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Apple to Offer Free Cases for iPhone 4 Customers
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First, please take a step back and realize that this is just a phone. It's a communication device. It is something we never would have argued about 5 years ago.
Second, if Apple is to be believed, this problem exists in every phone. It may be more prevalent in the iPhone 4, but the problem exists in ALL smartphones. So ditching Apple and going to buy a Droid isnt going to solve your problem. In fact, nothing will until we figure out how to solve the fact that hands absorb antennae signal and we hold our phones in our hands. No way to avoid it.
In the end, the problem isn't just Apples. The iPhone is just under a bigger microscope because it's the biggest and best phone on the market. If you are getting a ton a dropped calls, its more likely due to the weak signal strength where you live and not the iPhone 4.
I don't understand some of you. Apple explained themselves and you still ask "There should be a hardware fix." or "There should be a software fix", etc. For what!? A problem that exists in all smartphones? My advice to you is to stop being so sensitive about a phone. Think to yourself: If you never read the news, would you discover this problem on your own? Most likely not. So stop giving in to the media's constant bullying of this story. Web traffic and viewers are their lifeblood. There is a reason they report this stuff (whether completely true or not); They earn money by doing so.
My guess is that in a month this will have blown over. The complainers will either take their free case and be happy or sell the iPhone for another phone and regret it later on. Apple will continue to sell millions of these things and they'll be remembered as a huge success.
Second, if Apple is to be believed, this problem exists in every phone. It may be more prevalent in the iPhone 4, but the problem exists in ALL smartphones. So ditching Apple and going to buy a Droid isnt going to solve your problem. In fact, nothing will until we figure out how to solve the fact that hands absorb antennae signal and we hold our phones in our hands. No way to avoid it.
In the end, the problem isn't just Apples. The iPhone is just under a bigger microscope because it's the biggest and best phone on the market. If you are getting a ton a dropped calls, its more likely due to the weak signal strength where you live and not the iPhone 4.
I don't understand some of you. Apple explained themselves and you still ask "There should be a hardware fix." or "There should be a software fix", etc. For what!? A problem that exists in all smartphones? My advice to you is to stop being so sensitive about a phone. Think to yourself: If you never read the news, would you discover this problem on your own? Most likely not. So stop giving in to the media's constant bullying of this story. Web traffic and viewers are their lifeblood. There is a reason they report this stuff (whether completely true or not); They earn money by doing so.
My guess is that in a month this will have blown over. The complainers will either take their free case and be happy or sell the iPhone for another phone and regret it later on. Apple will continue to sell millions of these things and they'll be remembered as a huge success.
Part of me thinks you should remove the duct tape from your avatar and put it on your hands, but I think your comments would be better on a android forum. So why not just post there? Oh thats right, to stir up drama.
You do realize you are comparing a whole operating system (supported by nearly 60 smartphones) to a single phone, the iPhone, right?
Haha what a complete and mindless fanboy.
Steve Jobs did NOTHING in that speech of his. The only thing he did was admit that iphone 4 has problems. He also tries to hide the problem by bringing out other phone's weakness. To me, that's un-necessary. It's like Toyota saying "Yes, we have floor mats problem but look at GM, look at Ford- They have their share of problems too". Better yet, it's like Toyota making bold statements like "Yes, there are drivers with stuck accelerators, but it's only 1 - 2 cars out of millions sold around the world. Tie a rubber band around the pedal and the car so it won't get stuck". To me, Apple is just running away from problems instead of directly addressing it which is something Steve Jobs did not do.
Giving out free case is another marketing tactic to make fanboys happy. First of all, those cases should come standard with the phone. Second of all, why does one have to buy something to fix a problem that should not be there in the first place? When the Wii came out, people were smashing TVs and walls so Nintendo started giving free rubber cases for remote. The cases are there so people won't kill themselves, not because the remote has a design flaw on it.
Whether I have an iphone or not is none of anyone's business. After looking at the speech and what Steve Jobs said, I am no reasons to believe Apple products is worth my time.
