iPhone News Updated

Bad Antenna on iPhone 3G? Bluetest Says No

Bad Antenna on iPhone 3G? Bluetest Says No

The now notorious connection problems that have plagued Apple’s 3G iPhone have been attributed to many different factors. Some rumors claim the Infineon 3G chip is bad or AT&T’s network has problems while others blame a faulty antenna. The list of culprits may have recently been narrowed. A small Swedish company claims that, after testing, they found no problems with the 3G iPhone’s antenna.

Bluetest is a Swedish based company that tests the sending and receiving capabilities of antennae under various conditions. The tests take place in a noise free metal chamber. The device in question is equipped with a test SIM card and is mounted to an arm on a revolving disc. The device then rotates while an array of instruments simulate various real world environments. Handset manufacturers Motorola and TCO, among others, use Bluetest’s testing chamber for their products.

In the first test the 3G iPhone was compared with a Sony Ericsson P1 and a Nokia N73. The P1 was slightly better at receiving signals and the N73 was slightly better at transmitting but, at only 2 dB, the differences were negligible. According to Bluetest CEO Mats Andersson, one might start to wonder if something was wrong at a difference of 4 - 6 dB.

Next, the TRP (Total Radiated Power) on transmitting was tested at three different frequencies. A TIS (Total Isotropic Sensitivity) test on receiving followed. This was done once with wlan, GPS and Bluetooth turned off and once with everything turned on. At the conclusion antenna engineer Magnus Franzén said the values were completely normal in every scenario.

So, according to Bluetest at least, the 3G iPhone’s woes do not stem from a faulty antenna.

[Thanks: http://www.unwir3d.com]