Apple to fix iphone 4 problem with a free case

Zeplini

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[video=youtube;OcUd4vjeDIc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcUd4vjeDIc[/video]

Sky News -


Apple boss Steve Jobs has admitted that the company has problems over its iPhone 4 reception issues and offered a free fix for users.

Jobs said: "We are not perfect. We know that you know that, and phones are not pefect either."

"But we want to make all of our users happy."

Apple says it will give free protective cases to buyers of phone to alleviate the so-called "death grip" problem - holding the phone with a bare hand can muffle or drop the signal.
Jobs announced the giveaway at the company's headquarters in California and said those who have already bought the phone and new buyers will all be eligible.

At first the manufacturer said it was simply a signal strength indicator fault but its innovative case aerial was suspected to be the cause.

Fox business correspondent Ashley Webster told Sky News that the iPhone 4 problems have been growing for a long time.
"Apple at first rather flippantly responded to complaints and said, 'Hold it a different way.'"

Jobs said the phone was "perhaps the best product we have ever made" and that it has sold three million iPhone 4s in less than a month.

He added that only 0.55% of users had complained about the new phones, and less than 2% returned their phones.

At the press conference the Apple boss did a comparative analysis between the iPhone and other smart phones, and even showed a YouTube parody song about the aerial woes.

The free rubber remedy is a step the innovative firm is not used to and Apple, long the darling of the tech world, has suffered recently over product glitches.

"This is certain a new chapter in Apple's PR history," Webster said.
Stuff magazine editor Fraser Macdonald has told Sky News that Apple is set to recover its standing in the industry.

"If it solves the problem Apple will be back to five stars," he said.
"A problem for Apple is they open themselves up to scrutiny as soon as they do anything," Macdonald said.

The Apple boss downplayed the severity of the problems facing the firm.
"We're not feeling right now that we have a giant problem we need to fix," Jobs said.
"This has been blown so out of proportion that it's incredible. I know it's fun to have a story, but it's less fun when you're on the other end of it."

Analysts have criticised Apple's first responses to reports of reception problems as dismissive, and cautioned that the company shouldn't come across as arrogant.
But Jobs apologised to buyers who had less than perfect experiences with the new device.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to make them happy and if we can't make them happy we're going to give them a full refund and say we're really sorry we inconvenienced you, and we're going to do better next time," he said.

Apple stock rose more than $2 (£1.30) on Friday as news broke of the fix offer, taking the share price to $254.97 (£166.52) on the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: news) exchange.
The furore over the signal-strength flaws of the latest iPhone model has hurt Apple's shares ahead of its quarterly results next week.

Since June 28 - days after the launch, when complaints about faulty reception began surfacing on IT websites - Apple has lost about $16bn (£10.44bn) in market value, with at least some of that related to the iPhone controversy.
 

Gorman

Author Level
This has been blown so out of proportion that it's incredible. I know it's fun to have a story, but it's less fun when you're on the other end of it.

Hmm, coming from the makers of the "im a mac" campaign. Karma steve, karma.

[video=youtube;VCL5UgxtoLs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCL5UgxtoLs[/video]
 

Gorman

Author Level
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/359572/rivals-dispute-apples-smartphone-reception-claims

“Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable," said RIM Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie in a joint statement. "Apple's claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation."

"One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity," they added, taking a dig at Jobs' offer of a free case to iPhone 4 buyers.


Nokia - which wasn't even mentioned by Jobs - also spoke out. "We prioritise antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict," the company told the Telegraph.
 
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