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That's a fair response, and I appreciate that you took the time to say it.

My objection is the dogmatic nature of some of these comments that imply they know more about the business world than the experts at Apple.

.

I agree with you wholeheartedly! I try my best to look at all things in my life as objectively as possible. I try to look at the customer side and the company side of an issue and determine the best judgment from there.

I think Apple screwed up with having an external frame antenna which has caused some users problems (real or perceived) and with the bumper program they mitigated the problem as best they could for the users and for Apple's bottom line. Otherwise the alternative could have been a total recall of the iPhone 4 and spend months re-engineering the device and then send it back out to market. That would have cost Apple millions and millions of dollars and would have ticked off a whole lot more people than the bumper program has. Plus it would likely have set back the annual release date of their new iPhones months.

Apple's best course of action is to do what they did and ensure they don't make this same mistake in next years iPhone release.
 
For those with a black bumper who were thinking of grabbing a colored one.

Beware. The materials are different.

I grabbed a green one and promptly returned it when I discovered it's a "hard plastic" edge and not the nice rubber of the black bumper.

The net effect was that the phone will slide all over car seats and countertops with the colored bumpers where it would stay put perfectly with the rubber grip on the black bumper.

Bummer.

This is correct. I just checked: my wife has a black one and I have a blue one. Sure enough, hers doesn't slide and my does. What a joke.
 
29?????? the ********* packaging probably costs more to make than the actually case itself , it really is that cheap to make.
 
The bumper is garbage that actually does more harm than good because it scratches the antenna all over.
The bumper does no such thing. It's bits of sand, etc. in between the bumper and antenna that does the scratching, and this is no different than any other case, nor is it any different than it was for the 3G/3GS cases - which, I may remind you, were plastic and therefore much more likely to suffer the consequences. CLEAN your Iphone and the inside of your case regularly (once, twice a week) and you won't have this problem.
 
Nice choice of graphic

I like how they use the White iphone in the thumbnail. Bearing it mind it's about 2 months from the announcement of the next iPhone, I think it's fairly safe to say they have failed at delivering the White version this time around. Only Apple could get away with this haha you got to love it :)
 
I like how they use the White iphone in the thumbnail. Bearing it mind it's about 2 months from the announcement of the next iPhone, I think it's fairly safe to say they have failed at delivering the White version this time around. Only Apple could get away with this haha you got to love it :)

While I do agree that it's rather late to introduce the white model, do keep in mind that there are a ton of people out there would run and buy one: the die-hard white iPhone fanatics, the "fanboys" who need to have 1 of everything, a bunch of first-timers who've yet to transition to the iPhone, and all those late adopters of the 3GS who are just now becoming eligible for discounted upgrade pricing. I think it's safe to say there's still a market for the white iPhone 4. Relatively speaking, we're just a small fraction of the market. And by 'we' I mean those of us who carefully follow the life cycle of tech toys and know when it's best to buy. The average consumer is completely oblivious to these things. As long as it's marketed, it will be bought.
 
Finally proving there will be no september 30 fix (a week ago, why do the wild claims persist?). Happy now?
 
$29? What a rip off. It can't cost them more than 59 cents to produce!

Ripoff? They refunded the price to me due to the Free Case program - then I sold them on eBay for almost $50 each! Dumb luck actually. I bought them on pre-order day 1, used for a month and didn't feel the protection was that great. Cool looking for sure, but not enough protection for me.
 
I got one for free and never took it out of its original retail packaging. Now that they are selling them again at Apple Stores, do you think I could go into an Apple Store and get at least a $29 store credit for it?
 
The bumper does no such thing. It's bits of sand, etc. in between the bumper and antenna that does the scratching, and this is no different than any other case, nor is it any different than it was for the 3G/3GS cases - which, I may remind you, were plastic and therefore much more likely to suffer the consequences. CLEAN your Iphone and the inside of your case regularly (once, twice a week) and you won't have this problem.

You have no idea what you're talking about. My phone was clean, my case was clean. I have never experienced this kind of scratching from a case and I've had 5 iphones. The plastic on the inside is hard and scratches the phone. I've switched to a new case and the scratching has stopped.
 
For those with a black bumper who were thinking of grabbing a colored one.

Beware. The materials are different.

I grabbed a green one and promptly returned it when I discovered it's a "hard plastic" edge and not the nice rubber of the black bumper.

The net effect was that the phone will slide all over car seats and countertops with the colored bumpers where it would stay put perfectly with the rubber grip on the black bumper.

Bummer.

Really? How the heck do you get it on the phone then? And I kinda hope it is hard, I can never get the black one out of my jeans pocket without turning the pocket inside out to answer a call.
 
The $29 price point is laughable.

If I were Microsoft, I would definitely incorporate this into an ad campaign poking fun at the ridiculousness and pretentiousness of the whole thing. It would be a great way to illustrate one of the things many people hate about apple.
 
For sale != Free

Greedy bastards at Apple.

"Our product is flawed and the service sucks ass, but if you want to use it you have to pay us money NOW....oops! Too late! ...Now you have to pay us even MORE money, and keep paying once each bumper wears out." :mad:
 
$29 bucks for the bumper is funny. I guess Apple is making up for all the ones they sent out for free.
 
