely ever dropped calls in my area with the iPhone 3GS and suddenly calls started dropping like crazy once I upgraded to the iPhone 4. It’s almost embarrassing to have a “phone” that some people are billing as the best in the world that is actually awful at the whole “phone” part. It’s one thing to simply hold your phone and watch the bars drop and say “I have this issue”. It’s another entirely to be trying to give someone important driving directions and have the call dropped outright, as has happened to me and it is rather frustrating.

It has been widely suggested that Apple issue free “bumper” cases to iPhone 4 users to fix the issue, as reports indicate that using various cases, which prevent contact with your hand and the sensitive part of the phone, prevents the problem from happening.

I personally won’t be satisfied with a free bumper. I want a new phone, and one that works. I’m a phone holster kind of guy, and naturally, a bumper on my phone wouldn’t slip in an out of holster very easily. I also don’t like the idea of buying a flawed product then requiring that an accessory be always present to fix it. I quite like the aesthetics of the iPhone 4, despite the fact that they are responsible for the reception issues. I don’t want to cover up the sides of the phone.

I’ll be watching eagerly tomorrow to see what Apple says at their conference. Free cases aren’t going to satisfy me, and I find it hard to imagine that Apple would cannibalize it’s own accessory market by giving out millions of free cases. I think Apple will instead announce some sort of exchange program where consumers will be able to get their phone replaced for a fixed model and the issue model will be retroactively fixed through some internal means, then sent back to the shelves as new or refurbished devices. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

Beyond the reception issues is the lurking proximity sensor problem. While not as frequently cited as the antenna problems, the proximity sensor may be compounding the issue. Before I noticed the reception problems, I found many calls had been dropped without the familiar “Call Failed” screen that generally pops up when calls are dropped. Instead, I’d be talking on the phone with someone one minute, then suddenly they’d stop talking. I’d ask if anyone was still there, and upon not hearing a response, I’d look at my iPhone’s screen to see my Favorites screen (a “quick call” list, if you will) staring right back at me. I can’t be 100% sure, but it seemed very much as though I had accidentally hit the End Call button with my face while on the phone. I’ve had this happen several times and quite hilariously, it happened today while I was in the middle of setting up an appointment with an Apple store to look into my phone’s proximity problems.. Hopefully Apple recognizes both issues and will be able to nail two birds with one stone tomorrow.

If you’ve ever wished you could check your RSS feeds in the shower or read an eBook in the bath without fear of dropping your device, this could be the super low-cost solution for you!

Use at your own risk!

Just pick up a box of watertight zipper bags and double bag your capacitive device inside. The screen works perfectly through the plastic and the bags will keep your device dry. I wouldn’t recommend sustained completely submerged browsing, but this simple solution works great in the shower, or as protection in case you were to drop your device in the bath or pool. Also make sure not to expose the device to temperatures too hot for an extended period of time.

I’ve always wished that I had waterproof speakers to listen to music in the shower, but apparently all I need is a waterproof iPhone. You could set speakers up in the bathroom, hooked up to a netbook or UMPC, then use the Remote app on your iDevice to control iTunes and remotely control the music. See the waterproof bag in action:

With all the pre-order and launch day issues that have been going down with the recent iPhone 4 [Portal page] release, it’s quite possible that you may have managed to pick up an iPhone 4, while many of your friends could not, potentially leaving you without anyone to try the new FaceTime feature with. Fortunately, you can just give Apple a buzz and they’ll be happy to chat with you to show off the new feature.

Between 8:00am and 8:00pm CDT, you can call 1-888-FACETIME. An Apple representative will answer your call and help you turn on the FaceTime feature and they’ll even initiate a FaceTime call with you so you can see how it all works. Remember, you need to be on Wi-Fi for FaceTime calls!

In the keynote that announced the iPhone 4 [Portal page], Steve Jobs told the world that the iPhone 4 features a 5MP camera. A decent bump from the previous iPhone 3GS’s 3.2MP camera, but still a far cry from some of the latest phones out there which are rocking 8MP cameras (see: HTC Incredible). Jobs was quick to also say that the iPhone 4 uses something called a back-illuminated sensor which is designed to capture more light than traditional smartphone sensors, to enhance low light performance. The iPhone 4 is also capable of recording HD video at 720p (1280×720) at 30 FPS, according to Apple.

