Apple is taking this way over the top, but it does make the point redundantly clear, at least to the layman. You can argue the specific technical merits of why Iphone is worse, but really it makes all the critics look pretty petty.
Yeah, yeah...your phone is really doesn't loose signal like iPhone4, and your phone defies the laws of physics, LOL. Well a picture is worth a thousand words.
Apple can sit back and lob these videos again and again. Apple have nothing to loose, because there is not going to be a backlash from the general public. See any drop in iPhones sales yet? These videos will only reinforce the iPhone purchasers that they made the right choice, and create FUD for the non-iPhone owners/Android owners, especially the non-technical ones, about their purchase.
For all involved this issue should be left to die. But if this issues keeps dragging on, I bet Apple will keep adding more videos of cellphones loosing signal just the iPhone4. As they say, fight fire with fire.
Please enlighten us where on any other phone you can put one finger and lose 5 bars? "Industry wide phenomena" my eye. Apple diluted this problem by talking about a "Death Grip". No one complained about a "Death Grip". They complained about the fact that if any part of their hand touched one spot on the side of the phone, it dropped calls. Grow up Apple, we are not in the 1st grade anymore, admit you screwed up and fix it, and move on. Don't point at your other classmates. MAN UP!!!! I guess the "great innovators" "missed a spot".
So you say there is a problem. And over 3 and 1/2 million people say it isn't a problem. If you have any dignity, you would admit you are the one in the wrong. I'll take the millions of people who own the iphone 4 and the millions who are on the waiting list for it to your feeble attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Bad press may be nothing new for Apple but its new for them being on top. Based on market cap they are now considered the biggest tech company in the world. Apple has lost the advantage of being the underdog to big bad Microsoft and now the media is going to be looking to knock them off the mountain every chance they get. That is just simply how the game works.
Also while Apple fanboys may be loyal when there is even a rumor of a problem they bitch more then your average school girl.
Look who is talking
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater
I would agree there isnt a company out there wouldn't mind having the "problems" Apple is having...lol.
Its just funny to me that once you get on top the media is right there to try and knock you off the mountain.
It will all come down to if the consume buys into the media hype or not. I am not sure if it was a good idea for Apple to offer something for free only because it makes them look even more guilty as if there is a wide spread problem and they are trying to cover it up.
If its truly only impacting less then .5% of iPhone users then I wouldn't have given shit away.
It is called proactive management of the issue, since media has blow this out of all proportion and SJ can sense their going for blood.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Postulant
People don't generally go ape shit over .55%. Hell, the accidental death rate in your average hospital is higher than that.
In my Pharmacy class, you're allowed a medication error rate of up to 10%. I guess administering the wrong meds to 10 out of 100 people is a number they can live with.
You are proud of that error rate for medication error, thanks for letting us know that acceptable to give wrong medication to people and their is acceptable limit. Maybe you should try to not make and error and improve that margin, just a thought.
With hindsight I wish Steve had just laid it on the table:
"We've re-thought the whole antenna thing, and putting it on the outside has both benefits and deficits. We believe the former outweigh the latter. Some may notice an interesting phenomenon that when you bridge the gap between the two antennas with your finder or hand that there may be a small drop in bar indication. In a normal signal strength area this should not have any detrimental effect. If you are in a low signal strength area, it might. But again, this design allows for greater signal strength in most conditions most of the time. On the plus side the outside antenna on the iPhone 4 yields a clear improvement in overall performance over its predecessor, and we believe it is the best smartphone on the market."
This kind of unambiguous statement would have done much to "attenuate" criticism. Buyers would know up front what the characteristics of this model are, and could judge for themselves whether their real world experience is better or worse than before. I can understand why he didn't make this statement at the time the phone was released. Probably assumed people would figure this out for themselves. Also, it just goes against all normal business practice to point out any potentially negative characteristic of a newly released product. But again, in hindsight, it would have been better. Some people would have still not been pleased, but I think much of the reaction was fueled by the belief that Apple was trying to slip something past buyers.
