iPhone 4 Problems Emerge as First Shipments are Received

Let’s say you tried to make it through the frustrating pre-order process with AT&T or Apple, but gave up and decided to camp out in one of the lines at an Apple store or other retailer. Hopefully at the end of the ordeal you’d be holding a shiny new iPhone 4, and naturally you’d want to call your friends and gloat about your perfect new mobile toy.

Except that a good number iPhone 4 owners aren’t finding the device to be so perfect. The biggest problem comes from actually getting a call out, and seeing as it’s been experienced by users from the US to the UK, AT&T’s sometimes spotty coverage may not be to blame.

One of the iPhone 4 features that was touted by Apple is a metal antenna band on the outside of the phone, that was supposed to improve reception. The problem? It only seems to work if you don’t touch the phone. Oops.

The solution seems to be an iPhone condom. That’s not the official name, but a rubber bumper casing that goes on the outside of the phone seems to protect the antenna from human interference and improve call and reception performance. Put a rubber ring on it!

Apple hasn’t acknowledged the design flaw, and for the moment users are on their own to figure out a solution if they don’t want to spend an additional $30 on the rubber bumpers that would prevent the reception problems, or just don’t like the way they look. A commenter at Gizmodo suggests a coat of clear nail polish. {Gizmodo} If that doesn’t work, you could always try to do something about your incompatible fingers.

The next problem, while not as bad as a phone not being able to make calls when you touch it, is probably equally annoying to the people who’ve been feverishly checking FedEx tracking numbers and stalking out Apple stores (some, getting mugged {Business Insider}) in hopes of being first to experience the new iPhone. Problems of a pale yellow tint, and white “constellation” spots have been appearing on the iPhone 4’s super high definition Retina display.

For the yellow tint, some readers are speculating that it’s a case of the phones being shipped before a chemical used as an adhesive in the screen was completely dry, and that after a few days it should go away. For people who just can’t wait to find out, Apple has been giving speedy replacements to customers encountering screen problems. {Gizmodo}