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Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over iPhone 4 Glass Breakage
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I agree with what you are saying but yo are also generalising the consumer...
Unfortunately many will interpret apples advertising to mean it should withstand drops as well as scratches.
When it comes to stating things like this you have to aim for the those who will not understand differences in terminology such as strong over tough, etc
Using your own words.. there are probably millions of 'morons' out there that buy iPhones, its their right to understand the advertising and therefor apples responsibility to make sure they DO in fact understand the difference between STONG and TOUGH to cite a past post of another member!
My argument is that if it takes a lawsuit to make apple sit up and listen then so be it!
I have seen lawsuits come and go for a lot less trivial matters so why should this one be different!!!
Just because certain consumers are lacking in the intelligence or knowledge to understand advertising doesn't mean they should be excluded from it...
Also just want to add that i dont thin kanyone is asking apple to make the iPhone out of plastic, just to change their marketing to reflect the issues that have been reported.
quote of the Day
Great Post. Fanned. My policy is to send a request for $5.00 to each lawyer who wants me to join a class action suit. I have received at total of 0$; the same amount I would have received as a member of the suit.
Great Post. Fanned. My policy is to send a request for $5.00 to each lawyer who wants me to join a class action suit. I have received at total of 0$; the same amount I would have received as a member of the suit.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)
Wait a minute - his daughter 'accidentally dropped' it 3 feet - how many kids, when they do something 'bad' try to cover up the fact by playing it down and trying to blame something else? I say put her up as a key witness, cross-examine her statement and watch the whole thing fall apart...
Wait a minute - his daughter 'accidentally dropped' it 3 feet - how many kids, when they do something 'bad' try to cover up the fact by playing it down and trying to blame something else? I say put her up as a key witness, cross-examine her statement and watch the whole thing fall apart...
What a bunch of Apple fanboys!
How would YOU feel if your expensive iPhone broke so easily?
Chances are this customer got NOWHERE trying to deal with Apple.
We're talking about a multi-billion dollar company here.
Of course all you guys NEVER have a problem with Apple customer service.
I'm just amazed that not one person here can feel this guy's pain.
Stupidity should never been shown pity. For if it is, it will multiply, a hundred fold.
Yeah... my thoughts too ....
I dislike frivolous lawsuits as much as the next guy. But I'm *also* tired of companies doing misleading advertising AND making design decisions that pretty clearly indicate they're trying to profit from repairs after the sale.
I know personally, I issued a new iPhone 4 to the V.P. of our company, and 2 days later, he brought it back to me with the glass back completely smashed. He said it accidentally fell off of a table he was sitting at, at a restaurant. Neither of us was too happy about that, but the kicker was when he went to the local Apple store and had to shell out $29 for a replacement. (I mean, yes he did drop the phone, but it was common sense that had it been a typical "candy bar" or "flip phone", the short drop wouldn't have shattered the whole back of the case like that. And given he's on a *corporate* account with AT&T *and* only had the phone about 48 hours - I'd think a free replacement would have been in order.)
But to make matters even worse? Now Apple is swapping out the Phillips screws on these phones with those proprietary types, making it nearly impossible to swap the cover and do a replacement yourself! I don't know how they can send a clearer signal than that, that they want all the profits from smashed iPhone 4 back covers for themselves! (This is extra unfortunate, since 3rd. parties were starting to sell some pretty nice-looking aluminum replacement backs for these phones, for well under $10 each.)
I dislike frivolous lawsuits as much as the next guy. But I'm *also* tired of companies doing misleading advertising AND making design decisions that pretty clearly indicate they're trying to profit from repairs after the sale.
I know personally, I issued a new iPhone 4 to the V.P. of our company, and 2 days later, he brought it back to me with the glass back completely smashed. He said it accidentally fell off of a table he was sitting at, at a restaurant. Neither of us was too happy about that, but the kicker was when he went to the local Apple store and had to shell out $29 for a replacement. (I mean, yes he did drop the phone, but it was common sense that had it been a typical "candy bar" or "flip phone", the short drop wouldn't have shattered the whole back of the case like that. And given he's on a *corporate* account with AT&T *and* only had the phone about 48 hours - I'd think a free replacement would have been in order.)
