Apple to Blame for iPhone 3G Reception Problems

A thread on Apple's Forums entitled "iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You are not Alone - Continued," has been viewed over 31,000 times and boasts nearly 700 responses. Now, we've learned that the iPhone 3G's chipset may be to blame for such connection problems. "We believe that these issues are typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack where we are almost certain Infineon is the 3G supplier." Those are the words of Richard Windsor, an analyst at Nomura Securities, in a research note to clients earlier today. If the reception issues are indeed attributed to a hardware problem, a software solution (i.e. firmware upgrade) from Apple won't be able to remedy the situation, leaving millions of 3G iPhone users in the lurch. T-Mobile Netherlands has also thrown their lot into the fray with a blog post, pointing the finger squarely at Apple for the lack of reception:

The 3G coverage of T-Mobile is as good as the competition, there can therefore not lie. We suspect that it is a hardware / software specific issue of the iPhone itself.

While Apple remains silent on the issue, AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said that the two companies are investigating the problem together. Though he noted that reception issues were being taken seriously, Siegel also took the PR opportunity to question the severity of the problem:

How a device performs in individual situations depends on circumstances like where you are in the 3G coverage, how close you are to a cell site. Things like terrain and buildings all come into play. I'm not denying that people are having a less than satisfactory experience, but overall, the phone is doing great.

With or without signal, the connection problem hasn't prevented Apple from moving a reported 3 million units of their new handset. The iPhone 3G (and its poor reception?) will be shipping to another 21 countries on August 22nd.

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