Unhappy iPhoners

Now the iPhone-atics are complaining about the signal. Some of those who bought the new Apple 3G iPhone are saying that reception is erratic, jumping from no bars to four with no apparent reason. Apple hasn’t responded officially to the complaints although some Apple forums are filling with complaints.

The slow response may be because Apple isn’t accustomed to getting such a wave of public complaints. Up to now, Apple has been a provider of niche products, bought mostly by Apple fans who adored the slickly-designed devices from a company that, in their eyes, could do no wrong. But the iPod and the iPhone have brought Apple into the mass market and buyers are a lot less forgiving - and media attention much more fierce.

An analyst at Nomura speculated that the problem may be the Infineon chipset Apple uses for 3G reception. The chip is in its first generation and its use in the iPhone is probably the first time it has been distributed widely in a high-end phone. Add to that the fact that 3G coverage in the U.S. is still spotty and AT&T could come in for some of the blame.

If the chip is not reprogrammable via a download, Apple may have a problem distributing a fix to consumers. That could mean a massive recall for Apple and a bit of tarnish on Apple’s reputation for “insanely great” products.

European VCs Pull Back

European venture capitalists reduced their investments in tech startups by 33.6 percent in the second quarter of 2008, according to UK-based Library House. The total invested in the period was €949 million ($1.4 billion), compared to €1.43 billion ($2.1 billion) in the last quarter. The amount was also considerably lower than the €1.3 billion invested in the same quarter last year.

The research firm said the number of deals also declined from 447 in the first quarter to 357, reflecting a slowdown because of concerns about the economy. The data also indicated that there could be a rebound in the third quarter of the year.

The biggest European deal of the quarter was a €29.4 million investment in Apatech, a leader in synthetic bone graft technology. Red Herring 100 Europe 2006 winner Icera Semiconductor raised one of the biggest amounts in the period,€25.4 million, in a fifth round. The biggest exit was the sale of German cancer drug developer U3 Pharma to Japan’s Daiichi Sanko.

Vodafone Owns Ghana

Vodafone reports it has completed purchasing a 70 percent stake in Ghana’s major telecom company, Ghana Telecommunications, for $900 million. The deal was completed Monday, following approval by Ghana’s parliament on Friday at an emergency session. There had been some opposition in the West African country about selling a national asset to a foreign company.

The purchase is part of Vodafone’s strategy of acquiring telecom assets in emerging markets. The company has grabbed assets in Romania, the Czech Republic and Turkey. The biggest deal was last year’s $11 billion acquisition of India’s Hutchinson Essar.  With growth in the developed nations slowing to single digits, former Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin focused on purchases in countries with double-digit growth.  Vodafone’s subscribers have more than doubled from 120 million to 260 million worldwide.