Here I’ve got some comparison photos and videos from the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS cameras:

Video Recording

At the end of the video there is a link to the same video taken with the iPhone 3GS. Make sure you are watching in HD.

Real HD video and flash (YouTube) HD video are a bit different. The raw file is certainly of a better quality than what YouTube is showing, but you should still be able to get the gist of it.

Photos

I’ve taken a variety of shots with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. Be sure to click on photos to enlarge them for full detail. The iPhone 4’s flash is turned off in all photos. The iPhone 4 takes photos at a resolution of 2592×1936 while the iPhone 3GS takes them at 2048×1536.

General Use

Close Ups

Extreme Close Ups

Low Light

Extreme Low Light

For one, it looks like the iPhone 4 has better contrast than the 3GS. This is particularly apparent in shots of the pen, where there is a more broad range of blacks and whites in the iPhone 4 shot; on the corresponding 3GS shot, you’ll notice that the darkest black on the photo appears to cover more area instead of fading through a series of shades as the light and colors change.

Probably the best picture to see the difference in resolution is of the belt in the Close Ups section. This was semi-dark shot and the iPhone 3GS’s photo suffered because of it.

Special back-illuminated sensors are great, but just how much better is the low light performance on the iPhone 4? I might be able to dig up a technical answer, but let’s look at what it means in real world terms. Take a look at the first two photos in the Extreme Low Light section. On the iPhone 4 shot, you can see the lilies toward the bottom of the pond a bit better than the 3GS shot. Additionally, the pond’s surface is not as noisy in the iPhone 4 shot as it is in the 3GS’s, due to the enhanced low light performance.

Is this really a significant improvement? I would put my money on the fact that the majority of iPhone 4 users will not notice the difference between the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS cameras when it comes to photographs. Most user’s photos will either stay on the device, or be uploaded or sent somewhere at reduced quality. But for those who really use their camera, I think they’ll be quite please with the iPhone 4’s camera. On the other hand, the HD video recording capability on the iPhone 4 is a pretty clear improvement. The flash is also something to consider, though because the iPhone 3GS doesn’t have one, we didn’t use it in these shots (if you are interested in flash info, you’ll find it in our upcoming full iPhone 4 review).

You won’t find it here… not today anyway. You’ll find plenty of iPhone 4 coverage as we thoroughly test the device, but unlike many sites out there, we won’t be ready to publish our iPhone 4 “review” until we’ve actually had time to put the device through it’s proper paces. Here at Carrypad, we believe that just a few hours with a device doesn’t give us the necessary experience to give you a thorough review. So sit back and relax, we’ll post our review after we’ve really had time to test the iPhone 4, but don’t fret, we’ll be posting plenty of coverage as we go.

Here’s a quick look at the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS facing off head to head. I didn’t cover too much stuff in this video, so if there are more comparisons that you’d like to see, speak up in the comments, and do it soon; the iPhone 3GS is going away (far away) very soon.

We, along with nearly everyone else, previously presumed that the iPhone 4 [Portal page (updated)] would feature 256MB of RAM. However, to the delight of some 600,000 pre-order customers, which Apple reportedly acquired on the 15th, the iPhone 4 will come with 512MB of RAM, double that of the previous iPhone 3GS and the iPad. The news comes from a WWDC session and was reported by MacRumors.

The prior assumption was based on one bit of evidence, and one inference. The evidence was a leaked photo of an iPhone 4 prototype which was confirmed to have 256MB of RAM. The inference was that the iPhone 4 would feature 256MB of RAM because it was using the same A4 chip as the iPad (which has 256MB of RAM). Apparently between the launch of the iPad and the iPhone 4, Apple was able to double the amount of RAM, which will make the iPhone 4 the most powerful mobile iDevice yet released. Others are pointing out that this is a likely explanation as to why the iMovie app will only be available for the iPhone 4 and not the iPhone 3GS or even the iPad.

Apple may not have been able to deliver the expected bump from 32GB to 64GB storage, but I think I’d take the extra RAM if I had to choose between the two. We’ll see if I still agree with that choice after I fill our iPhone 4 to the brim with HD video and have no room left for music!