Steve Wozniak loves his iPhone 4, but carries a back-up phone because of “death grip” antenna problems.
In a conversation with Dutch journalist Henk van Ess, Woz says that he immediately noticed reception problems with the latest Apple smartphone.
Henk van Ess: How did you find out about the antenna problems?
Steve Wozniak: The first time I tried I was able to duplicate the problem. My wife was driving me to the airport and as soon as I got a short distance from my home, and no longer on wifi, I tried it by accessing a web page (using Safari on my iPhone 4) and observing the progress bar.
As the bar started to proceed I lightly (‘lightly’) touched a couple of fingers to the trouble area and the progress bar froze. When I lifted my fingers the progress bar continued it’s (sic) rapid progress. Putting my finger[s] back down halted the progress bar again. Lifting my fingers another time allowed the web page to finish loading.”
While it’s not so surprising that Apple co-founder Wozniak still roots for the Cupertino team, his advice that iPhone 4 users should “carry a Verizon device for back up” is probably far from what the average user considers a viable solution.
Known for toting an arsenal of tech, instead of a piece of duct tape or a bumper case, Woz says:
“If you can afford it, carry a second Verizon phone for backup. Another option is to carry a Verizon mifi and rely on Skype on your iPhone. I have used this mifi technique to rescue my own, and others’, iPhones on occasion. If you buy a Verizon Palm Pre, you get free mifi on it so that is possible the best ‘compromise’ solution, to carry a Verizon Palm Pre along with your AT&T iPhone 4.”
Still, he’s not abandoning the iPhone 4 anytime soon, saying it “works well enough and its beauty is worth the care in holding it.”
Via TechCrunch
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.
