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Apple, AT&T Sued Over iPhone 4 Antennas
bannable writes "Apple has been accused of violation of the Federal Communications Act, three counts of products liability related to negligence, defect in design and breach of implied warranty, intentional and negligent misrepresentation, fraud by concealment, unfair business practices and more. 'The iPhone 4 manifests design and manufacturing defects that were known to Defendants before it was released which were not disclosed to consumers, namely, a connection problem caused by the iPhone 4's antenna configuration that makes it difficult or impossible to maintain a connection to AT&T's network,' the California complaint reads."
This will have no affect on Apple's sales.
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A lot of times (I suspect most of the time) these sorts of class-action lawsuits are instigated by not just the usual suspects (greedy lawyers), but also with the support of the companies themselves. The lawyers get a big payday. The company gets shielded from any further individual lawsuits. And the consumers get stripped of their right to sue individually, for the "settlement" of a "5% off your next purchase" coupon.
In other words, when you hear "class-action lawsuit," don't think "Yeah, we're sticking it to the big guys!" Think "No, they're sticking it to *YOU*."
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Sorry, Steve, "You're holding it wrong" just doesn't cut it.
If your user's can't actually hold your phone, it's your problem, not theirs.
If Apple is stupid to only do testing:
A. In their Cupertino facility, which has it's own AT&T tower
B. In the field, but covered with their 30$ bumpers
Then this case may have some potential even though it will drag on for years and only the lawyers will gain millions of dollars, with the end result being a small settlement not beneficial to the consumer. Just like all IT lawsuits.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits" - Albert Einstein
FFS, if I bought a phone and it didn't work I'd just take the thing back to the shop and get a refund. That way I get my money back so I can buy a different phone as a replacement. With a class-action lawsuit they'll get $5 worth of iTunes vouchers and still have a phone that doesn't work. What planet are these people on?
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That's exactly what the class action lawyers want to happen, in settlement. And they'll get a take of the value of the bumpers. That's how it always pans out. The consumer gets some bobble of junk, or a coupon, and the class action firm gets cash for their trouble.
That said, I do think class action firms are among the only ones capable of putting a bit of fear in evil corporations (Think Merck/vioxx).
I can see where perhaps there would be a case over this design flaw, but to claim it's "difficult or impossible" to maintain a call is simply a lie. In everyday use, not being careful how I hold the phone at all, I have had no issues with calls with the new phone.
If you make the claims too absurd the case will not have a good chance of success.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Ummm so the result of the class-action lawsuit is that Apple had to do a standard warranty repair? I mean, wait a minute - are you a lawyer?
You can hardly call a flaw present in every iPhone 4 they've sold to be rare.
"If you see a man on a horse, he is likely an enemy. Kill the man and eat the horse."
Don't be silly. If people have to think beyond empty platitudes like "all lawyers are evil", who the hell knows what will happen. Perhaps they'll start wondering if the phrase "all politicians lie" is a bit of a simplification; and maybe it isn't such a good thing to throw that out to avoid actually thinking about the issues.
The only way I can reproduce the problem is to hold the phone in a way I will never, ever hold it (holding this way obscures a large portion of the screen to hold it in a way that affects my signal). I suppose it could be a design defect if it actually negatively impacted me. What impacts me more is the awful AT&T reception I get at my office -- it's almost unusable there.
My guess on the outcome? Bumpers for everyone! I'm sure spending a dollar per phone (which is about what I'm guessing bumpers for the iPhone 4 cost to manufacture) is a bargain compared to having to repair or replace a few million phones.
What I didn't realise until I read a review recently is that although the Bumper solves the antenna issue, it means that you cannot plug in your standard iPod/iPhone connectors!
The "solution" is that you have to take the phone partially out of the case so you can plug the connector in - in other words, every single time you plug it in to charge, sync or hook up to your car stereo!
I'm rather surprised that a company that prides itself on the quality of its products manage to muck up what should be a simple plastic case.
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The lawsuit would surely take much longer than 30 days. Why would you even contemplate the continued use a product that doesn't work as advertised? All to have the latest, greatest yet defective product from Apple?
More so, if you used an upgrade option to get the phone for $200 instead of 600, that is ALSO returned to you as if you had not used it. This is backed by federal law. You can not get screwed signing up for a contract you didn't like, or buying a device you don;t want. In some cases, there will be a restocking fee for returning a fully functional device, but AT&T and Apple have confirmed if you demonstrate the issue, there will be no restocking fee.
There is no contest in life for which the unprepared have the advantage.