For the record, I can make the one or two bars drop by bridging the gap, but it doesn't seem to cause me any actual performance problems that I am aware of. Took my case off to experiment.
If only more in here followed your precedent of logic and reason... If Only.
It is called proactive management of the issue, since media has blow this out of all proportion and SJ can sense their going for blood.[QUOTE]
Its far from proactive management its finally a case where Apple can't lay back and be quite until they fine a soluation like they have done every other time. The way Apple has always worked it deny or don't admit anything until they find a fix. Clearly they didn't opt for that approach in this case because they can no longer get away with that approach.
Apple has lost underdog status.
As for look who is talking I would call you a school girl but that would be insulting school girls.
"The rest of the mobile industry, and in particular those companies profiled in the death grip hall of shame Apple published, have shot back with defensive statements..."
The fools!! They don't realize that the more they protest the more they give credence to Apple's position! "NO! - WE don't have attenuation problems." when users can see them on youtube - every time a company says that the listeners think "Oh - they have it too." All they do is reinforce Apple's position.
There are, of course, the iHaters who will believe anything anti-Apple - but who cares?
You are proud of that error rate for medication error, thanks for letting us know that acceptable to give wrong medication to people and their is acceptable limit. Maybe you should try to not make and error and improve that margin, just a thought.
Nice interpretation... Can't say I'm surprised, though.
Its not so strange that once you are on top the media wants to bring you down. At least not in Apple's case. Its more than on top, right now - its almost too good to be true. Apple is beating all the odds what with refusing to go cheap, insisting on high level design, re-defining established business models. Basically Apple is challenging the status quo in a lot of areas and being hugely successful. After a while it makes for a pretty dull story. Every media outlet needs a story on Apple and it gets boring if everything is just dandy. There's no drama.
The people who hate Apple for their 'control freak'ery' are mainly geeks and are insignificant now that Apple is mainstream. All the journalists who needs something to write about - bad iPhone 4!, and all the up-in-arms-techno-geeks - bad iphone 4!, and all the other Apple haters - SJ is the devil, are also insignificant now that Apple is mainstream - witnessed by the continued success of the iPhone 4 in spite of the endless iterations of the same boring arguments about the the bad arial, Apple's lies, and SJ's arrogance. People honestly don't give a shit because for the vast majority it is a non issue. I suspect all the attention the iPhone 4 has gotten is playing directly into Apple's hands.
Time will only tell if the attention plays into their hands. This is has been fairly rough attention even for apple because of the volume of iPhones that were sold. What will happen is if there really is a problem then consumers will make more noise. If there isn't then consumers will simply be happy if their iPhone works just fine.
Here in the Atlanta area I have about 10 friends that use an iPhone 4 and all of them say it drops alot of calls. That isn't a large sample by any means and I don't knwo what "alot" is but they aren't thrilled with the dropped calls situation which could very well be ATT and not the hardware.
I use an Evo and I have my own issues with the phone. Wifi range sucks and even in full 4G I woudl say the speeds could be better for the extra 10.00 a month. Also unlike my Apple products with Android you have to hope and pray they push the updates to your phone. I keep hearing about 2.2 but until I get that OTA I won't hold my breath.
Actually, the iPhone 4 is the only phone in existence which loses 5 bars when a single finger touches the insulator between the two external antennae, without even holding the phone.
The more Apple is trying to divert attention away from its idiotic design flaw, the more hilarious it's getting.
I lose no signal when I touch that spot with a single finger. Five bars. I use the iPhone 4 without a bumper or case. It works perfectly. No dropped calls. AT&T's towers usually gives me between 3-5 bars, indoors, outdoors, and on the highway. I guess something is wrong with my phone: it doesn't fit your prejudices.
Its just funny to me that once you get on top the media is right there to try and knock you off the mountain.
paxman is right, this is expected from the company who is on top, is changing the "game" and, by effect, everyone watches. They can't drop a pin without someone hearing it (wait, should that be drop a call? hehe).
