How to Repair an iPhone 4

The most common issue with the iPhone 4 is the glass back plate. Apple had the good sense to use gorilla glass for the front of the iPhone 4, making it incredibly robust and resistant to scratches and shattering. Unfortunately the same can't be said about the back, which uses standard glass.

So what do you do if you drop your iPhone 4 and this happens:

Well, thankfully Apple had the good sense to make the replacement process a very quick and simple job. Basically you have to remove the two PH000 screws at the bottom and the back plate slides straight off. To help with the process, I have created a short screenshot guide which can be found over in the gallery section.

The Verizon iPhone 4

Although not very exciting for us Brits, Apple have finally unleashed the iPhone 4 on Verizon in the US. Fundamentally the device is the same, however there have been some minor hardware and software modifications to allow it to take advantage of the Verizon network and services. These changes include:

Antenna Design: All previous iPhone's were designed for GSM networks which are used by the majority of the world's mobile operators, such as AT&T, Vodafone, Orange, O2, etc. Verizon however use a competing standard known as CDMA, which utilises a different network architecture and requires the mobile hardware to be CDMA compatible. As a result Apple have had to tweak the iPhone 4 hardware design, specifically a revised antenna design and the removal of the micro-SIM slot (as CDMA networks do not require a SIM). Apple have not detailed if they have made any other changes to the antenna design to resolve the reported "Antennagate" issue experienced at the iPhone 4 launch, however initial reports state that the Verizon iPhone exhibits no visible signal loss when attempting "the death grip".

The image below shows the minor antenna design change, where a new black band has been added at the top of the iPhone on both sides. As a result of this change the mute and volume buttons have been lowered, meaning that the original iPhone 4 cases may not be 100% compatible. 

iOS 4.2.5: Unsurprisingly the new Verizon iPhone uses a new iOS version (4.2.5 compared to 4.2.1). First reports show that the only visible change to the user is the addition of the "Personal Hotspot" found under "Settings". This new feature allows you to share the iPhone's 3G data connection with up to five other devices (mobile, tablets or laptops) over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. This is an enhancement of the previous tethering service and makes the iPhone a feasible Mi-Fi replacement.

It is believed that this new feature will be made available to all versions of the iPhone 4 in a future iOS release, however it will be up to the individual mobile operators to enable service (probably at an additional charge).

The Verizon iPhone will be available on 10th February. Initially the US users will have to pick between the GSM (AT&T) or CDMA (Verizon) iPhone 4 as they are physically different hardware, although I fully expect Apple to utilise a unified chip for future iPhone designs. For more information head over to Engadget.

Thoughts on "Antennagate"

For the first time in recent years, Apple is facing a PR nightmare. They are receiving heavy criticism about the design of their new external antenna system on the iPhone 4. The issue is to do with increased attenuation when gripping or touching the iPhone 4's antenna in the lower left corner, which has been dubbed by the media as "antennagate". Reports are showing that this increased attenuation results in a loss of signal, which can cause dropped calls and data transfers to stall.

To smooth the situation Apple held a press conference on Friday 16th July, where they attempted to show that all phones suffer from the same issue and this is not a design flaw, but instead a design consideration. They went on to explain that due to the iPhone 4's revolutionary new antenna system, it actually receives better reception then any previous iPhone, however due to the antenna being externally facing, it is susceptible to increased attenuation when touched in certain areas. To backup this statement they showed videos of other popular phones (from RIM, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and HTC) showing the same issue and gave the media a rare glimpse of their world class antenna testing facility to help prove they take antenna design very seriously. Finally they released an iOS update (v4.0.1) to re-work the signal bars and, more significantly, announced they would give every iPhone 4 customer a free "bumper" (official iPhone case), which were previously on sale for £25. This case reduces the attenuation issue by removing the users hand from the antenna.

So just how big is this issue? I have been an iPhone 4 owner since the launch and I can confirm that in low signal conditions, I can make my signal bars drop if I grip the lower left corner. However, in real world use I have never once dropped a call or seen any loss in performance. Therefore, at least for me, "antennagate" is a non-event and although I will happily take my free bumper from Apple, I will have no need for it in general use. If you are currently considering purchasing an iPhone 4 I would say don't worry about "antennagate" and feel safe that if you do experience issues, you can always return your iPhone 4 in the first 30 days for a full refund.

Unfortunately for Apple, it looks like this issue isn't going to go away anytime soon. The iPhone has been the number one smartphone for the past three years and the iPhone 4 has already sold over 3 million units in just 22 days. However it is this amazing success that is probably fueling the media - when you are already number one, a story of failure is far more exciting then a story of continued success. Personally, I will be very interested to see how this issue impacts sales and how Apple continues to handle the situation, as there is nothing more important to Apple then their brand image.

Update on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:53AM by Matt (LifeinTECH)

If you are interested to learn more about "antennagate" then I recommend checking out the article "The Emperor's New Antenna" by Watts Martin. In my opinion this is one of the best written articles about "antennagate" yet.

O2 iPhone 4 Pricing Announced

O2 have finally added the pricing for the iPhone 4. Check them out below:

For full details head over to O2.

Update on Friday, June 18, 2010 at 5:49AM by Matt (LifeinTECH)

It looks like only existing O2 customers (mobile, mobile broadband or home Internet) will be able to pick up an iPhone 4 on June 24th. The following statement was issued:

"iPhone stock will be extremely limited in the UK at launch and not everybody who wants one will be able to get one straight away. We want to make sure that our existing customers get priority so until at least the end of July, only existing O2 customers will be able to get an iPhone 4 from us."

I'll keep you posted with any further developments.

Update on Friday, June 25, 2010 at 11:50AM by Matt (LifeinTECH)

On Thursday 24th, O2 stores across the Country swung their doors open at 8:02am for the iPhone 4 launch. As previously reported only existing O2 customer were eligible to buy an iPhone 4, however that didn't stop them selling out in just a few hours. For those who were not lucky enough to get hold of one, you may now have to wait a few weeks for new stock. To help O2 have added a stock checker to their website, which is apparently updated multiple times each day. If you really can't wait, then this might be your best way to track down the allusive iPhone 4 - http://stock.o2.co.uk.

Apple Officially Unveil the iPhone 4

Last night Apple officially announced the iPhone 4. We already knew a lot about the look of the device, however it was nice to get the full technical details.

Key Features:

• Retina Display - 3.5-inch, 940x640 resolution, 326 pixels per inch.
• Apple A4 Architecture (same as the iPad).
• Rear Camera - 5-megapixel auto-focus lens + LED flash (will record 720p video at 30fps).
• Front Camera - VGA for "FaceTime" (video calling over Wi-Fi).
• Gyroscope to detect motion on 6 axes.
• 802.11n Wi-Fi.
• Improved battery life (40h audio up from 30h with the iPhone 3GS).
• 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS.
• iOS version 4.0 (previously named iPhone OS 4.0)

The key selling points for me are the new display (which looks sensational) and the introduction of the A4 architecture, which I can confirm is amazingly powerful. Check out the Apple promotional video below to see the iPhone 4 in action.

Apple also showed the "golden master" version of the iPhone OS 4.0, which has been renamed to iOS 4.0 (this makes more sense as it is used on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad). As iOS 4.0 has been with developers for several months now we already know about many of the new features, such as multitasking, unified inbox, folders, etc, and for more information on iOS 4.0 check out my previous article - iPhone Goes Epic!.

The iPhone 4 running iOS 4.0 will be available in the the UK on O2, Vodafone and Orange on 24th June 2010. UK pricing is yet to be announced.