Apple told to recall iPhone 4 over signal problem

Computing giant Apple is under pressure to recall its latest smartphone, the iPhone 4, after tests by a highly respected US consumer magazine, Consumer Report, showed problems with signal strength are due to a hardware – not software – issue.

As soon as the new handset came out earlier this year, some users began to report problems with signal strength if the phone was held in a particular way. The problems were worse if the user was left-handed, while shifting grip during a call would sometimes cause it to be cut off.

After an initial hesitation, Apple issued a statement admitting that there was a problem – but saying it was only a software issue, which would soon be fixed by the release of a software update for the phones.

Apple claimed the programme which works out how many ‘bars’ to display indicating how good the signal strength is at any given location was faulty – and that users who thought they had a problem were being misled. But this explanation failed to account for reports that the iPhone 4 would cut off calls abruptly when the user changed their grip during a conversation.

Now Consumer Report says it has tested the phone in its RF isolation chamber – a room impervious to outside radio signals. Inside the room was a device which simulates a mobile phone mast, and the phones were tuned to its signal, allowing their signal strength to be evaluated objectively.

The researchers found that there is a hardware problem with signal, which is affected by holding the phone.

Part of the iPhone 4's metal casing is used as the phone's aerial - one long strip of metal wrapped around the side of the phone with a gap at one point on the lower left-hand side of the handset. When the phone is held with a finger spanning the gap, the user's finger allows electric current to conduct across the gap – dramatically weakening the aerial’s effectiveness.

Apple fan site Cultofmac.com spoke to PR experts including Chris Lehane, who earned his nickname 'Master of Disaster' managing bad publicity for the Clinton White House. The PR people all agree: Apple has to act decisively to limit the damage to its public image by recalling the phone.

"Apple must protect its brand image, its crown jewels, at all cost," said Lehane. "Apple has enormous consumer loyalty but it depends on whether people believe it's credible."

Earlier this year, Apple overtook Microsoft for the first time to become the world's biggest tech company. It remains to be seen whether Steve Jobs will decide he no longer needs to protect the goodwill he has always enjoyed with his customers – or if the firm is now too big to care. ·