Even if they have half the issues per 100 next year if they sell twice as many (or more) it could seem more problematic than it really is. That's before you get the Internet echo effect involved.
Quote:
If its truly only impacting less then .5% of iPhone users then I wouldn't have given shit away.
The press conference wasn't about addressing or fixing the antenna issue, it was about addressing and fixing their public issue. Nothing more, nothing less.
"The rest of the mobile industry, and in particular those companies profiled in the death grip hall of shame Apple published, have shot back with defensive statements..."
The fools!! They don't realize that the more they protest the more they give credence to Apple's position! "NO! - WE don't have attenuation problems." when users can see them on youtube - every time a company says that the listeners think "Oh - they have it too." All they do is reinforce Apple's position.
There are, of course, the iHaters who will believe anything anti-Apple - but who cares?
There is clearly a problem and that problem is perception is reality. If there was really no problem Apple wouldn't have held a press conference and wouldn't have given away free bumpers to EVERY iPhone 4 user if they have a problem or not.
I have no clue if there is a widespread problem and neither do you so acting like you do just makes you look stupid. Steve Jobs doesn't hold a press conference for no reason and even more so give away stuff for free.
paxman is right, this is expected from the company who is on top, is changing the "game" and, by effect, everyone watches. They can't drop a pin without someone hearing it (wait, should that be drop a call? hehe).
Even if they have half the issues per 100 next year if they sell twice as many (or more) it could seem more problematic than it really is. That's before you get the Internet echo effect involved.
The press conference wasn't about addressing or fixing the antenna issue, it was about addressing and fixing their public issue. Nothing more, nothing less.
That was my point. Did SJ make the public issue better or worse? While many will just be happy to get a free bumper even more so if they don't have a problem in some ways I felt like he got away with admitting there is a problem by giving away a bumper and on top of it got off cheap without having to fix the root cause of the problem which could very well be a design flaw.
I am not saying there is a design flaw, I just find the entire situation interesting because I have never seen Apple put in this kind of position and have to play defense like this.
For those that say Apple has always taken a beating that is BS, until now they haven' taken 10% of what Microsoft has had to put up with. I wonder how Jobs will continue to respond with being the big boy on the block. He doesn't strike me as the type that is going to take criticism very well.
Time will only tell if the attention plays into their hands. This is has been fairly rough attention even for apple because of the volume of iPhones that were sold. What will happen is if there really is a problem then consumers will make more noise. If there isn't then consumers will simply be happy if their iPhone works just fine.
My guess is that there isn't a problem. Apple is all over this. If there is a problem they are fixing it now and a revised model will be out sooner rather than later. But I just don't think that is the case. There is no way Apple would try to pull a fast one, or brush this under the carpet. If a recall was required they would have done it, costs be damned.
Quote:
Here in the Atlanta area I have about 10 friends that use an iPhone 4 and all of them say it drops alot of calls. That isn't a large sample by any means and I don't knwo what "alot" is but they aren't thrilled with the dropped calls situation which could very well be ATT and not the hardware.
I am not doubting they have issues and I am not saying the IPhone4's arial is without issues, but if your friends are using bumpers /covers and are still experiencing dropped calls I would imagine this to be a carrier problem.
Quote:
I use an Evo and I have my own issues with the phone. Wifi range sucks and even in full 4G I woudl say the speeds could be better for the extra 10.00 a month. Also unlike my Apple products with Android you have to hope and pray they push the updates to your phone. I keep hearing about 2.2 but until I get that OTA I won't hold my breath.
I think this is something people are forgetting these days - virtually all tech devices have issues and the much (mis) quoted SJ comment - So don't hold it that way - is a truism most of us live with and accept in one way or another.
If I were in the market for a cell phone and saw that all of the other company's CEOs were lying about their phones reception problems then I definitely wouldn't buy their products. They deny the problem yet the videos by their own customers prove them wrong. I could understand their situations if they admitted their phones had problems when the antennas were covered. When they deny the problems exist when within their own literature they admit it, then that is outright lying.
