Nick Wingfield and Amol Sharma | August 19, 2008
APPLE is working on a software fix for its iPhone 3G to remedy dropped phone calls that some users are experiencing, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move by Apple is in response to a chorus of online complaints from users who say the device, one of the most eagerly anticipated electronics gadgets in years, suffers from an unusually high number of phone calls dropping out in mid-conversation.A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment.
Michael Coe, a spokesman for AT&T, Apple's wireless carrier partner in the US, says the iPhone 3G, like all devices it carries, has varying performance based on factors such as the proximity of the user to a cell tower and interference from buildings and trees.
Coe wouldn't say whether the iPhone was more prone to dropped calls than other phones on the company's network.
Glitches are common for new entrants in the mobile phone business, one of the most technically challenging categories of products for which to write reliable software code.
The effectiveness and speed with which Apple comes up with a solution for the problem of dropped calls could affect the long-term success of the iPhone 3G, an important growth market for the company.
Apple introduced the iPhone 3G, which offers faster internet access speeds than the original version of the device, on July 11.
A rash of service problems with Apple's new release has users outraged.
The problems appear to arise from the device's chipset.
"It's not about whether you have problems or don't have them," says Ken Dulaney, a mobile analyst at technology analyst Gartner.
"It's how quickly you address them that matters. If Apple addresses them, people will cut them slack."
New iPhone software aimed at addressing the problem is expected to be made available in the coming weeks to iPhone 3G users, who will be able to download and install it on their devices through Apple's iTunes Store.
Apple says the problems are related to a chip inside the iPhone 3G made by Germany's Infineon Technologies. According to the preliminary findings of a dissection of the iPhone 3G by Gartner, Apple appears to be using a custom-made Infineon chip as the "baseband processor", a component that handles the connections between the device and mobile networks.
Dulaney says the decision to use a custom chip, rather than a standard off-the-shelf part, could the source of the iPhone's dropped calls.
A spokeswoman for Infineon did not return calls seeking comment.
It is difficult to assess how widespread the iPhone 3G connection problems are.
Apple's own discussion forums are packed with hundreds of complaints from users complaining of poor wireless reception and dropped calls.
Dulaney himself says he has experienced spotty network reception with his own iPhone 3G, most recently inside San Francisco's baseball stadium, AT&T Park.
The Wall Street Journal