PR Experts Suggest iPhone 4 Recall 'Inevitable' as Antenna Issue Snowballs

[mrochester]

Seems to be a common mantra here.

Can you use the hundreds of dollars worth of apps and games purchased through iTunes on the Android? Will an android phone sync your music, notes, and ical via itunes? Many people here have had the iphone since it first came out. This isn't like trying to decide between a Razr and a pebl. The iphone has been integrated into many people's personal lives. It should be easy to understand that it is not as simple as just returning the phone and picking up an Android device.

Unfortunately, this is what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket. Apple have you trapped since you've invested so heavily in their platform.

 

[steve-p]

Everyone who is busy defending the phone design and denying there is a problem will of course not need to return theirs if there is a recall, so that should help reduce the cost to Apple. Meanwhile it has cost sales already. I saw the problem for myself on a colleague's iPhone 4 on the day after release day, and cancelled my pre-order for the following week, and several other people at work have now also cancelled. I can wait until next year if necessary - I still have my 3GS which works great. If the "solution" is a free bumper, then I can still wait for a phone that doesn't need a case, thanks. Maybe there are regional differences but out of all the iPhone owners I know personally, only one uses a case.

 

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

I would love to read this thread with a simple designation for each poster noting whether or not they actually have this phone. I'll wager most of the biggest loudmouths are using an Android phone, and most of the rest, for some unknown reason or another, are crying foul without actually owning the device. Perhaps there's some folks out there with an iPhone 4 who are making a big deal about this—maybe buddies at school are teasing them over the news; maybe they've got an iPhone 4 with unusual problems—but everyone I know who has one can 1) duplicate the problem, but 2) has actually found that it is still a very reliable phone, and not only that, that it is an improvement over their previous iPhones.

Talk about herd mentality. Mix this with a high-profile name like Apple, a childish brand vs. brand confrontation (Android vs. Apple), and folks boilerplate stupidity when deciding which stampeding herd to jump into, and you've got a perfect PR mess. Honestly wondering at this moment if it is a good time to sell and re-buy after a dip...

 

[Tadros]

I dont understand why they put the divider in the lower left corner. Why not the top of the phone? Everyone talks about external antennas and how they help phones, but my old phones with external antennas didn't have them on the side. They all had them at the top. So why didn't thy have the divide line on the top of the phone instead of the part where EVERYONE holds it from (including the actors in their ads)

 

[madrag]

1) The issue is not going to affect 90-93% of consumers significantly, because right-handed people are not going to instinctually hold the phone in the problematic way.

that's not true.
I am right-handed and I hold my phone with the left hand (as pointed by other posters elsewhere, it is a matter of using the right hand for other things, even manipulating the phone).

To be right-handed isn't a guarantee that you won't hold it with the left hand.

 

[RyanG]

there ya go again......why in EVERY post you make, do you point out you are an AAPL shareholder? and why do you think people care? congrats, you own 5 shares of AAPL stock! *applause*

LOL I've noticed this trend too. If you're not a majority holder, I don't see why this is relative to anything. I feel like people just buy 2 shares of AAPL to proclaim on MacRumors that they are an Apple shareholder.

 

[Storrow]

I dont understand why they put the divider in the lower left corner. Why not the top of the phone? Everyone talks about external antennas and how they help phones, but my old phones with external antennas didn't have them on the side. They all had them at the top. So why didn't thy have the divide line on the top of the phone instead of the part where EVERYONE holds it from (including the actors in their ads)

Brain cancer.

 

[pdjudd]

I dont understand why they put the divider in the lower left corner. Why not the top of the phone? Everyone talks about external antennas and how they help phones, but my old phones with external antennas didn't have them on the side. They all had them at the top. So why didn't thy have the divide line on the top of the phone instead of the part where EVERYONE holds it from (including the actors in their ads)

The FCC rules forbid internal antennas from being at the top of the phone.

 

[TailsToo]

prove it! show a video of u holding it in death grip indoors and outdoors without is losing signal...

for everyone of these people I will post a prove it response untill ONE person shows a valid video of it working

At home, where I have a crappy signal, I can make the bars drop by using the death grip, but at work, where there is a cell tower right near by, even the death grip doesn't drop the signal from full bars.

