RIM and Nokia Fight Back after Apple Press Conference

Apple CEO Steve Jobs had to know he was opening a can of feisty worms when he accused RIM, Nokia and other handset manufacturers of the same antenna design flaw that’s haunted the launch of Apple’s iPhone 4.

Users report dropped calls and weakened signals when holding Apple’s iPhone 4 a certain way. Jobs defended the phone at a July 16 press conference and offered free “bumpers” to prevent signal disruption.

Jobs tried to deflect criticism by characterizing antenna problems as a challenge faced by the whole wireless industry, and then pointed to alleged similar flaws with the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris and Samsung Omnia II.

It took only hours for RIM to defend its BlackBerry antenna design:

“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable,” say RIM co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie in an official statement posted on Crackberry.com. “Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation.”

“RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage,” Lazaridis and Balsillie continue. “One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smart phone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”

Nokia also fought back with a statement. As reported by Engadget:

“We prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict,” Nokia says. “Antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real-life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.”

It’s unlikely that we’ll see the end of the antenna scandal soon. In the meantime, Telwares’ mobility experts urge enterprises to take the same measured approach to deploying the iPhone 4 as they would any other brand, carrier or platform. There’s no fundamental need for a change in direction for any enterprise evaluating the merits of deploying the iPhone to its user community.

Telwares instructs enterprise organizations that have already deployed the iPhone 4 to closely scrutinize their commercial agreements with AT&T to determine device support from multiple channels, how they can approach implementing the remedies Apple has outlined with minimal business interruption and the contractual implications where the need to terminate specific services exists.

Defensive Jobs Hosts iPhone 4 Press Conference

The iPhone 4 “antennagate” scandal has been blown out of proportion, Apple CEO Steve Jobs insisted when he took the stage at an Apple press conference held today to address complaints about the device.

Users report dropped calls and weakened signals when holding the phone a certain way. Jobs countered that more than 3 million iPhone 4s were sold in the three weeks since the iPhone 4 launched, and that it’s received the highest customer satisfaction rating of any iPhone or any smart phone, Engadget reports.

Antenna problems are a challenge faced by the whole wireless industry, Jobs says, as he pointed to alleged similar flaws with the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris and Samsung Omnia II.

Jobs also acknowledged that iPhones use a faulty algorithm to calculate signal strength. But even the updated algorithm in a forthcoming software update will show a signal strength decrease when the phone is held the wrong way.

But the degradation is slight, Jobs maintains: The iPhone 4 drops one more call per 100 than the iPhone 3GS. Only 0.55% of iPhone 4 users have called AppleCare to report signal degradation, and 1.7% of iPhone 4s have been returned – a decrease from the 6% of iPhone 3GSs returned.

Apple will attempt to combat the negative publicity by giving away free cases to mitigate the antenna problem and issue refunds to users who bought the cases proactively. Users can also return the iPhone 4 for a full refund (and no restocking fee) within 30 days of purchase. Jobs indicated he thinks AT&T will refund money spent on its service contracts when users return iPhone 4s.

Here’s the bottom line for enterprises: There’s no fundamental need for a change in direction for any enterprise evaluating the merits of deploying the iPhone to its user community, according to Telwares’ mobility experts.

The issues and challenges faced by some end users on the iPhone are not drastically different than any other brand, carrier or platform. The same measured approach to deploying any enterprise technology still applies and is not altered based on the data available today.

Telwares instructs enterprise organizations that have already deployed the iPhone 4 to closely scrutinize their commercial agreements with AT&T to determine device support from multiple channels, how they can approach implementing the remedies Apple has outlined with minimal business interruption and the contractual implications where the need to terminate specific services exists.

Android Grows Market Share, Others Drop in Popularity

Google’s Android was the only smart phone platform to grow its U.S. market share during the three months ended in May, according to a study released July 8 by Reston, Va.-based comScore, a digital marketing intelligence firm.

As many as 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices as of May. More than 49 million of those mobile devices were smart phones – an 8.1% increase from the previous three-month period, comScore finds.

Android’s market share increased to 13% from 9% in the prior period.

The open-source platform was developed by the Open Handset Alliance, a group of 71 technology and mobile companies that includes Google, HTC, Sprint and Motorola.

The recently announced Android 2.2 (code named “Froyo,” short for frozen yogurt), features updates like portable hotspot functionality, support for Adobe Flash within the Android Browser and improvements to Android Market.

RIM remained the smart phone platform market leader in comScore’s study (with 41.7% of the market), followed by Apple (24.4%) and Microsoft (13.2%). Palm trailed with 4.8% market share.

Aside from Android, each smart phone platform lost between 0.4% (RIM) and 1.9% (Microsoft) of its market share. But the declines don’t reflect a shrinking of the market; comScore says the smart phone market overall continues to grow.

comScore notes its data doesn’t reflect the impact of Apple’s iPhone 4, which launched in June. (Click here to read Telwares’ analysis of iPhone 4.)

Samsung is the top handset manufacturer in comScore’s study (22.4% market share), followed by LG (21.5%), Motorola (21.2%), RIM (8.7%) and Nokia (8.1%).