Apple iPhone users struck by conversation killers

by Stevie Smith - Aug 15 2008, 14:59

Following on from the iPhone “kill switch” affair, which saw Apple admit the existence of an app removal tool allowing the Cupertino-based company to remotely eliminate potentially malicious software from handsets, iPhone users are now having their collective patience tested by a sudden plague of dropped calls on their ‘cutting edge’ smartphones.

The emerging problem seems to be limited to the recently launched 3G network version of Apple’s hugely popular handset, with various reports claiming disgruntled owners from New York to Stockholm have issued their complaints about a stream of telephone-based connection failures.

Based on current information surrounding the rash of dropped calls, it would appear that the problem is more prone to rear its head whenever handsets are switching from 3G to another network.

In terms of assigning responsibility for the sudden lack of call continuity, unnamed sources apparently “familiar with the matter” have intimated to USA Today that the 3G chipset supplied by German chipmaker Infineon Technologies is currently being saddled with the label of ‘guilty party’.

The same sources, claiming anonymity on the basis of not being allowed to publicly speak of the problem, have outlined that iPhone maker Apple and exclusive U.S. carrier AT&T are busy working towards a software patch solution.

Those iPhone users besieged by a lack of solid telephony performance should expect to gain access to said fix through the iTunes Store as early as next week, if rumours bear out.

Roger Entner, the senior vice president of marketing specialist Nielsen IAG, has offered that the drop-out problem is a global issue and not restricted to the United States, which means iPhone users in more than 20 countries are presently fighting with their iconic, touch-screen devices.

Neither Apple nor Infineon have released official comment regarding the problem, its root cause, or the release timeframe of any subsequent fix.

Until then, God bless the iPhone’s e-mail and messaging capabilities.

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