I do my best to avoid dealing with liars. If they lie once then they are likely to be lying about other things.
My 2008 Mac Book battery has expanded within the computer and the Apple online tech guy said it was a normal occurrence for safety reasons. That was a lie. The battery only had 19 cycles on it since it is mostly used as a desktop computer. If Apple doesn't acknowledge this as a defective unit after only 19 months I'll stop dealing with Apple too. I didn't buy Applecare. I dual booted Linux on an HP computer in part because of this situation. I'm preparing to give up on Apple if they don't act responsibly and replace this defective battery.
The battery expanding should be covered if you have the extended AppleCare warranty which covers you for an additional 2 years giving a total coverage of 3 years. If you search online it's weird how some tech support says it is normal but there are many cases in the US and internationally where they swap out the battery for you. My dad's MacBook has the same issue but we should be able to get a replacement as consistent with the online forums. Will report back, possibly, if they don't.
The only issue is that you don't have the extended AppleCare so your hardware defects are not covered, unfortunately. I sympathize with your situation, but I have always gotten AppleCare these past several years and the coverage has been quite good. Frustrating at times because it takes a while for support and service to iron out certain issues but if you are persistent (not rude) so far they have been reasonable.
this antenna issue seems to be put to rest at this point.
now the real drama coming next is the glass.
dropping an iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS has never been a cause for concern. now with the iPhone 4 it will be a major headache going forward.
drop your phone and crack or shatter it and bam! you're out of $199 for a replacement. no sympathy, you broke it you pay!
interesting months are ahead!
Interestingly, haven't seen a huge bunch of posts online about this. Do you have a link? I'm curious. I wonder if the antenna stuff has buried it but by now if there has been a lot of shattering glass it should be all over the Internetz.
That was my point. Did SJ make the public issue better or worse? While many will just be happy to get a free bumper even more so if they don't have a problem in some ways I felt like he got away with admitting there is a problem by giving away a bumper and on top of it got off cheap without having to fix the root cause of the problem which could very well be a design flaw.
Without a doubt he made the public issue better. The issue is only alive in the forums now, the general media has moved on.
Quote:
I am not saying there is a design flaw, I just find the entire situation interesting because I have never seen Apple put in this kind of position and have to play defense like this.
For those that say Apple has always taken a beating that is BS, until now they haven' taken 10% of what Microsoft has had to put up with. I wonder how Jobs will continue to respond with being the big boy on the block. He doesn't strike me as the type that is going to take criticism very well.
Yeah, it is interesting. Apple has been employing pr specialists for some time and even though SJ and Apple will always do as they see fit it is very different dealing with dedicated Apple heads and millions and millions of average users world wide. In my mind one of Apple's strengths is that they manage to appear small and responsive, and personal, whereas MS is definitely a 'corporation'. I think Apple will adapt and do fine. SJ may not take criticism so well but I believe he really cares about his company and products and will go a very long way to do the right thing. I definitely think Apple listen to the chattering blogosphere but know to trust their own judgement. And thank god for that
The battery expanding should be covered if you have the extended AppleCare warranty which covers you for an additional 2 years giving a total coverage of 3 years. If you search online it's weird how some tech support says it is normal but there are many cases in the US and internationally where they swap out the battery for you. My dad's MacBook has the same issue but we should be able to get a replacement as consistent with the online forums. Will report back, possibly, if they don't.
The only issue is that you don't have the extended AppleCare so your hardware defects are not covered, unfortunately. I sympathize with your situation, but I have always gotten AppleCare these past several years and the coverage has been quite good. Frustrating at times because it takes a while for support and service to iron out certain issues but if you are persistent (not rude) so far they have been reasonable.
It's not unlike driving a vehicle without a warranty in that one effectively assumes all responsibility after standard coverage has expired.
It's a choice the buyer makes, as extended warrantees are always offered at the time of purchase, and the manufacturer is free and clear if you opt out of said service.
