Apple to Offer Free Cases for iPhone 4 Customers

[Mr. Gates]

It is a inevitable part of the design, yes, just as attenuation is with all radio devices. It's sort of like saying the design of a flashlight is flawed because it casts shadows if your put your hand in front of the beam. There are laws of physics to deal with, you know.

You are a total puppet, Did you know that ?

Don't be that kind of kiss ass.

If you were a reporter we would get no news,....this press event would have been canceled due to fan-boy protest.

Use your analytical mind !

Don't be fooled by the warm glow of approval !


EDIT: Oh , and yes , I DO have an iPhone 4 ....got it and Love it. But I am looking at the situation with Open Eyes !

 

[AidenShaw]

Looking at the bumper case excerpt...

How is adding black a splash of colour?

Touch your tin foil hat on the little gap on the side.... You'll see the colours.

 

[JGowan]

It would be from when you received the phone, not when you ordered it.

nope, purchase date.

Listen, newbster joeshmo2010 (Mr. 8 Posts) -- don't try and be an authority... Jobs was very, very (VERY) clear about one thing -- WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS! He went to great lengths to convey that core message and even said "if you don't know that about Apple, then you don't know Apple.

Any store clerk or manager would be more than willing to take back an iPhone 4, no matter when you preordered it -- the very fact that a person actually pre-ordered the phone, sight unseen, shows the loyalty of the user and would be especially appreciated.

How do I know this? I recently brought in a legacy 23" display a year after I had Apple replace the 4 year-old LCD panel in which they had dented the case slightly in repair! They said NO PROBLEM even though it took me a year to discover the problem. They would send the monitor away for repair even it meant replacing the entire monitor shell.

NOW -- I waited a week, then two weeks for the monitor to leave the store for repair. I called and they said they had to wait to get a specific shipping box and because this was a legacy item, it was taking them a little longer than expected. I nicely explained to the asst. mgr that I was a designer and while I appreciated the free fix after a year, I needed my monitor back to do my work. He gladly gave me two options,... come in and get my monitor and use it while we waited for the special box with special inserts or I could come in and they would give me a BRAND NEW LED 24" MONITOR! Guess what I did.

Apple is willing to bend over backwards for their customers. You don't hear about it much because only the squeaky wheels get the oil. Well, I tell you, I was nice and they were nice -- they take care of the customer.

Don't forget -- two months after iPhone 1 was released and Apple dropped the price by $200 for the holiday shoppers... it upset the early adopters (a MILLION of them) and Apple gave them all $100 in-store credit... that's $100,000,000 worth of free stuff.

Don't pretend to be a spokesperson for Apple as if you know anything because, buddy, you don't know Apple.

 

[pdxa4]

No love for the 3G/3GS owners who are having a lot of issues due to iOS4.

And even more trouble now with the 4.0.1 and the reception issues...

Let's hope that the 4.1 software will be suitable for all revs of the iPhone...

 

[bmwhd]

No love for the 3G/3GS owners who are having a lot of issues due to iOS4.

And even more trouble now with the 4.0.1 and the reception issues...

Let's hope that the 4.1 software will be suitable for all revs of the iPhone...

Let's see...3G owners are having performance degradation with iOS4. It's on the edge of being obsolete so that's to be expected.

Tons of 3GS owners I know (including 3 here before we upgraded) had zero issues with iOS4. All of them still going strong with 4.0.1. Tons of them at our office too. No issues at all with 4.0.1. Ditto the IP4s

iOS4.1 Beta on my development IP4 has yet to manifest any obvious defects. It's one of the cleanest first betas they've done in a while.

 

[hadleydb]

A mixed reaction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15b04AjCPow

 

[barberio]

Do you think he will give me a refund for my iPhone 3G as well? With the new software updates the phone is getting sluggish. A phone should function well for a least the 2 year contract period. Apple is obsoleting the useful life of the iPhone within 18 months.

I heard Job's response "Buy new hardware".

The last iPhone I purchase.

Er... Let me understand your logic...

If Apple don't fix your old iPhone so it runs faster, and you won't have to buy a new iPhone, then you won't buy a new iPhone.

I'm going to go see if I can get a free ice cream cone by threatening not to buy one.