 

[manicmechanic]

I'm an Apple Fanboy and will...

admit that the new iPhone is *****. Other then being a sucky phone, everything else is great. Problem is, I need a phone more then I need all the other stuff. Man I'm pissed. Even when I hold it the way we are suppose to hold it, the reception still sucks. I sent it in to be fixed and bought a cheap 30$ nokia from best buy while apple was fixing mine. No reception issues with the cheapy. And no, they did not fix anything. They sent me a new phone with the same issue as the last.

 

[ramuman]

I dont understand why they put the divider in the lower left corner. Why not the top of the phone? Everyone talks about external antennas and how they help phones, but my old phones with external antennas didn't have them on the side. They all had them at the top. So why didn't thy have the divide line on the top of the phone instead of the part where EVERYONE holds it from (including the actors in their ads)

I wondered the same thing. Some speculate it might have because of the FCC testing methodology:

http://www.antennasys.com/antennasys-blog/2010/6/24/apple-iphone-4-antennas.html

I'm right handed, but like many right handed people, usually hold the phone with my left hand so I can type on it and have my right hand free.

 

[aquarterof]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

What's funny is that if one of us says "I don't have the issue" those that do have the issue call us Apologists. I'm happy with my iPhone 4. It works beautifully, no matter how I hold it. My family members who have iPhone 4 also cannot replicate the issue. We all tried! My colleagues who have iPhone 4 have all tried as well. Guess what? None of us have the issue. I have had a couple of magical and easy to run facetime sessions talking about it. We live in a range of coverage areas, some good, some bad. So the issue may not be as easy for Apple to identify. Would it be a surprise if it was a production issue? Not really.

Any kind of global recall won't happen. Why? Because the issue doesn't affect the globally deployed product.

Let's wait and see what Apple say.

I am not an apologist... Just stating how it is with me and the 10 iPhone 4 owners I know.

Sent from my brilliant, unaffected iPhone 4. Magical.

 

[vini-vidi-vici]

Sheesh...

It's a flippin PHONE. Nobody's lives are at stake here. This whole problem is a matter of signal strength... and it apparently doesn't affect everyone.

Worst case: Apple offers free cases to anyone who's bought an iPhone 4. Use your iPhone's serial number as a coupon code to get one, either on-line or at an apple store.

 

[Management]

They will not recall yet until after the 24th when people can't get their money back.

After the 24th they will send everyone new phones. I'm contemplating returning this phone and waiting until the new batch comes out with no issues.

Wonder if AT&T will let me keep my upgrade and be contract free if I do?

 

[WhySoSerious]

The number of shares I own is none of your business. You are wrong incidentally.

Whether you like it or not, AAPL shareholders are basically the people Apple needs to please. The primary responsibility of Apple's management team is to increase shareholder value. It does so by creating a solid business plan, executing, blah blah blah, but it's for the shareholders' benefit.

I'm also an Apple customer.

"who cares if you're a shareholder" is what I should have initially stated. we don't. you don't sound cool or like some investment guru.

 

[Shanpdx]

less than 1% profit affected

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ould_impact_apples_operating_income_by_1.html

common Apple do the right thing!

 

[rdstoll]

So Apple lied about there not being a signal issue. And then they go and delete forum posts referencing the Consumer Reports article.

I love to see liberal hypocrisy in full view like this.

 

[wescravn]

Let me make a comment, since we have 22 pages of BULL SH**T!

I have 0 problems with my Iphone 4, and the one issue I do have is it's so sensative, and so was the iPhone first gen, that sometimes I mute, etc.

Yet people rant and rave over attentuation, of signal, and I have not got any. In the bumper or out. Mind you I'm in NY, where AT&T signal sucks.

Yet I still have no issues. How many people have legitimate issues. You sound like asses, oh I got 1% attenuation. Your dumb ass wouldn't know, if you did or not!

People up on here make me sick!

Now I got my two cents in I already feel better.

 

[PerfSeeker]

I just don't get the reflexive defense of on this. the 3G does not have this problem, the 4 does. Why not just admit made a huge mistake and move on?

