HTC HD7 signal problems: spiritual successor to iPhone 4 death grip!

The HTC HD7 signal problems which have been documented on YouTube be users who’ve found a ‘deathgrip’ issue have kicked the Taiwanese techmaker into action. It’s put out a statement defending the Windows Phone 7 handset and its antenna placement. It all seems very reminiscent of this year’s big tech brouhaha – the iPhone 4 deathgrip…

HTC says the HTC HD7 is fine: “Quality in industrial design is of key importance to HTC. To ensure the best possible signal strength, antennas are placed in the area least likely to be covered by a person’s face or hands when the phone is in use. However it is inevitable that a phone’s signal strength will weaken a little when covered in its entirety a user’s palm or fingers…”

The HTC HD7 signal problems echo the iPhone 4 death grip both in terms of the problem and the company response to it. At Apple’s July press conference, Steve Jobs called the issue: “A challenge for the entire industry…” But back then, rivals (including HTC) reacted angrily when Apple called out their signal challenges on a special section of the Apple website.

At the time, HTC responded quickly and angrily. HTC CFO Hui-Meg Cheng said: “The reception problems are certainly not common among smartphones.” Will Mr Cheng be sending Steve Jobs a note of apology or maybe a nice fruit basket? We somehow doubt it.

Out now | £varies | HTC

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