RIM responds to Apple’s “But they’re doing it too!” campaign
RIM’s Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie issued an official response to Apple’s press conference yesterday. I won’t comment on it, for risk of further angering my fanboy readers, except to say, they’re completely right.
“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. 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 is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, 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. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone 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.” – Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie
via Crackberry
Doc. Your not making us happy here.
My Blackberry behaves exactly like my iPhone. Both go from 5 to 2 bars when the bottom rear of the phone is covered.
Well said by RIM
I think the people at RIM that wrote this letter/response are full of s*** my old Blackberry Curve and Blackberry Bold dropped calls all the time and not even in a weak signal area as cell tower is just 1-2 blocks down the street so in a awesome signal area so it would go from 5 to 0 Bars all the time. Now my iPhone 3G I had and now my iPhone 4 have never gone under 4 bars except when I am at Walmart in the freezer Ridley some reason don’t like that. Neither has dropped a call except the iPhone 3G once like 1 1/2 ago.
If there’s one thing lacking from RIM’s statement, it’s something along the lines of “Apple is wrong, and our phone doesn’t drop signal”. It sounds more like, “Apple is having an issue, and called us out for having the same issue, how dare they!”
This has happened to several phones of mine in the past. If people want to make a big deal out of it for Apple, I think it’s only fair to mention other manufacturers have the same issue.
Let’s be honest, if the signal drop issue weren’t true for RIM, they’d be suing Apple right now instead of issuing PR equivalent of whining.
No matter what I do I cannot replicate this behavior on my 9700. I like Apple products a lot (every iPhone, mac pro, macbook pro, macbook air, macbook, appleTV etc etc), but, I have to agree that Apple needs to take responsibility here and quit trying to say everyone has the same issue and it’s an industry wide phenomenon.
Apple… Just fix the problem and move on.
Yeah, the only phone I’ve ever dropped calls on in the Portland area was my old Curve. Two, maybe three times a week I’d lose a call all together.
Read more on Ass Cramps:
http://www.poopreport.com/Poll/ass_cramps.html?from=140&comments_per_page=140
Some people have made up their mind that Apple is wrong, everyone else is right, and they are not going to see it any other way regardless of the evidence presented. It’s too bad they won’t put that much energy into holding Congress’ feet to the fire about the issues that have significantly greater impact to a much larger number of people.
The issue here is not signal lost by the iPhone or the blackberry (or any other smartphones). The core of the issue is Apple dragging other companies to their own fiasco. Apple has to deal with the matter without involving other companies.
Doc. I’m completely with you on this one. I think that apple should take responsibility of their own actions instead of trying to drown everybody else with them. They need to 1) admit their mistake, 2) give away the bumpers, 3) admit that it was a bad idea to do it this way and 4) revise the model and for future editions add a plastic cover in that gap or something and problem solved.
Rim and the BlackBerry suck eggs. Nokia, Rim & HTC are all too well aware that since Jobs demoed their handsets antenna shortcomings that they are all going to get hammered by the press and the public for the same problems that plague the iPhone4. Let the mayhem begin!
I try to replicate the problem in both my 3GS and my husband’s iphone 4 and no matter how hard I try, the signal won’t drop and the phone calls won’t either… darn Apple!
Why does Apple has to do anything? Your iphone 4 sucks? R-E-T-U-R-N it! It works for 90% of the people. Not all products are perfect, so why does Apple has to recall and fix a problem that only affects (I’m being generous here) 5% of their customers? Just return your darn phone!
Not company in the past 15 years, since I started using Apple products, has respected me – the consumer – and provided better customer service *by far* than Apple – not a single one!
Does Jobs have an attittude? Sure does, but I don’t “buy” Steve-Jobses, I buy his products and he makes excellent products and provide excellent service. Are they
Are they not dealing with this situation in the best possible way? Maybe not, but that’s not a reason to burn them at the stake as the press is doing it. And it really feels that it’s because people don’t like Jobs attitude and Apple’s stellar record. So I ask again: not happy with your iphone 4? Just return it and go get a Droid or whatever. I guess Apple is this year disappeared blonde woman or summer shark… but hey guys, there’s a little mess down there on the gulf, so perhaps you wanna aim your guns over there…
sorry for the rant, doc, big fan here, but sometimes we loose it 🙂
***News flash**** Rim doesn’t understand the laws of physics.
@Jamie,
You just might be close to a cell tower. In that case even with the attenuation of your hand is enough to degrade the signal enough to drop bars. It will be still a very strong signal.