Comments
" No one complained about a "Death Grip". :
If you had any credibility, it's out the window, now.
No one complained about a "Death Grip".
lol. re-writing history much?
Apple is taking this way over the top, but it does make the point redundantly clear, at least to the layman. You can argue the specific technical merits of why Iphone is worse, but really it makes all the critics look pretty petty.
Yeah, yeah...your phone is really doesn't loose signal like iPhone4, and your phone defies the laws of physics, LOL. Well a picture is worth a thousand words.
Apple can sit back and lob these videos again and again. Apple have nothing to loose, because there is not going to be a backlash from the general public. See any drop in iPhones sales yet? These videos will only reinforce the iPhone purchasers that they made the right choice, and create FUD for the non-iPhone owners/Android owners, especially the non-technical ones, about their purchase.
For all involved this issue should be left to die. But if this issues keeps dragging on, I bet Apple will keep adding more videos of cellphones loosing signal just the iPhone4. As they say, fight fire with fire.
JoeG
Please enlighten us where on any other phone you can put one finger and lose 5 bars? "Industry wide phenomena" my eye. Apple diluted this problem by talking about a "Death Grip". No one complained about a "Death Grip". They complained about the fact that if any part of their hand touched one spot on the side of the phone, it dropped calls. Grow up Apple, we are not in the 1st grade anymore, admit you screwed up and fix it, and move on. Don't point at your other classmates. MAN UP!!!! I guess the "great innovators" "missed a spot".
So you say there is a problem. And over 3 and 1/2 million people say it isn't a problem. If you have any dignity, you would admit you are the one in the wrong. I'll take the millions of people who own the iphone 4 and the millions who are on the waiting list for it to your feeble attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Bad press may be nothing new for Apple but its new for them being on top. Based on market cap they are now considered the biggest tech company in the world. Apple has lost the advantage of being the underdog to big bad Microsoft and now the media is going to be looking to knock them off the mountain every chance they get. That is just simply how the game works.
Also while Apple fanboys may be loyal when there is even a rumor of a problem they bitch more then your average school girl.
Look who is talking
I would agree there isnt a company out there wouldn't mind having the "problems" Apple is having...lol.
Its just funny to me that once you get on top the media is right there to try and knock you off the mountain.
It will all come down to if the consume buys into the media hype or not. I am not sure if it was a good idea for Apple to offer something for free only because it makes them look even more guilty as if there is a wide spread problem and they are trying to cover it up.
If its truly only impacting less then .5% of iPhone users then I wouldn't have given shit away.
It is called proactive management of the issue, since media has blow this out of all proportion and SJ can sense their going for blood.
People don't generally go ape shit over .55%. Hell, the accidental death rate in your average hospital is higher than that.
In my Pharmacy class, you're allowed a medication error rate of up to 10%. I guess administering the wrong meds to 10 out of 100 people is a number they can live with.
You are proud of that error rate for medication error, thanks for letting us know that acceptable to give wrong medication to people and their is acceptable limit. Maybe you should try to not make and error and improve that margin, just a thought.
With hindsight I wish Steve had just laid it on the table:
"We've re-thought the whole antenna thing, and putting it on the outside has both benefits and deficits. We believe the former outweigh the latter. Some may notice an interesting phenomenon that when you bridge the gap between the two antennas with your finder or hand that there may be a small drop in bar indication. In a normal signal strength area this should not have any detrimental effect. If you are in a low signal strength area, it might. But again, this design allows for greater signal strength in most conditions most of the time. On the plus side the outside antenna on the iPhone 4 yields a clear improvement in overall performance over its predecessor, and we believe it is the best smartphone on the market."
This kind of unambiguous statement would have done much to "attenuate" criticism. Buyers would know up front what the characteristics of this model are, and could judge for themselves whether their real world experience is better or worse than before. I can understand why he didn't make this statement at the time the phone was released. Probably assumed people would figure this out for themselves. Also, it just goes against all normal business practice to point out any potentially negative characteristic of a newly released product. But again, in hindsight, it would have been better. Some people would have still not been pleased, but I think much of the reaction was fueled by the belief that Apple was trying to slip something past buyers.
