Captivate reception problem?

[Jofaba]

Originally Posted by gTen

But the point here is that 0 would still not drop your phone calls like it does on an iphone 4...In the end you were on a 2-3 bars on the test...that means you had a weak connection to begin with and added more interference..people on the iphone 4 had 5 bars drop to 0 and lost calls...

The iphone has been misrepresenting signal with it's bar graphic essentially from the beginning. I have 3 bars in my apartment. The bounce from 2-4 is pretty normal for this phone. It's another known "problem".

As you said you don't hold the captivate that tight normally..now for the iphone 4 all you have to do is place your finger on the antenna and it tanks...so you have to be careful how you hold it..this is because the antenna is on the outside instead of the inside...

I've said numerous times that this does not affect call use, especially when I hold it how it feels naturally. I can drop the call, if I want to, but I have to try.

It does, however, affect browsing speed over 3g. And it's not about how tight the grip is. That's why I did the hand test. Yes, I understand that by doing that I was completely blocking the antenna, but on my previous android phone, the Aria, it's so small that you cup the whole thing and I never had that issue.

Apple makes those commercial to confuse people into thinking it is an issue with loosing bars..but the real issue is not the loosing of the bars as is it going completely dead...it is a related but different issue

I haven't seen any commercials. I don't watch tv anymore. I do know that these are two different issues. To be honest here, have I EVER once in my videos even mentioned the iphone? I'm not anti iphone and I'm not pro android. I prefer android and even though it just crashed on me (my Aria did the same once) where I had to remove the battery and put it back in to boot back up, even with all it's problems, it's an awesome device with real potential and I'm keeping it.

In the end, the real problem is that I do have to hold the phone differently if I want the best speeds. I can deal with that. I'm starting to hold the phone by the left/right bezel when in landscape and I'm already used to it. No more hooking 2-3 fingers over the battery door = no more problem. (and yes, I know it's not a connectivity issue, it's a blocking issue).

It amazes me that there is a debate here. I'm not trying to prove anything beyond the fact that there is an issue that seems bigger than most seem willing to accept.

Not everything has to be vs the iphone. As it stands, by itself, the Captivate has a problem. It exists. It can be reproduced easily for demonstration, and it CAN affect use.

Because the video got popular many people think that my intention was to blow a problem out of proportion, or bring attention to a non-issue. I made the first video because people didn't believe that I could even drop the reception at all. I made the second video when people requested it because they didn't think the bar drop meant anything, and they'd rather see the tech-ier indicator. I made the third video because even with my first 2 people didn't believe that actual performance was being hindered.

I don't know what to do past that. Short of popping an eyeball out and installing a webcam that follows my use over time to prove that holding the phone certain ways causes an issue, there will be no pleasing some people.

By the way, I'm not mad at you or anything you said. I'm just starting to get frustrated that people keep telling me that the tests prove nothing and there "is no real problem". And everyone else brings up the iphone. I never did. The closest I came was using the antenna-gate tag, and that was because big tech sites started using that phrase with the Captivate before I ever did.

I'm honestly not arguing with you. I'm just venting. I know that I came to your guy's site uninvited and I apologize if I'm coming off as a jerk. My only intention with these videos was to help others see the same problem I was experiencing and let them decide if it was an issue for them. If you look at all my comments on the videos I continue to promote the phone and agree/admit that the problem (while it does indeed exist) can be worked with and the phone is still very much worth getting.

[gTen]

I know your intentions..in my case I was trying to clarify the difference so that everyone else who stumbles in this thread does not misinterpret it with what is going on with the iphone...(hence if you notice I never said that you don't loose speed)

Ever since the FCC regulation, expect all phones from now on to include it on bottom and some 3g speed issues will happen due to interference..mostly in areas with weak signals...