HTC’s Response to Apple Regarding Droid Eris Antenna Problem

When Apple held its press conference to address the iPhone 4’s antenna issues (Antenna Gate), one of the phones singled out by Steve Jobs was the HTC Droid Eris, which can be seen as dropping significant amount of signal when “death-gripped.” HTC has responded.

Apple boasts that its AppleCare support has received only .55% of iPhone 4 owners’ complaints about reception/signal loss. HTC fires back by pointing out that a paltry .016% of Droid Eris owners have called in to voice their displeasure. Perhaps most iPhone 4 and Droid Eris owners keep getting their calls dropped before they can reach customer service!

Reception loss is a problem for most smartphones, depending on one’s area and coverage. My HTC Magic/MyTouch loses at least 1 bar, sometimes 2, whenever I death-grip it. The video here clearly shows that the Droid Eris can quickly lose signal too.

I simply laugh at the fanboys who live in denial, claiming that the other side is lying. Just because you cannot replicate the problem, it does not mean that it is nonexistent. Even a single instance to the contrary is called “counter proof.” Obviously, Apple’s clips were conducted in the worst possible environments for the phones, but they indicate that these devices are not invincible. The iPhone 4’s problems are most pronounced because its antennae are exposed and can be bridged easily by its holder, and also because of the sheer number of copies that Apple has sold. AT&T’s flaky network hardly helps matters either.