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Apple Offers Free Cases To Solve iPhone 4 Antenna Problems
Apple just finished their press conference about the iPhone 4 antenna issues that have been widely reported and discussed in the past few weeks. Steve Jobs started by showing that the problem wasn't limited to iPhones, using videos of the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the HTC Droid Eris, and the Samsung Omnia 2 as examples, all of which dropped bars while being gripped in certain ways. He said, "This is life in the smartphone world. Phones aren't perfect. It's a challenge for the whole industry. Every phone has weak spots." He went on to say that only 0.55% of all iPhone 4 users have called in to complain about reception problems, and that the return rate on the iPhone 4 so far is less than a third of the return rate for the 3GS. Jobs then said that according to their data, the iPhone 4 drops an average of less than one additional call per hundred than the 3GS. He continued by pointing out that because the 3GS was based on the 3G, there was already a large supply of Bumpers, which most customers left the store with. When the iPhone 4 came out, the old Bumpers didn't fit, so stock was lower and fewer customers used them (80% vs. 20%). Therefore, Apple's solution to the antenna problems is to give a free case to every iPhone 4 purchaser before September 30. Refunds will be offered for those who already purchased one. Since they can't make the Bumpers fast enough, they'll be supplying other cases from third parties. Jobs also acknowledged recently reported problems with the proximity sensor, promising a future software update to fix it. Engadget's liveblog of the conference has a ton of pictures and more direct quotes from Jobs. It's worth looking at if only for pictures of Apple's anechoic testing chambers.
The phone shocks you if you hold it the wrong way.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
Only 0.55% have called in, because the rest can't get a signal.
Yet there's a suspiciously high number of calls on that line where the caller mumbles something incomprehensible and then hangs up.
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The Apple taketh away.
And on the third week of the coming of the iphone 4 Jobs said it was good... And gave to all gifts of bumpers to yoke the strength of the signal bar.
And it was good.
So sayeth the wise Jobs.
Only 0.55% of iPhone 4 owners have called in about reception issues, he said.
I wonder why...
Apparently your touch screen made it a little difficult to type as well.
Steve Jobs: "We've been trying to understand this so when we solve it, we really solve it, not slap a band-aid on it."
Steve Jobs: "Here's a free bumper to fix the antenna issue"
...it's not a problem, the problem is unavoidable, everybody else has this problem too, and we're going to fix it.
... using a phone condom is against the rules. Jobs is a bigot!!
It's an Apple story. Apple media events get priority posting because with their walled garden approach, once its done, that's all there is to it but it's presented in a very professional manner. With Linux stories, everybody wants to review the text of the story first and perhaps rewrite it. With Microsoft stories, everybody is waiting for the first service pack before posting.
He went on to say that only 0.55% of all iPhone 4 users have called in to complain about reception problems
I'm guessing the other 99.45% couldn't get a signal.
I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
Lets see how that metaphor works out. Steve Jobs is talking with Gates about how much one particular customer loves him, defends him on message boards to no end etc...... Gates suggests this fanboy only likes Steve and Apple because they love the phones, if that changes then they will curse him. So to prove Gates wrong, Gates takes away his reception and signal strength, but this fanboy still refuses to curse or reproach apple. Gates asks if he can have a go at making his life miserable, and Steve says go ahead so long as you don't kill him, and then all manner of problems beset him, poor face detection, at&t bundling, etc, making his life miserable. His wife and his friends all encourage him to curse Apple, but he refuses to do so.
Steve finally has heard enough and speaks, giving a speech saying that he is not answerable to questions like other men, that he has experiences which ordinary mortals have not, and basically establishes that Steve has the right to do whatever he will with his creation, beyond reproach, and no one can question him. He then blesses the loyal apple fanboy, gives him free upgrades and a 140-year contract, and condemns his friends to windows mobile hell (althought he fanboy writes emails to Steve asking him to forgive his friends).
Hrm. not sure I shoudl have used an apple in a biblical parallel...
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
What issue? This iphone only drops 1% more calls than the last. That's practically progress.
Give Apple a break. Of course they couldn't test the iPhone 4 prior to releasing it, on account that one of their employees lost the prototype which was later found by Gizmodo. How were they supposed to test it without the single prototype they had?
I like my dinosaurs feathery, and my pterosaurs hairy (or is it pycnofibery?)
I see.
So your completely scientific safe-to-assume's, more-likely's, and other speculative commentary are a more authoritative way to judge the scope of this problem than Apple & ATT's real-world usage data.
Thanks for clearing that up for us.
What if someone needs to call 911 and only have their left hand available to hold the phone?
Yeah. Same boat here. I bought a bumper to fix it, but had to wait like 2 weeks to get it. During those weeks, holding the phone in pretty much any natural-feeling manner would result in signal loss. Maybe its a left-handed issue for people with small hands, but even with my right hand the only way I could avoid the issue was to extend my pinky finger as if I was the Queen of England enjoying a sip of tea.
So the solution they have come up with is to spend 22 days "working their butts of" looking for ways to make some other smartphones display a similar kind of behaviour in order to be able to change the sentence "the Iphone 4 has a problem" into the sentence "Smartphones have a problem".
Well, good that's all solved then.