For the record, I can make the one or two bars drop by bridging the gap, but it doesn't seem to cause me any actual performance problems that I am aware of. Took my case off to experiment.
If only more in here followed your precedent of logic and reason... If Only.
It is called proactive management of the issue, since media has blow this out of all proportion and SJ can sense their going for blood.[QUOTE]
Its far from proactive management its finally a case where Apple can't lay back and be quite until they fine a soluation like they have done every other time. The way Apple has always worked it deny or don't admit anything until they find a fix. Clearly they didn't opt for that approach in this case because they can no longer get away with that approach.
Apple has lost underdog status.
As for look who is talking I would call you a school girl but that would be insulting school girls.
The fools!! They don't realize that the more they protest the more they give credence to Apple's position! "NO! - WE don't have attenuation problems." when users can see them on youtube - every time a company says that the listeners think "Oh - they have it too." All they do is reinforce Apple's position.
There are, of course, the iHaters who will believe anything anti-Apple - but who cares?
You are proud of that error rate for medication error, thanks for letting us know that acceptable to give wrong medication to people and their is acceptable limit. Maybe you should try to not make and error and improve that margin, just a thought.
Nice interpretation... Can't say I'm surprised, though.
Its not so strange that once you are on top the media wants to bring you down. At least not in Apple's case. Its more than on top, right now - its almost too good to be true. Apple is beating all the odds what with refusing to go cheap, insisting on high level design, re-defining established business models. Basically Apple is challenging the status quo in a lot of areas and being hugely successful. After a while it makes for a pretty dull story. Every media outlet needs a story on Apple and it gets boring if everything is just dandy. There's no drama.
The people who hate Apple for their 'control freak'ery' are mainly geeks and are insignificant now that Apple is mainstream. All the journalists who needs something to write about - bad iPhone 4!, and all the up-in-arms-techno-geeks - bad iphone 4!, and all the other Apple haters - SJ is the devil, are also insignificant now that Apple is mainstream - witnessed by the continued success of the iPhone 4 in spite of the endless iterations of the same boring arguments about the the bad arial, Apple's lies, and SJ's arrogance. People honestly don't give a shit because for the vast majority it is a non issue. I suspect all the attention the iPhone 4 has gotten is playing directly into Apple's hands.
Time will only tell if the attention plays into their hands. This is has been fairly rough attention even for apple because of the volume of iPhones that were sold. What will happen is if there really is a problem then consumers will make more noise. If there isn't then consumers will simply be happy if their iPhone works just fine.
Here in the Atlanta area I have about 10 friends that use an iPhone 4 and all of them say it drops alot of calls. That isn't a large sample by any means and I don't knwo what "alot" is but they aren't thrilled with the dropped calls situation which could very well be ATT and not the hardware.
I use an Evo and I have my own issues with the phone. Wifi range sucks and even in full 4G I woudl say the speeds could be better for the extra 10.00 a month. Also unlike my Apple products with Android you have to hope and pray they push the updates to your phone. I keep hearing about 2.2 but until I get that OTA I won't hold my breath.
Actually, the iPhone 4 is the only phone in existence which loses 5 bars when a single finger touches the insulator between the two external antennae, without even holding the phone.
The more Apple is trying to divert attention away from its idiotic design flaw, the more hilarious it's getting.
I lose no signal when I touch that spot with a single finger. Five bars. I use the iPhone 4 without a bumper or case. It works perfectly. No dropped calls. AT&T's towers usually gives me between 3-5 bars, indoors, outdoors, and on the highway. I guess something is wrong with my phone: it doesn't fit your prejudices.
Its just funny to me that once you get on top the media is right there to try and knock you off the mountain.
paxman is right, this is expected from the company who is on top, is changing the "game" and, by effect, everyone watches. They can't drop a pin without someone hearing it (wait, should that be drop a call? hehe).
