Dropped Calls, Poor Signal - Flawed Chip?
Although I have not been updating my blog lately, I am still in touch with the developments of the iPhone. One of the latest gripes that iPhone 3G users have is the poor signal and dropped calls.
Reports have point to a flaw in the Infineon chip in the iPhone which Apple plans to rectify with a firmware update instead of a more costly product recall, though AT&T says that their service is running smoothly and Infineon Technologies (IFX) say that there are no problems with the chip which is also being used in Samsung mobile devices.
However, I am not sure if this is so much with a flawed chip than the nature of shared SIM. As a user of a shared SIM where I use the same SIM card to make and receive calls, text and connect to the web on 3G, I get dropped calls too sometimes, when I am also connected to 3G at the same time.
Worst is that if 3G signal is totally down, I would not be able to make and receive calls or text at all, let alone connect to 3G. That’s why I’m contemplating splitting my voice/text and 3G subscriptions.
But that’s not all the woes that have plagued iPhone 3G users. There are times that there’s no 3G reception at all when other devices on the same network were able to connect at the same spot at the same time. Now, this one is a little odd. One wonders, why we would be subscribing to a service when we can’t even use it. Let’s see if Apple could rectify this problem with just a firmware upgrade.
“I Am Rich” US$999.99 iPhone App Pulled From Apple App Store
When the Apple App Store was launched concurrently with the release of Apple iPhone 3G, everyone headed there to download free or cheap 3rd party iPhone applications. At last, after one year, Apple has decided that 3rd party iPhone apps will not do the iPhone any harm, and it is better for iPhone users to download apps legally, isn’t it?
By opening this application candy store, Apple receives 30% for each app that is sold. However, suddenly, this past week, sort of like an after-thought, Apple has pulled off three iPhone apps from the App Store, and this is just the beginning.
The most controversial app that has been removed is the I Am Rich iPhone app. It was sold at an astounding US$999.99. And the surprise is that there were eight buyers. Are they rich or are they foolish?
I Am Rich does nothing but to show off this red screen with a gem on your iPhone. The gem looks more like a tooth to me!
The other two apps that have been unceremoniously pulled from the Apple App Store are:
BoxOffice - a free app that gives you up-to-date movie listing on your iPhone.
Nullriver - an app that allows Mac user to turn their iPhone 3G into a wireless modem to connect to their internet via 3G or EDGE.
While it is Apple’s prerogative to remove apps from the App Store and they must have a reason doing so, particularly with the useless I Am Rich which is more like a scam app, and BoxOffice, which some people had experience iPhone crashes after installing or upgrading it, developers are not happy with the way that this has been handled, with no explanation at all and emails left unanswered. That is highly unprofessional of Apple, don’t you think so? After all, Apple and Developers are like partners, with Apple providing the platform and developers providing content.
