The “grip of death” antenna issue with the Apple iPhone 4 has become a bit of a PR albatross on the device’s back. Apple has (correctly) pointed out that a number of phones from a broad range of manufacturers also exhibit significant signal loss when held in particular ways—there’s just no denying that putting a big insulator like a hand or a skull right next to a small radio is going to cause some signal loss. Similar signal loss has been demonstrated with Apple’s previous iPhone 3GS model, as well as phones from the likes of HTC, Nokia, and RIM.
Now it seems Samsung’s new line of Galaxy S Android-based smartphones aren’t immune either: according to Information Week, both the Samsung Vibrant (available on T-Mobile) and Samsung Captivate (available on AT&T) exhibit very similar “grip of death” signal loss when held with either the left or right hand around the bottom of the phone. The author of the article reports the phones drop from three or four signal bars to zero in the space of a few seconds when held in this seemingly ordinary way, and regain signal when the grip is released.
The article notes that neither phone dropped a call while in the “grip of death,” and the author was still able to send text messages in that state. But on the other hand, the author also notes he has never lost a call or data connection with the iPhone 4′s “grip of death” either.
Most phones have some sort of “Death Grip”. The the iPhone 4 issue first surfaces, people were able to replicated it on all iPhone Models, the Nexus Once, G1, Droid, an early GSM Nokia, Palm Pre and Pixi, and nearly every phone that no longer has an antenna bump or extendable antenna.
Oh and they just added 7 more cities. sad thing is that they aren’t major cities, LOL!
http://phandroid.com/2010/07/12/spring-4g-comes-to-more-markets-in-new-york-california-oregon-and-washington/
@ Johnny: It only happens on the EVO in all four of their 4G-compatible areas.
How do I get this problem on my HTC EVO 4G? I want to be a part of that club.
@ digital trends:
What phone are you sportin’?
@Digital Trends:
Ha! Nice one ;)
@ Johnny: We are pretty mixed here, a couple Blackberry phones, 1 iPhone 4 in the office (surprising eh), a couple iPhone 3Gs phones and an HTC Evo.
Oh yeah, plenty of fights here over mobile supremacy!
Nice mix though. Rivals in the office ;)
Looks like the Samsung Galaxy S has the same antenna problems as the iPhone 4.
they look like brothers..lol
how do i replicate it on my Droid?
Most phones have some sort of “Death Grip”. The the iPhone 4 issue first surfaces, people were able to replicated it on all iPhone Models, the Nexus Once, G1, Droid, an early GSM Nokia, Palm Pre and Pixi, and nearly every phone that no longer has an antenna bump or extendable antenna.
great review. love my captivates. great unlocked cell phones. processor is faster, it's lighter and easy to navigate. fits right in my pocket and the apps, games, and all that is great. keeps me busy! much better than my old unlocked blackberry phones. gps and email are great for my business and keeping in touch with my clients. got our blackberry unlock codes and cell phone unlock codes for free! facebook and games are fun, it's like my own little computer for everything I need! speaker phone is loud enough and the web browser is great for my fantasy team. got our last couple unlocked samsung phones at unlockthatphone.com 2 thumbs way up
To all of those having no bars, while not even holding the phone, I found a way to make it work. When I turn off my 3G, the phone works just fine. It has all of its bars now. It makes the phone work, however, I don't think that I should have to give up my 3G to make the phone work….