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Apple Settles Class Action Suit Regarding iPhone 4 Antenna
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The only real winners in class action suites like this are the lawyers. They prey on companies and consumers alike.
Apple, keep the $15 and the crappy bumper and continue working on the iPhone 5. My one request is to go back to the normal June release dates. This late in the year stuff, with the 4S, really through me off. Now I don't know what to expect and it's not cool. 
The apologists are hilarious...
Per Anandtech...
FACTS:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4971/apple-iphone-4s-review-att-verizon/2
Chart at the bottom of the page.... iPhone 4 has massive signal attenuation while being held naturally, many cases, worse than other phones being cupped tightly. "Deathgrip" was the wrong term that many people did not understand.
Per Anandtech...
FACTS:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4971/apple-iphone-4s-review-att-verizon/2
Chart at the bottom of the page.... iPhone 4 has massive signal attenuation while being held naturally, many cases, worse than other phones being cupped tightly. "Deathgrip" was the wrong term that many people did not understand.
I used to sell cell phones, it does absolutely happen to every other phone out there, hence in the instruction books why they say not to touch the antenna or squeeze the phone.
I don't know a single person, myself included who has antenna issues with the iPhone 4. I think its more "ATT signal issues" seeing how as people in other countries or on Verizon don't have this "issue".
Well, the 4S design is almost identical to the 4. And it doesn't have any antenna issues whatsoever. Sure it was not an engineering issue?
I know I keep calling people out for these reactionary statements but really, back up your lawyer hatred instead of contributing the same trite generality as half the rest of the posters. What exactly is wrong with what the lawyers did in this case?
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It is difficult not to touch the antenna when it is wrapped around the entire outside of the phone. This is why Jobs was mocked for saying, and i'm paraphrasing, complainers are holding it wrong.
That is why Apple's solution was to hand out cases and bumpers.
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If it came after Oct 2011 when the revamped line up was released likely not.
Same for anyone that had their original phone swapped at the Genius Bar for any reason or got a free bumper the first time.
In the end, there will probably be only a few thousand folks that will get anything from this. Despite the lawyers trying to claim otherwise.
rubbish
i'm a fanboy, no doubt.. but let's consider this for a second:
if 25 million are eligible for $15 bucks then the settlement might be around 375 million.
just a guess (from endless pulp grisham novels - sigh) but the lawyers take around 30% = 125 million (not sure if that come off the settlement or above it)...
now i'm not moaning about the lawyers fees - but come on, apple launched a clearly inferior product and then spent months covering it up with cracked statements and videos about how the entire human populace is holding their phone incorrectly...
i live overseas - and i paid a LOT for my iPhone 4, i couldn't really afford to replace it with another, and truth be told wouldn't want to as the antenna is really the only fault.
still i've lived with this ***** issue for 2 years - i have endless problems with dropped calls (i only get 2 bars here where i'm at even on good days), calls that don't go through, frustration, time wasted etc...
apple should not have released this phone with known antenna problems - i'm sure it was a math problem - cheaper to release it, market spam, and pay lawsuit than to refactor the design...
375 million (or whatever) isn't even a slap on the wrist to a company that has 100 billion in cash reserves... if they really want to think differently about their products and customers they should have released a workaround and refactored their phone to work properly...
not even willing to discuss the 'bumper' thing - an ugly solution to a beautiful device - and wasn't even available for months.. egads....
i'm a fanboy, no doubt.. but let's consider this for a second:
if 25 million are eligible for $15 bucks then the settlement might be around 375 million.
just a guess (from endless pulp grisham novels - sigh) but the lawyers take around 30% = 125 million (not sure if that come off the settlement or above it)...
now i'm not moaning about the lawyers fees - but come on, apple launched a clearly inferior product and then spent months covering it up with cracked statements and videos about how the entire human populace is holding their phone incorrectly...
i live overseas - and i paid a LOT for my iPhone 4, i couldn't really afford to replace it with another, and truth be told wouldn't want to as the antenna is really the only fault.
still i've lived with this ***** issue for 2 years - i have endless problems with dropped calls (i only get 2 bars here where i'm at even on good days), calls that don't go through, frustration, time wasted etc...
apple should not have released this phone with known antenna problems - i'm sure it was a math problem - cheaper to release it, market spam, and pay lawsuit than to refactor the design...
375 million (or whatever) isn't even a slap on the wrist to a company that has 100 billion in cash reserves... if they really want to think differently about their products and customers they should have released a workaround and refactored their phone to work properly...
not even willing to discuss the 'bumper' thing - an ugly solution to a beautiful device - and wasn't even available for months.. egads....