Don’t jump to conclusions on a test with just one phone. Try a other place that has a weaker cell tower signal and do compare different phones. You will be amazed 🙂
Sorry for the typo in my last post, please delete that post
@Jamie,
You just might be close to a cell tower. In that case, even with the attenuation of your hand is not enough to degrade the signal to drop bars on your phone. The phone will still have a very strong signal.
Don’t jump to conclusions with a test on just one phone. Try a other place that has a weaker cell tower signal and do compare different phones. You will be amazed 🙂
RIM is jealous and upset because Apple’s iPhone has always been better than the BlackBerry. Trust me, I used to have a BlackBerry. I got rid of it.
I’m rather surprised people see something wrong with what Apple did. Quite honestly, it was the best, and simplest way to show this is a non-issue. Their statements were true, and at least on my end they don’t seem like jabs, more of leveling the playing field.
They even dragged their older models through the mud.
After checking out their site, I tested with my iPhone 3G and yep, the bars dropped from 5 to 2 holding it in the exact same spot. That said, I’ve never dropped a call during use. If this issue has existed in older models yet remained a non-issue, why now is it raising such a stink in the media. Oh, right… they’re all about rating, and a scandal get them their fix.
@Grant
“I’m rather surprised people see something wrong with what Apple did. Quite honestly, it was the best, and simplest way to show this is a non-issue. ”
I totally agree with you. But in the minds of many people, how don’t think for them selfs, Apple still made a mistake, they just senselessly follow the media and teh rest of the crowd
” If this issue has existed in older models yet remained a non-issue, why now is it raising such a stink in the media. Oh, right… they’re all about rating, and a scandal get them their fix.”
That’s why I appreciate that you keep thinking for yourself. Hope more people will start doing this too. Media and bloggers can learn a lot from people like you.
RIM is pissed off because no one is notices when their phones don’t work but everyone is upset when the iPhone is less than perfect.
@Billy Boyd Cape
You’re not making English majors happy.
@ Jon (comment 19)
You need a major in english to distinguish between you’re and your? 😛
(sorry if I used ‘major’ incorrectly, we have a different system here)
My corporate BlackBerry sucks 20 times more when comparing the connection to my iPhone 3G (yes – it’s not 3Gs nor 4, yet) in the exact same place.
Further, the battery of the BB seems to die slowly… but I had no problems yet with the iPhone’s battery – and the 3G is way longer in use than my corporate BB!
I love Apple fanboys that get so mad when their “Holy Grail” is threatened. I have had a blackberry since 2003 when it was the 850 just did email and was the size of a brick. Nothing matches it in the corporate world. Nothing matches the BES in its ability to control phone IT policy and security remotely. Blackberry isn’t worried about keeping its hold on the corporate world.
The thing that makes me laugh about the “They have problems too” whine is that it isn’t an answer. Its an excuse. I have held my Storm 2 and my Bold 2 in every conceivable way. I even smashed it under my armpit to make sure 100% of it was covered in skin. Guess what? No dropped calls. Didn’t even interfere with the bluetooth signal.
I have never seen another company try to drag other companies through the mud because they were getting bad pub. When NVidia had the GTX9500 fiasco with memory being bad on their cards they didn’t point to AMD/ATI and say “Well they sometimes have bad cards too!!” They just replaced the cards or offered an upgrade.
Grow up Apple fans. Its not the end of the world when someone talks trash about your device malfunctioning. They wouldn’t be able to if the device did not malfunction in such an epic way.
looks like the upcoming BB 9800 suffers from the same problem…
oop, wait, someone had the video evidence yanked off youtube…
http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/07/19/new.blackberry.may.already.have.iphone.4.problem/
Agreed!
My fiance has a Blackberry that does not drop calls. I have a HTC Eris that performs 100% everyday as well…
I do like and own Apple products, but I refuse to pay $300 for a phone, and I will not fall for their actual denials on “product design.”