When I hold the Nokia phone, service drops off…

With the release of the iPhone 4, the web is abuzz with people talking about how it’s the phone which “doesn’t work” or the one with the “antenna problems”. At the moment I’ve seen about 8 iPhone 4s (though I do not own one yet) and none of the owners have described the problem as a problem. One, yesterday, stated that the new iPhone 4 antenna is sensitive enough to receive a 3G signal at his house where the iPhone 3GS never received that signal.

Apple reckons the issue is software related and I am inclined to agree – a misrepresentation of the signal strength would be misleading as would a software algorithm which would choose a very weak 3G signal over a strong 2G signal.

Anyway – this is immaterial though Nokia, in their wisdom, decided to poke fun at Apple in their official blog with a “How do you hold your Nokia?” posting.

Of course, feel free to ignore all of the above because realistically, you’re free to hold your Nokia device any way you like. And you won’t suffer any signal loss. Cool, huh?

Except that isn’t true.

Nokia don’t have the same excuses as Apple. They’ve been in the mobile business since the start. They hold buckets of patents on antenna design and spout endlessly about their innovation and expertise. But this video shows the truth:

Which is why Nokia needs to shut up and get some class. I could do a much better job at managing the Nokia product and developer strategy than anyone they evidently have working for them and they’re wasting their advantages.

They need to stop pre-announcing stuff which is years away. They need to settle on one strategy rather than stopping and starting. They just killed Maemo and orphaned the 770, the N800, the N810 and the N900 (described as developer devices for technology enthusiasts).

Here’s a hint, Nokia, developers buy your devices with their own money and when you orphan them it means they’re pissed at you.

They need to bring out some decent hardware and a single instance of a consumer-ready device with forward-looking software.

Here’s a hint, Nokia, stop pushing Symbian as a modern OS. Keep it for the low end. And stop talking about absolute mobile market share. No-one cares about the S40 low end. No-one.

They need to stop re-organising and worrying about administrivia and hiring figureheads and start making things that people can love again. With a company this size, you’ve got the resources to remake mobile in your image.

Here’s a hint, Nokia, settle the lawsuits amicably, get them off the table and start making great products. Stop poking fun when you’ve obviously got your own manufacturing issues. It’s making you look weak and stupid.