But to make matters even worse? Now Apple is swapping out the Phillips screws on these phones with those proprietary types, making it nearly impossible to swap the cover and do a replacement yourself! I don't know how they can send a clearer signal than that, that they want all the profits from smashed iPhone 4 back covers for themselves! (This is extra unfortunate, since 3rd. parties were starting to sell some pretty nice-looking aluminum replacement backs for these phones, for well under $10 each.)
I love how bold you are to call it stupidity.
Is the poster stupid for dropping their phone, or for not using a case, or for letting his daughter use it in the first place...?
I sometimes feel that Apple are kinda saying... this design is so great that should you do anything to sully it, then you will pay!!!
Yes, except that in most European countries the loser pays the legal costs for BOTH sides which goes a long way toward killing off nonsense legal cases before they begin. The fact that in the USA you can be financially penalised for being innocent is outrageous.
One way to improve the iPhone
My recommendation would be Indian Rubber.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp-AxhCzfCw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Seriously though, I don't recall seeing claims by Apple that the iPhone 4 was more resistant to breaking. I dropped my first gen iPhone on the pavement and it dented the corner but didn't break the screen. I also dropped my iPhone 3G on the concrete and the plastic back cracked. I expect that if I drop my phone there's a decent chance of damage. I don't consider dropping it to be normal use though so I don't agree with the class action suit.
My recommendation would be Indian Rubber.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp-AxhCzfCw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Seriously though, I don't recall seeing claims by Apple that the iPhone 4 was more resistant to breaking. I dropped my first gen iPhone on the pavement and it dented the corner but didn't break the screen. I also dropped my iPhone 3G on the concrete and the plastic back cracked. I expect that if I drop my phone there's a decent chance of damage. I don't consider dropping it to be normal use though so I don't agree with the class action suit.
I think you will find he said exactly what you said, that employees DONT recommend a case.
Yes, dropping it is not normal use, but I think they imply that the iPhone 4 will withstand a lot more than what previous generations could, nobody is saying they can drop their phone and it will be unscathed just that the marketing suggests that the glass should be more resistant to the same damage you may have witnessed in previous models or past designs.
Here's the difference, did any of those drops make your phone unusable or dangerous to use? No, they just had a cosmetic affect.
If you drop an iPhone 4 and the back glass breaks the phone is no longer safe to use. This is a design flaw pure and simple. Apple knows this and it's why they are replacing most of them for free. This replacement is an admission of guilt and I'll bet that this case either wins or gets settled out of court. Apple probably won't dare let it go to trial.
I read this article yesterday on 9to5mac. To me the copy is deliberately misleading (helicopters, high-speed trains, stiffer, harder, ultradurable). A judge will look at this from the point of view of the average consumer (not average fanboy) and my guess is that 
will be held accountable for misleading advertising.
will be held accountable for misleading advertising.
I broke my iPhone once... I payed for it. No bitching, it was my fault. I swear, there is a class of "Man" nowadays that is just... not manly. They go cry to their lawyer for everything rather than deal with it on their own or man to man. It's sad really.
Ho Hum
Apple will crush this blatant attempt at extortion, as this guy is trying to state that he was mislead. Any idiot can look up a term if it is unfamiliar to him, and if they refuse to do so how are they going to prove that this was intentionally misleading? Scratch resistant does not equal impact resistant, and if you don't understand the terms then just what do you want Apple to do about it? Apple marketing emphasized that the phone had glass on two sides - so how is it exactly that he was convinced that this was going to be invulnerable to damage from drops? His prior experience with glass should have given him pause, as undoubtably he has broken glass before, yet he still decided to buy the phone.
I don't recall seeing any product demos, commercials or print ads showing how you could drop this thing and that it wouldn't break, however I did see a YouTube video from one of the aftermarket repair places when they wanted to show how "fragile" the glass was, and it took three flat drops onto pavement from shoulder height to crack the glass. Try that with almost any item made from standard glass formulations and see what happens!
Apple will crush this blatant attempt at extortion, as this guy is trying to state that he was mislead. Any idiot can look up a term if it is unfamiliar to him, and if they refuse to do so how are they going to prove that this was intentionally misleading? Scratch resistant does not equal impact resistant, and if you don't understand the terms then just what do you want Apple to do about it? Apple marketing emphasized that the phone had glass on two sides - so how is it exactly that he was convinced that this was going to be invulnerable to damage from drops? His prior experience with glass should have given him pause, as undoubtably he has broken glass before, yet he still decided to buy the phone.