The ironic part is that many people reported that they would drop to one bar 'holding it wrong' and could still may calls no problems. And folks with five bars but couldn't make a call. Because the two are in fact not linked the way that the average person wants to think they are. This was something Apple knew they couldn't conquer because those average folks just didn't want to be educated, so they used the free bumpers as a placebo. Just as they are now
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different antenna layout so no, Verizon phones aren't likely to be included in the class.
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Then why was it only ATT customers in areas know to have less than perfect reception that actually had call issues regardless of the number of bars shown.
If it was a 'clearly inferior product' with 'a major design flaw' it would have been more like 90% of phones in all countries and all areas. Not the 1/10th% in the US that it was.
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Except that you may be excluded due to the fact that you had your chance to claim a case and as you say, by your own fault, you didn't.
What a joke
I can't believe this Class Action Suit was even able to move forward, only in America can you pull this kind of nonsense. Apple did far more then needed already! It's so sad that we have people making a living out suing people for nothing! When this nonsense happens to you personally I'll bet the feelings would change about getting something for nothing!!!
Only in America can you file frivolous Law Suits and get money for it, we wonder why our insurance rates are so high or the cost of products are high, somebody has to pay for these kind of idiots!!!
I Love America, it's the greatest place to live but it's sad that it pays to be stupid!!! We have to protect ourselves from dummy's that can't take responsibility for their own actions! The people that take money in a LawSuit that suffered nothing and were offered full refunds or a free bumper have no pride or conscious! What goes around comes around people!!!
Sorry about the negative, but we as a Country should not let this kind behavior be rewarded! You didn't have to buy the iPhone and if you did you could have brought it back for a full refund, if you chose to buy it or not bring it back, you deserve nothing. If it bothered you that bad then your a stupid ****ing idiot that we don't need in our great country!!!
I can't believe this Class Action Suit was even able to move forward, only in America can you pull this kind of nonsense. Apple did far more then needed already! It's so sad that we have people making a living out suing people for nothing! When this nonsense happens to you personally I'll bet the feelings would change about getting something for nothing!!!
Only in America can you file frivolous Law Suits and get money for it, we wonder why our insurance rates are so high or the cost of products are high, somebody has to pay for these kind of idiots!!!
I Love America, it's the greatest place to live but it's sad that it pays to be stupid!!! We have to protect ourselves from dummy's that can't take responsibility for their own actions! The people that take money in a LawSuit that suffered nothing and were offered full refunds or a free bumper have no pride or conscious! What goes around comes around people!!!
Sorry about the negative, but we as a Country should not let this kind behavior be rewarded! You didn't have to buy the iPhone and if you did you could have brought it back for a full refund, if you chose to buy it or not bring it back, you deserve nothing. If it bothered you that bad then your a stupid ****ing idiot that we don't need in our great country!!!
Wow! I totally agree. What a frivolous lawsuit. Shame on anyone who takes this money. I have an iPhone 4 and NEVER had a dropped call because of the so called antenna problem. I think the videos apple put up of different models of phones having the same problems depending on how you hold it explained it pretty well. Giving out free bumpers was not an admission of guilt. It was a gesture to make customers happy which they didn't have to do. They probably settled because it would be cheaper but they really shouldn't have just on principal.
Serial number of the phone in question is all the proof you are likely to need because it would have the date in the system as part of the warranty.
How about a lawsuit against the lawyers for making iPhone owners look like a bunch of whining little brats who go hyper emo over an imaginary problem. I am very sad that Apple settled. In a perfect world, Apple would have launched a counterclaim against them, then, after taking everything they own, moved to have the attorneys disbarred. In a perfect world, their new job would require the phrase, "Welcome to Walmart."
Slight adjustment to your info. Apple didn't take any legal action against Gizmodo. The State of California did since it was a criminal act. and Apple in accordance with the laws gave any and all requested assistance.
Giz was acting out against the fact that Apple shut them (and all of Gawker) out of all future Apple events like the actual iPhone 4 announcement, the WWDC keynotes, the recent Mountain Lion previews etc.
Uh oh, everybody, step back - he's what you call an "expert"
Meanwhile, the antenna experts at Anntenna Sys, Inc. reach a somewhat different, scientific conclusion.
note the bold part of the quote. Because that is the key detail. Service in the area sucks. You could have call issues regardless of the bars. Why? Because service in the area sucks.
That was the real issue. People trying to put all the blame on the phone and forgetting that they had crap service in their area to begin with and at least part of the blame belonged to the carrier.
It's like saying that Apple simply must fix Foxconn and ignoring the other 70 major companies that do business with Foxconn also.
This is positively ridiculous. It's not even a flaw, as it can only be reproduced in the lab when the phone is naked. When someone's actually using it, it would have a case on it anyways, so it's a non-issue.