APPLE 又可以省钱了

ByStander

免费给果迷DUCK TAPE就行了

Consumer Reports said Monday that -- after testing three different iPhone 4s -- it cannot recommend buying Apple's latest gadget. The magazine confirmed there is a reception problem with the antenna, which surrounds the phone, adding that the problem does not exist on earlier iPhone models or on other devices sold for AT&T's network. See full story here.

Consumer Reports says it can not recommend the iPhone 4 based on its lab tests of the device in which the magazine found a reception problem with the smartphone. Niraj Sheeth & Eric Savitz discuss. Plus, 4G Phone Shortages and Google's App Inventor.

But perhaps most painful for Apple -- and designophilic CEO Steve Jobs -- is the magazine's recommended fix for the problem: duct tape. Some gadget blogs have fixed the antenna issue by using a $29 bumper that Apple sells to protect the phone. Covering the gap in the antenna in the lower lefthand corner, where the iPhone 4 appears to lose signal when held, seems to remedy the problem.

Consumer Reports demonstrated in a video that covering the gap with duct tape works just as well.

An obvious downside, though, is that a strip of silver nonconductive tape detracts significantly from the sleek appearance of the iPhone 4 -- and, if widely adopted, could become a very public and nearly constant reminder of an embarrassing epiode. "It does spoil the look, don't you think?" asked Mike Gikas of Consumer Reports. See Consumer Reports blog and video here.

Jobs, who views his company's products as works of art, must be having a conniption.

The report will also give more fodder to the plaintiffs' lawyers who have filed a lawsuit against Apple, seeking class-action status. They are taking issue with the fact that Apple has widely claimed its latest design actually offers improved reception.

Apple has so far resisted calls from analysts and observers to give away the bumper case for free with the iPhone 4. Maybe a little duct tape will convince them otherwise.