 

[Brazzan]

I'm waiting on the official line from O2 as to whether I can now return my defective phone and cancel my contract. If I can, I certainly shall. Whilst I love many things about the iPhone 4 (e.g. the display & camera) not working as a phone is a show-stopper.

I'll make do with my old 3G until the inevitable stealth hardware fix for the problem that allegedly does not exist.

If there's no fix or no refund, it's bye-bye Apple.

I will not stand for being sold a faulty product.

 

[AAAnts]

My concern is this: will apple release a new phone in the next few month that has hardware changes?

If so will the phone I have ordered now, may have a significantly lower resale value than the up dated phones (regardless of whether these antenna problems are real/not real common/not common, people will want to avoid them) ..... I like to think that I can keep the phone for a year or two and then sell it for a small amount.... just look at the price second hand 3G's etc sell for, the resale value is quite high....

I'm confident the phone will work fine in the area I live, there is a high signal strength everywhere....

On my old nokia 6500 it tells you to not hold the bottom of the phone in the instructions.....not so unusual maybe

 

[pepitko]

To be honest, the free bumpers are a pretty lousy solution. I never had a rubber condom on my phone and never will, so that leaves me with two options. Settle for a 3GS or wait till September, until Apple evaluates the thing (or comes up with a better solution?).

The signal drop is clearly a conductivity issue, when you connect the two antennas, so they could have just wrapped the antenna in a invisible rubber coating.

 

[MacJones]

I didn't buy an iPhone 4 on launch day because I'm not eligible for an upgrade this year, I wanted to wait and see some reviews of the phone to see if it was worth $400 for a 16GB model. Then this whole antenna thing started and I decided to wait even longer to see if Apple had any kind of fix for it. Seriously, a bumper is a fix for the phone? Really? This is the official fix Apple? I've never used a case on any phone and have no intention of starting now so I can make a phone call. I'll stick to my 3GS until iPhone 5 comes out. I'm sure all the other features are great like the retina display but I often times use my phone as a phone so this wont work for me. And no I'm not an Apple hater, I love Apple as you can see by how many products I own in my sig line.

 

[kernkraft]

You've got a defective product? Here's a $5 bumper, return it if you don't like it and keep your mouth shut - because you're not worth it!

 

[MorphingDragon]

You've got a defective product? Here's a $5 bumper, return it if you don't like it and keep your mouth shut - because you're not worth it!

Teh !@#$???

 

[hunkaburningluv]

A buck discount(bumpers cost) for a lemon?

Covering a major selling point(super sexy stainless steel frame, never been done before) to get the damn phone to work. Fail.

Apple lost my respect due to the way they handled this mess. They should've recalled the product just like MS did with the xbox 360, it may cost shareholders a cool billion, but it was the right thing to do.

Question;
How will it look if they change the antenna design on the next years revision(iphone 5)?
Not nice for an iphone owner 4 in my view.

you do know they didn't actually recall the Xbox 360? They issued a 3 year warranty.

 

[MorphingDragon]

A buck discount(bumpers cost) for a lemon?

Covering a major selling point(super sexy stainless steel frame, never been done before) to get the damn phone to work. Fail.

Apple lost my respect due to the way they handled this mess. They should've recalled the product just like MS did with the xbox 360, it may cost shareholders a cool billion, but it was the right thing to do.

Question;
How will it look if they change the antenna design on the next years revision(iphone 5)?
Not nice for an iphone owner 4 in my view.

MS Didn't recall the 360, they extended warranties for a refurbished one.

If Apple use the same design, they might coat the metal in silicon or some form of resin.

 

[Journojulz]

Seriously, a bumper is a fix for the phone? Really? This is the official fix Apple?

That, and holding it differently.

To me it's not that onerous an imposition.

And if that is the best solution they can come up with, then I am fairly sure it's the best any company can come up with.

The situation is simple, the production lines are churning out a million a month with a global launch in weeks.

If the only solid fix is stopping for a month or two redesigning and retesting, there would need to be a fatal flaw to justify that drastic business decision.

If you travelled a long way to see led Zeppelin play, but during the first song there was an intermittent hum from JPJ's bass amp, what would you have them do?
Call off the gig and reschedule the next week, or carry on?

 

[Shivetya]

Very few people are reporting the problem to Apple support.
(There fixed it.)

thats because while on hold they keep losing their connection!