Even if they have half the issues per 100 next year if they sell twice as many (or more) it could seem more problematic than it really is. That's before you get the Internet echo effect involved.
If its truly only impacting less then .5% of iPhone users then I wouldn't have given shit away.
The press conference wasn't about addressing or fixing the antenna issue, it was about addressing and fixing their public issue. Nothing more, nothing less.
"The rest of the mobile industry, and in particular those companies profiled in the death grip hall of shame Apple published, have shot back with defensive statements..."
The fools!! They don't realize that the more they protest the more they give credence to Apple's position! "NO! - WE don't have attenuation problems." when users can see them on youtube - every time a company says that the listeners think "Oh - they have it too." All they do is reinforce Apple's position.
There are, of course, the iHaters who will believe anything anti-Apple - but who cares?
There is clearly a problem and that problem is perception is reality. If there was really no problem Apple wouldn't have held a press conference and wouldn't have given away free bumpers to EVERY iPhone 4 user if they have a problem or not.
I have no clue if there is a widespread problem and neither do you so acting like you do just makes you look stupid. Steve Jobs doesn't hold a press conference for no reason and even more so give away stuff for free.
paxman is right, this is expected from the company who is on top, is changing the "game" and, by effect, everyone watches. They can't drop a pin without someone hearing it (wait, should that be drop a call? hehe).
Even if they have half the issues per 100 next year if they sell twice as many (or more) it could seem more problematic than it really is. That's before you get the Internet echo effect involved.
The press conference wasn't about addressing or fixing the antenna issue, it was about addressing and fixing their public issue. Nothing more, nothing less.
That was my point. Did SJ make the public issue better or worse? While many will just be happy to get a free bumper even more so if they don't have a problem in some ways I felt like he got away with admitting there is a problem by giving away a bumper and on top of it got off cheap without having to fix the root cause of the problem which could very well be a design flaw.
I am not saying there is a design flaw, I just find the entire situation interesting because I have never seen Apple put in this kind of position and have to play defense like this.
For those that say Apple has always taken a beating that is BS, until now they haven' taken 10% of what Microsoft has had to put up with. I wonder how Jobs will continue to respond with being the big boy on the block. He doesn't strike me as the type that is going to take criticism very well.
Time will only tell if the attention plays into their hands. This is has been fairly rough attention even for apple because of the volume of iPhones that were sold. What will happen is if there really is a problem then consumers will make more noise. If there isn't then consumers will simply be happy if their iPhone works just fine.
My guess is that there isn't a problem. Apple is all over this. If there is a problem they are fixing it now and a revised model will be out sooner rather than later. But I just don't think that is the case. There is no way Apple would try to pull a fast one, or brush this under the carpet. If a recall was required they would have done it, costs be damned.
Here in the Atlanta area I have about 10 friends that use an iPhone 4 and all of them say it drops alot of calls. That isn't a large sample by any means and I don't knwo what "alot" is but they aren't thrilled with the dropped calls situation which could very well be ATT and not the hardware.
I am not doubting they have issues and I am not saying the IPhone4's arial is without issues, but if your friends are using bumpers /covers and are still experiencing dropped calls I would imagine this to be a carrier problem.
I use an Evo and I have my own issues with the phone. Wifi range sucks and even in full 4G I woudl say the speeds could be better for the extra 10.00 a month. Also unlike my Apple products with Android you have to hope and pray they push the updates to your phone. I keep hearing about 2.2 but until I get that OTA I won't hold my breath.
I think this is something people are forgetting these days - virtually all tech devices have issues and the much (mis) quoted SJ comment - So don't hold it that way - is a truism most of us live with and accept in one way or another.
If I were in the market for a cell phone and saw that all of the other company's CEOs were lying about their phones reception problems then I definitely wouldn't buy their products. They deny the problem yet the videos by their own customers prove them wrong. I could understand their situations if they admitted their phones had problems when the antennas were covered. When they deny the problems exist when within their own literature they admit it, then that is outright lying.
