Nokia: We Make Good Antennas

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So, according to Apple a very small percentage of iPhone 4 users are having issues with the antenna, and they’re responding by giving away free cases so they have a defense for the class action lawsuit. Motorola already chimed in with their opinion on the Apple antenna issue (“You could hold the Droid X anyway you want”) and Nokia the other mobile giant – Nokia has their say.

Espoo announced that they pride themselves on their antenna design. They proudly will tell you that the Nokia 8810 was the first phone with an internal antenna (for whatever reason, I thought it was the Nokia 8850, but I digress) and say they have spent “thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls“.

One of Apple’s big defenses at the press conference was that ‘every phone is affected by this’, and Nokia agrees to some extend. They say, “In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held,” but, they go on, “That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.”

A damning argument – if there ever was one. Say what you will on Apple’s software and user experience – but Nokia was making radios when Jobs and Wozniak were messing around with Blue Boxes – Nokia knows how to make a decent antenna.

Nokia’s full statement below. Fair point from Nokia? Or a cheap shot from a weak competitor? Sound off in the comments.

“Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models. Nokia was the pioneer in internal antennas; the Nokia 8810, launched in 1998, was the first commercial phone with this feature.

Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on. As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict.

In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.”