I'm thinking that Apple won't make any discreet changes to fix the antenna issue with the iPhone 4 because if they do, they're essentially admitting that it was a design defect. If "fixed" models start surfacing, people with the "defective" models will expect to be able to return it for a new one. I know I would, if only to protect the resell value of the phone when I want to upgrade. If they fix the problem in a couple months, our launch phones aren't gonna be worth anything on eBay.
So why are YOU on this board? Go now to mop up the spill and feed the children. The rest of us less altruistic people will keep discussing these more mundane issues. And I guess we won't expect you back until all the gulf area is clean and there are no more hungry children in the planet.
I knew there wouldn't be a recall.
This is the end of the snowball effect. In a month nobody will care anymore and Apple will sell millions of iPhone 4s.
This is the end of the snowball effect. In a month nobody will care anymore and Apple will sell millions of iPhone 4s.
Which is why I didn't take his post seriously. He should know Android is pretty much a company and the iPhone is part of a company. You can't compare the iPhone to ANDROID. Silly rabbits.
Let me give you an interesting stat I heard on TwiT from Leo, that something like 80% of Droid users are first time smartphone buyers. Now that to me says, that those people look at both the iphone and androids and make the decision (for better or for worse) that they'll make the jump to first time smartphone use with android.
Ask yourself why? Isn't google know for leaning towards developers and so with that comes the criticism that it's too complicated? Add to it the fact that like you say everyone has an iPhone, that should be good publicity for it shouldn't it? Plus you can't say android/droid have been heavy on commercials for the last three years like the iphone since it's launch, compounded by the brand popularity it already had with the ipod and macs. So you have to ask yourself why this stat, and all this recent bad publicity, true or false, will only make more people shift towards Android/Droid.
Bottom line it would be very foolish to dismiss the competition as breezily as your comment suggests (unless I've misunderstood).
The good thing I took away from this press conf. is that Steve will now be convinced more than ever that the media are out to get him, and the guy was pretty paranoid already. The result is an even more fanatical and tighter dictatorship grip hold on their future products quality which should come out better for us, the consumers. My 2 cents atleast.
Make mine an Otterbox!
I was holding off on my iP4 purchace until I had an Otterbox (not available for iP4 yet) in hand anyhow. I hope they're available before Sep. 30th.
Your not going to get a $50 case for free. No doubt you'll get a $29.00 credit toward the cost of the case.
Overblown
While the antenna issue (Antennagate) is a real issue. The impact of it has been fairly overblown by everyone. While part of this was of Apple's creation by having a "hold different" response to it and the half baked software "solution", the actual impact on end users has not been as wide spread.
Even without the press conference most data indicated the following:
1.- Most users have not had this issue and have had better reception with this phone than previous generations.
2.- In areas of poor reception the issue gets exacerbated if there's physical contact with the antenna.
3.- In areas of very good reception, there is no issue even if you hold it the "wrong" way
4,- If there is a separation (through a case, tape, nail polish, etc), the problem disappears with the same phone in the same problem areas.
At least these 3 facts have been widely disseminated by all media outlets.
Most phones have this issue, but are not as obvious as the antenna is hidden inside the phone itself. If you go back in time most cell phones had the antenna on top of it sticking out. It worked perfectly until you touched and started to get noise and drop calls. People got accustomed to this, but stopped buying these type of phone because they didn't look cool
This new iPhone, in a way had the best of both worlds by having the antenna outside (to improve reception) and having it look cool. Unfortunately had this "Achilles heel" that affected reception under certain circumstances.
The free case that is being given is good solution commensurate to the actual size and impact of the problem. A recall or redesign of the phone would be equivalent to getting surgery to deal with a hiccup. A hiccup is annoying, as much as dropping a call under certain circumstances. Neither of them will kill you.
Vuvuzelas were not recalled even though they annoyed most of the world. This seems to affect only about 20k people.
Chill people
While the antenna issue (Antennagate) is a real issue. The impact of it has been fairly overblown by everyone. While part of this was of Apple's creation by having a "hold different" response to it and the half baked software "solution", the actual impact on end users has not been as wide spread.
