contract refunds for fault?

So, how will Apple respond to the seeming pandemic of iPhone 4s whose antennas short-circuit? Will they replace all faulty handsets? If it's a design flaw, will they redesign the device and rerelease it in a few months? And what happens to people who have signed onto a 2 year inescapable contract if their phone breaks and cannot be fixed or replaced?

I have confidence that Apple will handle this well - they have a mountain of short term reserves, and the potential for being ravaged by the press should be deterrent enough against complacency. I think Gizmodo is going have a field day over this, after they were DISinvited from the WWDC keynote, and generally ostracised from Apple after their infamous leak.

But the question is should those who have yet to, still buy in recent light?

 

If it were a normal sale then I would too, unequivocally.

But it's a two year mini-mortgage which can't be escaped. How will the mobile networks deal with the problem? Because if their solution is to give customers some godawful entry-price Nokia for three months whilst (1) supply normalises against demand and (2) the device is redesigned and rereleased,
I'm not sure being signed away £1000 is a great thing...