 

[JGowan]

I don't know how this has become such an issue. We've all had to go outside and hold our phones up to the sky while lightly holding it on the sides in an effort to get a signal. We all know our bodies and other physical objects that come between the signal and the phone's antenna is going to degrade the signal.

This has all become such a crock. I feel sorry for Steve & Co. They give the world simply an amazing device and a few media have caused them serious problems.

 

[.:R2theT]

First I just want to say that anyone who isn't completely happy with their iPhone 4 has the opportunity to return it. So stop complaining about Apple's "fix".

That being said, just the fact that Apple made bumpers AT ALL for this device should be the tell everyone is focused on. When has Apple done that for any other iPhone/iPod? In my memory, never!

Apple may not have known soon enough to make changes to the design and just did a cost-benefit analysis. It decided that it could not replicate issues significantly enough to recall. Makes sense from what I see posted even on these forums. Most folks will probably be happy enough with their iPhone 4 but those who aren't should return it now and wait until next June or whatever to see what Apple comes up with.

As Steve says "Not a big deal". And it really isn't a big deal for the individual. Keep it or not. Do it and then get on with your life. It is only a phone after all.

 

[ctakim]

FYI the bumper case does not make the signal problem go away. I can still drop the signal strength on iOS 4.01 by cupping the bottom of the phone in the case and it seriously degrades the data rates. But truthfully, with a bit of attention to how I hold the phone it is completely functional and for me it has not been a problem. Let's be honest even my 3GS was not always getting a strong signal but we always thought it was AT&T.

 

[devinci99]

Hell has frozen over.

In all seriousness though, I found all the numbers pretty convincing of Steve's points. Far fewer phones have been returned, which I think says everything. Very few people are experiencing this issue.

I walked into an Apple store in Mall of America (Twin cities, MN area) and played with a few demo phones they had in store.

I could not get any bars to drop regardless of how I hold it. I specifically targeted the area. <-- I did this test as I am not an owner of an iphone4, and am hoping to get a white one. (First I tried to make a call to ensure it DOES have service).

You can argue that Apple is using different special demo models in stores; but we can keep arguing forever.

I can also say AT&T coverage is pretty good in the twin cities area. So I've not been able to get any unusually drop bars, etc.

Only place the bars drop is in my basement; BUT I get that for my iphone 3GS and my BlackBerry Bold.

Not saying this is the ultimate end all evidence to everything... just saying, the antenna issue isn't seen in every iphone 4. Certainly not the ones in the Apple store here.

Even if more people discovers issues, I think it could be up to 6% mark... which is still a minority. --- Sorry you're one of these minorities who has bad luck with it. You could return it, and order it online from Apple and hope to get one from a better batch; or just get another Phone if you hate it so much.

 

[devinci99]

I didn't buy an iPhone 4 on launch day because I'm not eligible for an upgrade this year, I wanted to wait and see some reviews of the phone to see if it was worth $400 for a 16GB model. Then this whole antenna thing started and I decided to wait even longer to see if Apple had any kind of fix for it. Seriously, a bumper is a fix for the phone? Really? This is the official fix Apple? I've never used a case on any phone and have no intention of starting now so I can make a phone call. I'll stick to my 3GS until iPhone 5 comes out. I'm sure all the other features are great like the retina display but I often times use my phone as a phone so this wont work for me. And no I'm not an Apple hater, I love Apple as you can see by how many products I own in my sig line.

You don't have the same risk and issue as early adopters or day-1 purchasers. You have the luxury of waiting for the iphone 4 to be more available... and if there is an Apple store near where you are; you can walk in and demo all their iphones and see how many of them are affected to make an inform decision.

Further if you intend to get Zagg's invisible shield to begin with, go with the full body and sides (as oppose to just front and back). This should cover the sides.

 

[Journojulz]

appoints new head of Customer Complaints department:

Hey buddy, Have you tried holding it like THIS?

And if you don't like it - you can **** off to infinity - and BEYOND!

 

[kernkraft]

Two unpleasant people from yesterday

Teh !@#$???

I thought you would say that. Was that the best you could come up with?

 

[faroZ06]

Someone Hates Apple!

Smoke and mirrors....

Aha. That hurts, doesn't it? But it's true. Apple is giving away free cases that boht fix the problem for the few users who get it, make the iPhone look better, protect it, and most of all:
MAKE THE STUPID CONSUMER REPORTS SHUT UP.