I don't recall seeing any product demos, commercials or print ads showing how you could drop this thing and that it wouldn't break, however I did see a YouTube video from one of the aftermarket repair places when they wanted to show how "fragile" the glass was, and it took three flat drops onto pavement from shoulder height to crack the glass. Try that with almost any item made from standard glass formulations and see what happens!
I apologize. What you said was that we had "Blind faith" for "Apple products" which I'm sure is somehow different than being a fan boy.
And I was saying nothing about you. I was defending those of us that are defending Apple using logic, knowledge, and intelligence, not blind faith. Informed faith is not blind. You accused us, I defended us.
People were trying to use trains and helicopters as examples of why dropping an iPhone should be okay. His example was spot on in it's pointing out the rediculus conclusion that people were making.
High speed trains and Helicopters do not use Hard glass for it's impervious to shattering, and you certainly aren't supposed to drop them. So why would an iPhone be any different?
Apple does not need to give me design documents for me to argue that their marketing is accurate. Maybe they intended to be incorrect, but the result was that they were correct. Since I don't think the man is suing based on Apple's intentions, than it is rather irrelevant to this discussion what Apple MEANT to do, only what they did do.
And that is fine to have a different opinion. Please do not call those of us defending Apple using anything but blindness. This has actually been one of the most well informed defenses of Apple on these forums that I've seen in a while. You don't exactly add much by telling us we are "blind" to some reality that you don't care to explain to us, and how our knowledge of the situation is wrong.
I have no problem with someone having a different opinion than my own. I find it rather agitating that, after I explain my opinion and reason for holding it, someone walks up to me and says "you're wrong", without explaining their own opinion and reasons for holding it.
I heard he also wants to sue the company who makes the concrete sidewalk claiming that it is too hard. If you are worried about breaking the phone, put a case on it! Give me a break.
If you are worried about breaking the phone, put a case on it! Give me a break.
That's quite possibly the worst analogy ever. How can you possibly imply that the ice wouldn't melt? They make no claims AT all about that, nor any implications to that effect.
Similarly, Apple never claimed the glass is stronger. Only stiffer and harder. Which is true. If you make the implication that it's stronger, that's your fault.
By that logic we should be making champagne glasses out of plastic, because if you drop it and it brakes, it is dangerous to use. In fact it is a LOT more dangerous to use. Why exactly aren't we suing them?
And what does only the back being made out of glass have to do with it? Should we call every smart phone using a glass front a design flaw? Because that's a few phones...
So if you bought a car, bumped into a small object, which created a dent are you going to sue the car maker? NO! Why? because it was YOUR FAULT. Stop whining, don't drop something than act surprised by the results. I just love how morons break stuff then get mad at the manufacture with phrases "I payed a lot of money for this this and I shouldn't have to pay so much to get it repaired!" Well jackass, then 1. Don't buy a nice phone. 2. If you break it, then get over it! 3. IT'S MADE OF GLASS!!!!!!!!
You win the award for:
"Analogy that is supposed to prove your own point, but backfires 100%".
If I bought "PermaFrost Ice", and they claimed it was the same type from the Arctic circle, I would assume EXACTLY what they told me. I would have to be so @#$%ed up on drugs as to lose all sense of reality to think that the ice would not melt if left someplace where either the surface it was resting on or the air around it was above freezing. Heaven help you if you would actually make that conclusion.
So on an experience level that should be obvious. Again, anyone with a cursory knowledge of physics should know that ice, even if they could keep it from melting at a temperature above the melting point of water, would not serve much purpose. We use ice to lower the temperature of things, it can not do that if there is no heat exchange. So, double dur.
We agree 100%.
The guy is suing on technical merits. He isn't suing because he felt on an emotional level that his device was invulnerable based on the awesome nature of the commercial, and how could something that awesome be breakable. No, He is suing based on technical aspects of it, so he better understand them.
For that matter, anyone who wants to defend this guy or defend Apple should understand them.