Really? What a joke. I got my free one and I regret not choosing a free case from one of the other manufacturers. There's no way in hell that I can understand how Apple feels it's alright to charge $29 for this piece of garbage. (BTW, not a troll! I love everything I've ever purchased from Steve, but this is one item I think needs to DISAPPEAR. Or be sold for $2.25.)

It is NOT a piece of garbage, and you should / could have used some other words for the fact that these cases should still be free as long as there is a problem with antenna attenuation due to its location.

Really? How the heck do you get it on the phone then? And I kinda hope it is hard, I can never get the black one out of my jeans pocket without turning the pocket inside out to answer a call.

You're not holding it properly. If you were, you would not need a case, and you would be able to get it in and out of your pocket with little trouble. ;)
 
The soft rubber plastic has ripped off the hard plastic in some areas. I do not recommend this bumper. It was used in a typical manner. I think the more you take it in and out of your pocket and the more it gets rubbed against desks and other surfaces the quicker this will happen.

I got the incase snap case to replace this one for $15 on ebay.
 
It is NOT a piece of garbage, and you should / could have used some other words for the fact that these cases should still be free as long as there is a problem with antenna attenuation due to its location.

Do you have one? I do. It actually makes the iPhone rattle. It cheapens the phone. It is a badly designed case. No way is it worth $29.
 
So does that mean that post September-30th phones have some sort of antenna fix?

Nope. The problem was never with the phone's antenna. At least not on a wholesale 'design defect' level. As evidenced by the lack of mass issue outside of the US, Consumer Reports calling out 'weak coverage areas' and so on

The issue was and remains ATT being unable to expand to meet the demands of millions of new phones smashing into the network.

You can have mine. I got it free but I've never used it. The phone works fine without it.

So does mine and everyone in my office. At home, at the office, on location. Zero problems since we got them right after launch.

We did get cases for them only because with 8 folks using identical phones it is handy to be able to tell them apart at a glance. But that's all

Yes, its no longer being blown out of proportion by mainstream news media. Not saying there isn't an issue

Actually the issue was the media. They are the ones that were screaming 'major design defect' even after several engineers vetted the testing, the performance etc.

Same here. But I still ordered a free bumper case. After Sept 30th by the way. The program was still available the day before yesterday.

Careful reading of the rules reveals that you had to have bought by Sept 30th and you have 30 days to actually order.


Apple needs to fix mobileme calendar I caution anyone to use it people are losing all of their home at me.com info and appointments...sweet.

Some perhaps, but not all. I myself have never had an issue with mobile me. We even use it at work and no problems. Not with the calendar, the contacts or the galleries.

We also use several time capsules and never a problem.

The phone needs a stubby external antenna the size of a pencil eraser but Jobs is too proud.

Actually I believe those are now illegal. Which is why you don't see them on phones anymore

Apple needs to stop trying to outpace everybody and just make their stuff work and be reliable and tell the truth admit fault and give some decent support.

Trying to outpace everyone is how you make money in the tech business. Also they do more to make their stuff work than many companies. ANd they do admit fault when it is warranted. Sometimes for things that actually aren't their fault. THey offered me a free hard drive replacement for my laptop a year after warranty because the company that actually makes them apparently screwed up a batch and an unacceptable number of drives had failed. Most companies would wait until my drive did fail and then tell me that I wasn't under warranty too bad.


I just searched "iPhone 4 Mexico September" and got a few results. Here's an excerpt from one online article back on the 11th of last month:

Any insight on this?

Unfounded rumor started by someone with zero information and zero access to have any information.

I got one for free and never took it out of its original retail packaging. Now that they are selling them again at Apple Stores, do you think I could go into an Apple Store and get at least a $29 store credit for it?

Nope. They will have thought of this and will require a receipt for all case returns. Same as they do when someone tries to return a printer (due to the rebate promo)
 
After spending twenty hours talking to Apple Senior Tech people on the phone and being on my 4th yes my 4th iPhone a local friend asked me if I had tried it without the bumper case? I removed the bumper case and now the proximity sensor works, no more putting 80% of the callers on pause, hold, speaker normally and worst of all calling other numbers in my address book that I have not called in six months. Four out of five calls the phone(s) were literally unusable unless on speaker phone laying on the counter undisturbed.

I now have a second Verizon LG phone just so can make calls and finally found out what the culprit is.

Apple needs to fix mobileme calendar I caution anyone to use it people are losing all of their home at me.com info and appointments...sweet.
Losing their mobileme gallerys, Time machine and Time Capsule do not work, we have tried seven yes seven Time capsules and even the Apple dealer said they are junk and to use a wired external.

The phone needs a stubby external antenna the size of a pencil eraser but Jobs is too proud. They have also become so large that the apple spirit is gone, 50% of their phone support people leave within 90 days that should tell you something. MAc user since 1986 bought a hundred of them over the years not going anywhere else but Google Calendar just got my business as well as gmail and who knows down the road. Apple needs to stop trying to outpace everybody and just make their stuff work and be reliable and tell the truth admit fault and give some decent support.

Exaggerate much? 4 iPhones? 7 Time Capsules? The odds of you getting 11 defective devices in a row is not comprehendable.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the problem is you and your unrealistic expectations...
 
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