As some customers have had their iPhone 4 orders delayed, a new rumor suggests that Apple will offer a free “brute force” internal hardware fix to existing customers in order to improve the device’s antenna.

Analyst Ashok Kumar with Rodman & Renshaw spoke with AppleInsider on Thursday and revealed that overseas suppliers have indicated to him that Apple has decided on a hardware fix for the iPhone 4. He said sources have told him that the “mechanical fix” is the equivalent of placing a rubber stopgap on the inside of the phone, leaving the outside of the device untouched.

“From a cosmetic purpose, it’s going to be completely transparent,” Kumar said. “But from an engineering perspective, it’s going to be more of a brute force than an elegant addition.”

The goal, he said, aims to offer a quick fix to address concerns for customers. Kumar said it doesn’t make sense for Apple to recall all iPhone 4 handsets and rebuild them from scratch with a “clean slate” design.

But Kumar said he expects the iPhone 4 antenna to be redesigned and fixed internally with a more “elegant” engineering solution when the Verizon iPhone 4 launches in the near future. He said it would also make sense for Apple to eventually apply the same internal fix for the current UMTS iPhone as well, once demand has been met.

“They’re going to have a much more elegant design instead of putting a mechanical contraption inside,” he said.

Kumar also said that AT&T has seen its fill timeline for new iPhone 4 orders stretched out to 8 weeks, suggesting delays in the manufacturing process as Apple settles on its approach. Recently, AT&T was waiting just 7 to 10 days for iPhone 4 orders.

In addition, AppleInsider has received word that some people have been notified that their iPhone 4 orders have been delayed. Some received e-mails direct from Apple citing an “unexpected delay.” There has not been any indication that the delay notifications are widespread yet.

Kumar said he believes Apple decided to hold a press conference on Friday because the company’s quarterly earnings report is next Tuesday. Addressing the antenna issue before then could save the company the burden of being bombarded by analysts about the issue next week, when the company’s executives conduct their quarterly conference call.

Kumar was criticized last year after he noted that iPhone sales in China were “disappointing” before the device was even on sale. Also, in January of this year, he said he was told that the iPad would be available on the Verizon network through a subsidy — a prediction that proved false. However, last fall, Kumar also correctly stated that Google would release its own custom-built handset, which came true when the Nexus One was announced.

Last year, Kumar told AppleInsider that a CDMA-only iPhone with a chipset from Qualcomm will be released for the Verizo

via appleinsider.com

In a new and interesting article by iFixit reveals that Apple is probably starting to distribute four new models of iPhone without any problems with the antenna.

These new models “reviewed” simply have a non-conductive coating on the lateral area at the antenna and apparently the problems with the reception in America are much more limited.

iFixit has received several reports from users and then decided to check the news less replaced by an Apple iPhone 4 Dayon complaining bought at a problem with the bluetooth that has nothing to do with the antenna.

As soon as he was given the new iPhone, immediately took the new serial device and have found that while the former belonged to week 25, the new has been assembled in week 27 and then 15 days Apple has had time to apply this thin, invisible coating that reduces the hand.

Check a serial code is very simple because it relies on the following format:

* = Aa ID factory from which
* B = year of manufacture
* Cc = Production Week
* Ddd = Unique identifier
* Ee = color
* F = capacity

The iPhone iFixit have the following serial:

* 85025xxxA4S (16GB device purchased and set aside)
* 86025xxxA4T (32GB device used for testing)
* 86027xxxA4T (32GB new device made by Apple to replace)

In the coming days iFIX will be able to tell us whether this change there was in effect and see if the complaints finally finished. The only good thing about the delay in marketing in Italy, is the fact that the iPhone will arrive directly “latest”.

Update: According to some analysts’ calculations, a replacement of all 4 iPhones already sold, Apple would cost $ 1.5 billion. Would recover the money, but by solving problems and offering antenna devices as “refurbished” or other devices to replace damaged

Thanks for reporting Danilo Antonelli

It’s official. Consumer Reports’ engineers have just completed testing the iPhone 4, and have confirmed that there is a problem with its reception. When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone’s lower left side—an easy thing, especially for lefties—the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you’re in an area with a weak signal. Due to this problem, we can’t recommend the iPhone 4.

We did, however, find an affordable solution for suffering iPhone 4 users: Cover the antenna gap with a piece of duct tape or another thick, non-conductive material. It may not be pretty, but it works. We also expect that using a case would remedy the problem. We’ll test a few cases this week and report back.

The signal problem is the reason that we did not cite the iPhone 4 as a “recommended” model, even though its score in our other tests placed it atop the latest Ratings of smart phones that were released today.

The iPhone scored high, in part because it sports the sharpest display and best video camera we’ve seen on any phone, and even outshines its high-scoring predecessors with improved battery life and such new features as a front-facing camera for video chats and a built-in gyroscope that turns the phone into a super-responsive game controller. But Apple needs to come up with a permanent—and free—fix for the antenna problem before we can recommend the iPhone 4.

If you want an iPhone that works well without a masking-tape fix, we continue to recommend an older model, the 3G S. (The full list of recommended smart phones models appears as part of our latest Ratings, available to subscribers.)

—Mike Gikas

Thanks consumerreports

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