 

[PhilSandifer]

that's not true.
I am right-handed and I hold my phone with the left hand (as pointed by other posters elsewhere, it is a matter of using the right hand for other things, even manipulating the phone).

To be right-handed isn't a guarantee that you won't hold it with the left hand.

Still - most right handed people will instinctively pick up an object with their right hand. So you're still dealing with a problem that is going to affect a minority of users to start.

Again, this doesn't remove the problem - it's a design flaw, plain and simple. But treating it as a device-breaking issue is silly.

 

[RyanG]

You forgot number 5) I associate my tech products with my ego and self-esteem so attacking the iPhone or Mac or Apple is a direct attack on me. And number 6) if you don't absolutely love Apple then you are an Microsoft Troll and don't own any Apple products.

God forbid that any of us have fresh perspective for a company that we've loved since 2002 (myself) or earlier (others). Or that we want said company to go back to making quality products that set the company above the rest.

 

[msduncan]

..and Android trolls, i've got one message for you.

the iPhone 4 is STILL BETTER than your phone!

Yes, because everyone that is complaining has to be an Android troll. Give me a break.

 

[TailsToo]

I would love to read this thread with a simple designation for each poster noting whether or not they actually have this phone. I'll wager most of the biggest loudmouths are using an Android phone, and most of the rest, for some unknown reason or another, are crying foul without actually owning the device.

I love my iPhone 4 - I got a case when I first got it, and it gets better reception than my old 3G. I think you're right - the Apple haters are just pouncing on something that's not a big deal.

Is it a design flaw? For sure. Does it make this device useless? Not at all.

I love how some people are comparing this to Toyota. Like uncontrollable acceleration is the same thing as a flawed antenna (which can be fixed by covering it with a case).

 

[alhedges]

Consumer Reports doesn't "predict" PR crises, they CAUSE them. Too many old and uneducated people rely on their biased, slanted, and technically inept reviews. Ever heard of the Suzuki Samurai? A great SUV, reliable, solid, and perfectly stable.

If it was perfectly stable, why did Suzuki produce a document in 1985 (years before the CR article) stating: ""It is imperative that we develop a crisis plan that will primarily deal with the ‘roll’ factor. Because of the narrow wheel base, similar to the Jeep, the car is bound to turn over.""

Most people think it's rollover prone because Consumer Reports said it was unstable in test driving. Here's the reality: “If you can't find someone to roll this car, I will!” — Irwin Landau, Editorial Director, Consumer Reports. That statement was made to Kevin Sheehan, the guy in charge of test driving. They had to totally redesign the test track to make the vehicle a tiny bit unstable. A redesign that surely many other vehicles Consumer Reports has found no problem with would tip slightly on. It was not prone to tipping, or any other such thing CR said.

BS. Suzuki knew about the rollover problem way before CR published their article.

Yet, they made a PR disaster for Suzuki because they wanted to. No other reason.

Suzuki made its own PR disaster when they sued CR for publishing the article, thus insuring that it it stayed in the public's consciousness for 8 years as the case dragged on.

They're just trying to do the same to Apple. The difference is, this time there may be a real issue, they're just blowing it up to larger than life and predicting disaster. There's a tiny issue that can be fixed by simply avoiding touching one spot on the antenna!

CR is informing the public of problems with consumer goods. Anyone who has read MR already knew that there was a reception problem with the IP4. Blaming CR for doing actual tests on this and then reporting on them is...well, it's bizarre.

 

[PerfSeeker]

Let me make a comment, since we have 22 pages of BULL SH**T!

I have 0 problems with my Iphone 4, and the one issue I do have is it's so sensative, and so was the iPhone first gen, that sometimes I mute, etc.

Yet people rant and rave over attentuation, of signal, and I have not got any. In the bumper or out. Mind you I'm in NY, where AT&T signal sucks.

Yet I still have no issues. How many people have legitimate issues. You sound like asses, oh I got 1% attenuation. Your dumb ass wouldn't know, if you did or not!

People up on here make me sick!

Now I got my two cents in I already feel better.

Another case of "I've got mine, screw everyone else" mentality.