By Yukari Iwatani Kane
A day after Apple’s new iPhone 4 went on sale, reports are mounting about poor cellular reception when people cover part of the phone’s stainless steel frame with their hands. That’s a problem because, for the first time, the antennas were built into the frame, bringing them in closer contact with the human touch than in past iPhones when the antennas were insulated behind the plastic back cover.
Steve Golson / Antennasys, Inc.
Spencer Webb demonstrates the correct way to hold an iPhone.
The reason that human touch interferes with cellular reception is because when people cover the antenna with their hand, the electromagnetic energy being radiated from the antenna turns into
heat, which degrades the antenna’s performance. Just as a glass containing water has a different pitch than an empty one, covering the antenna could change the frequency of it just enough to disrupt the reception as well.
via Digits – WSJ.