Even without the press conference most data indicated the following:
1.- Most users have not had this issue and have had better reception with this phone than previous generations.
2.- In areas of poor reception the issue gets exacerbated if there's physical contact with the antenna.
3.- In areas of very good reception, there is no issue even if you hold it the "wrong" way
4,- If there is a separation (through a case, tape, nail polish, etc), the problem disappears with the same phone in the same problem areas.
At least these 3 facts have been widely disseminated by all media outlets.
Most phones have this issue, but are not as obvious as the antenna is hidden inside the phone itself. If you go back in time most cell phones had the antenna on top of it sticking out. It worked perfectly until you touched and started to get noise and drop calls. People got accustomed to this, but stopped buying these type of phone because they didn't look cool
This new iPhone, in a way had the best of both worlds by having the antenna outside (to improve reception) and having it look cool. Unfortunately had this "Achilles heel" that affected reception under certain circumstances.
The free case that is being given is good solution commensurate to the actual size and impact of the problem. A recall or redesign of the phone would be equivalent to getting surgery to deal with a hiccup. A hiccup is annoying, as much as dropping a call under certain circumstances. Neither of them will kill you.
Vuvuzelas were not recalled even though they annoyed most of the world. This seems to affect only about 20k people.
Chill people
Really? Because I thought on here most seemed to be not the offensive sort of people who would label me a "fan" or "fanboi" or "fanboy" or any such stupid label but would instead engage me in a discussion about rumoured Apple products.
I'd like to know how "straight-to-voicemails" compare vs. the 3gs. I assume that's not included in the dropped call statistic, and my wife and I are finding that, in practical use, straight-to-voicemail incoming calls has been much more of a problem than dropped calls (though we've had more dropped calls, too).
Let me go off-topic for a moment...
I think that the main reasons why Android has this market share is that carriers are pushing it like crazy, because they like the fact that they can cripple the OS in unprecedented ways (thanks to the fact that it's "open-source"), and also because they can push it as a cheap alternative to the iPhone. That and the fact that Google is a big name (heck I'm sure some people think that Google "is" the internet).
The overwhelming majority of people buying Android phones don't care about its open-source nature, the less restrictive app store, and the fact that you can install third-party apps from other sources. They bought it because of advertising by the carriers, and salespeople pushing them to buy it.
Of course, Apple also earn some of its sales via marketing and salesmen pushing their products, but my point is that aside from a few geeks, people aren't buying Android handsets because the OS is "open".
Slapping forehead
Apple finally comes out with a reasonable solution. Free cases or a full refund. And people on MR are still b*tching? If you doubt Apples motives return the phone and move on.
If you are a little concerned about reception but enjoy the phone keep it and get a free case. This situation has made me realize just how silly consumers are. How reactionary the media is. And just how bright tech geeks are. Apple just gave you the choice to leave or stay. Not that you didn't have the choice to begin with. Just to be clear I am not sticking up for Apple. Im just pointing out how people just need to chill the ******* out.
Apple finally comes out with a reasonable solution. Free cases or a full refund. And people on MR are still b*tching? If you doubt Apples motives return the phone and move on.
If you are a little concerned about reception but enjoy the phone keep it and get a free case. This situation has made me realize just how silly consumers are. How reactionary the media is. And just how bright tech geeks are. Apple just gave you the choice to leave or stay. Not that you didn't have the choice to begin with. Just to be clear I am not sticking up for Apple. Im just pointing out how people just need to chill the ******* out.
did you really just compare a dropped call to killing multiple people? really? well while you're at it, how about finding the amount of dell, hp or acer computer crashes and relate that to genocide? By definition, the bumpers ARE coming standard now. I'm betting some people would consider how slick a wii remote is a design flaw. "my slick wii remote flew out of my hand. why? because they didn't design it with sweat or idiocy in mind." design flaw. And as for your attitude towards apple hardware, I'm sure your purchase will be THOROUGHLY missed, all 3 million iphone users really needed you. just you. oh. 3 million minus 1.7%