I do my best to avoid dealing with liars. If they lie once then they are likely to be lying about other things.
My 2008 Mac Book battery has expanded within the computer and the Apple online tech guy said it was a normal occurrence for safety reasons. That was a lie. The battery only had 19 cycles on it since it is mostly used as a desktop computer. If Apple doesn't acknowledge this as a defective unit after only 19 months I'll stop dealing with Apple too. I didn't buy Applecare. I dual booted Linux on an HP computer in part because of this situation. I'm preparing to give up on Apple if they don't act responsibly and replace this defective battery.
The battery expanding should be covered if you have the extended AppleCare warranty which covers you for an additional 2 years giving a total coverage of 3 years. If you search online it's weird how some tech support says it is normal but there are many cases in the US and internationally where they swap out the battery for you. My dad's MacBook has the same issue but we should be able to get a replacement as consistent with the online forums. Will report back, possibly, if they don't.
The only issue is that you don't have the extended AppleCare so your hardware defects are not covered, unfortunately. I sympathize with your situation, but I have always gotten AppleCare these past several years and the coverage has been quite good. Frustrating at times because it takes a while for support and service to iron out certain issues but if you are persistent (not rude) so far they have been reasonable.
this antenna issue seems to be put to rest at this point.
now the real drama coming next is the glass.
dropping an iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS has never been a cause for concern. now with the iPhone 4 it will be a major headache going forward.
drop your phone and crack or shatter it and bam! you're out of $199 for a replacement. no sympathy, you broke it you pay!
interesting months are ahead!
Interestingly, haven't seen a huge bunch of posts online about this. Do you have a link? I'm curious. I wonder if the antenna stuff has buried it but by now if there has been a lot of shattering glass it should be all over the Internetz.
That was my point. Did SJ make the public issue better or worse? While many will just be happy to get a free bumper even more so if they don't have a problem in some ways I felt like he got away with admitting there is a problem by giving away a bumper and on top of it got off cheap without having to fix the root cause of the problem which could very well be a design flaw.
Without a doubt he made the public issue better. The issue is only alive in the forums now, the general media has moved on.
I am not saying there is a design flaw, I just find the entire situation interesting because I have never seen Apple put in this kind of position and have to play defense like this.
For those that say Apple has always taken a beating that is BS, until now they haven' taken 10% of what Microsoft has had to put up with. I wonder how Jobs will continue to respond with being the big boy on the block. He doesn't strike me as the type that is going to take criticism very well.
Yeah, it is interesting. Apple has been employing pr specialists for some time and even though SJ and Apple will always do as they see fit it is very different dealing with dedicated Apple heads and millions and millions of average users world wide. In my mind one of Apple's strengths is that they manage to appear small and responsive, and personal, whereas MS is definitely a 'corporation'. I think Apple will adapt and do fine. SJ may not take criticism so well but I believe he really cares about his company and products and will go a very long way to do the right thing. I definitely think Apple listen to the chattering blogosphere but know to trust their own judgement. And thank god for that
The battery expanding should be covered if you have the extended AppleCare warranty which covers you for an additional 2 years giving a total coverage of 3 years. If you search online it's weird how some tech support says it is normal but there are many cases in the US and internationally where they swap out the battery for you. My dad's MacBook has the same issue but we should be able to get a replacement as consistent with the online forums. Will report back, possibly, if they don't.
The only issue is that you don't have the extended AppleCare so your hardware defects are not covered, unfortunately. I sympathize with your situation, but I have always gotten AppleCare these past several years and the coverage has been quite good. Frustrating at times because it takes a while for support and service to iron out certain issues but if you are persistent (not rude) so far they have been reasonable.
It's not unlike driving a vehicle without a warranty in that one effectively assumes all responsibility after standard coverage has expired.
It's a choice the buyer makes, as extended warrantees are always offered at the time of purchase, and the manufacturer is free and clear if you opt out of said service.