We really don’t know if Steve Jobs was well-liked over at the RIM offices to begin with (we’re guessing ‘no’), but they’re pretty PO’ed now after Jobs showed that even a BlackBerry—the Bold 9700 in particular—suffered from signal problems during his “there’s no Antennagate” presentation. In a statement released a day after the Apple presser, RIM co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie basically wanted no part of it, and tossed in a zinger with the argument that BlackBerry phones don’t need a case to maintain a signal.
Here’s the statement from RIM:
“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”
-Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie
By the way, to hammer Apple’s points home, they posted a new “Smartphone Antenna Performance” page on the Apple website that explains the antennuation problem, basically throwing other smartphone brands under the ‘Death Grip’ bus in the process. The page comes with video demos showing dropping bars on the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris and Samsung Omnia II (along with the iPhone 4 and 3GS) when held a certain way.
Maybe there’s a bit of truth in it—phones aren’t perfect after all—but RIM’s argument is pretty strong nonetheless: other smartphones don’t need a bumper case. To sum it all up, maybe every other phone has such a weakness, but the issue isn’t just as drastic as it is on the iPhone 4.
The BlackBerry community tossed in their two cents too. In a poll that asked if users can replicate the death grip issue on the Bold 9700, around 72% (at the time of writing) reported that they can’t get the signal to drop, 14.4% said that the signal bars drop and stay down, while 13.5% said that the bars temporarily dropped then rose back to full.
Tags: Antennagate, Apple, BlackBerry, BlackBerry Bold 9700, iPhone 4, Mobile Phones, RIM
