Apple offers free cases to fix iPhone 4 'death grip' issue

[Matthew DeCarlo]

You asked for it, and you got it. In a press conference today Apple said it would give iPhone 4 owners a free case to help resolve the now infamous "death grip" fiasco. Cupertino plans to offer several cases including those made by third parties, because the company can't make enough of its own-branded $29 "Bumper." Additionally, Apple will refund the money of anyone who has purchased its case, but not those from other manufacturers.

The company acknowledged that the iPhone 4's reception degrades when touching a spot on the left edge, but it defended its latest creation with a series of statistics, saying the matter has been blown out of proportion. Apple noted that while many other smartphones have a similar issue, including the BlackBerry Bold 9700, Droid Eris and Omnia II, the problem is more recognizable on the iPhone 4 because the black seam "marks" the problematic area.

Despite the fuss iPhone 4 owners have made, only about 0.55% have actually called Apple support to complain about antenna or reception problems, and return rates for the new handset are currently about a third of the iPhone 3GS (1.7% against 6%). Apple said it couldn't reveal the number of dropped calls because AT&T refuses to give out exact figures, but the iPhone 4 is claimed to have "less than one additional call per 100 dropped" compared to the 3GS.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/39681-apple-offers-free-cases-to-fix-iphone-4-death-grip-issue.html

 

[Armanian]

Statistics: a businesses way of dodging a bullet and making normal people oblivious and seem dumb.

 

[gwailo247]

Blown out of proportion? I'm not a super tech news junkie, but I like to stay informed, so I don't recall any major news story about Palm or Blackberry phones being held "wrong" and this caused a loss in signal strength.

But I feel bad for Steve, having to accommodate the hoi polloi. He probably wishes that the .55% owners that complain stop buying Apple products so he can bask in the adulation of the other 99.45%.

 

[Guest]

As someone once said, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics."

 

[Reloader2]

Well 1/200 of 3000000 is still a lot of faults, and I can almost surely say that everyone with the problem didn't call Apple.
On the other hand it's good that Apple gives out free bumper cases to fix the problem.

 

[thatguyandrew92]

Reloader2 said:
Well 1/200 of 3000000 is still a lot of faults, and I can almost surely say that everyone with the problem didn't call Apple.
On the other hand it's good that Apple gives out free bumper cases to fix the problem.

It's good, but not nearly good enough.

 

[Guest]

but not everyone wants to carry such a nice phone in case

i use case most of the time due to the nature of my job, but i take my baby Nexus out on weekends

and as far as bumpers go, its just ridiculous that i have to have some crap on my phone so that it functions......

 

[Vrmithrax]

Yep... Statistics are only as good as the data gathered (and the math wiz who's manipulating the numbers to show the best light).

If they are basing the numbers on reports, this is a minor fraction of the actual dropped calls. For one, true fanboys would never betray Apple by reporting a flaw in their beloved iPhone... I'm just sayin.

 

[dividebyzero]

Instead of issuing free cases, Steve might want to look at "handing" out complimentary white iGloves. "Handy" for making all those beloved hipster moves such as the finger-guns + brash wink...and also a nice identification reference for rooftop snipers.

 

[SNGX1275]

There is a big fuss about the signal issues being made by news agencies everywhere, so I think Jobs is right that it is "blown out of proportion". I've been following this online and Apple did not handle the issue well from the start, but the amount of people saying that theirs isn't dropping calls (even if the bars drop) is still far greater than the people I've seen saying they've had dropped calls from it. Apple's numbers may be statistically massaged to appear extremely low, but I think the number of people affected is also pretty low.

Another thing is that everyone I know with an iPhone (of any gen) has that thing in some sort of protective case, now I know some people don't, but most people do.

All the 'bumper' does is prevent you from shorting the antennas, so I wonder if just placing a small segment of clear tape over it would fix it. I don't see why it wouldn't, and then all the people complaining about a bumper wouldn't have to use one. Sure it sucks that you'd have to put a piece of tape over a small segment, but you could also just return the phone and get something else.

 

[Julio Franco]

For a smartphone that can browse websites better than any, shoot high-res photos and video/teleconferencing, carries one of the best screens ever on a phone, and can extend its functionality in a zillion ways with apps... to me this antenna thing is still a big design flaw on the most basic level, no matter how you paint it.

"Blown out of proportion"? Yes, and no. Everything Apple is blown out of proportion by media, so if you take the good why not the bad.

 

[Burty117]

Julio said:
For a smartphone that can browse websites better than any, shoot high-res photos and video/teleconferencing, carries one of the best screens ever on a phone, and can extend its functionality in a zillion ways with apps... to me this antenna thing is still a big design flaw on the most basic level, no matter how you paint it.

"Blown out of proportion"? Yes, and no. Everything Apple is blown out of proportion by media, so if you take the good why not the bad.

Spot on Julio, Apple completely blows the good out of proportion using the media anyway, "the retina" display is a good one, but yet when they have an actual design flaw that Steve Jobs actually called "cool engineering" yet turns out it drops enough calls to be noticed throughout the media yet they say we're blowing this out of proportion?! Well at least they have recognised something is wrong I guess.

This also Explains why the wi-fi wouldn't work on the stage for stevey, must have been holding it wrong

 

[Guest]

so the doctor is giving away bandaids now instead of setting the bone and putting a cast on it?

Cheap asses...

 

[julianignacio]

I agree with Julio that a design and manufacturing error in the most basic sense can by no means be discarded as "blown out of proportion". Zero defects should be expected from Apple, specially with the price they charge for their products.

 

[captaincranky]

...[ ].... carries one of the best screens ever on a phone, and can extend its functionality in a zillion ways with apps..

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Apples commitment to using IPS screen tech, is the only thing that impresses me.

"Blown out of proportion"? Yes, and no. Everything Apple is blown out of proportion by media, so if you take the good why not the bad.

Blowing things out of proportion to their own advantage is what Apple does best, it's about time they enjoyed the experience used against them.

"I'm a PC, now explain to me how you could possibly use, or even evaluate 220,000 apps for that stinking phone".

Now that I think about it, it would seem that a piece of tape is the best iPhone application ever.

 

[Julio Franco]

Oh, and I forgot to mention this... for all their denial, you can expect a reworked/fixed antenna solution on a silent iPhone update later on.

 

[captaincranky]

Some thoughts on our fast paced, ever changing world

Oh, and I forgot to mention this... for all their denial, you can expect a reworked/fixed antenna solution on a silent iPhone update later on.

Ahem....., "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time". by Abraham Lincoln.

This just in.........."you can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough" (Joseph Levine)

 

[Guest]

Right you are. But here's what everyone needs to know about the iphone: it's great at everything but making phone calls. That's the rub, imho. Fix that--whether by making a deal with Verizon, or whatever--and iphone will rule the world.

 

[Guest]

It's just ridicilous that they're fixing the problemw ith bumper cases. They look so sucking to me actually. That's why I do'nt by apple products anymore. I'm buying the phone, first I have to payy additional cost to make it work, then they remove it and gives the fix for free. With the bumpercase iphone doesnt look that good.

 

[LinkedKube]

Seems that all the phones used in the latest conference were on at&t network. Even if it wasn't the antenna, wouldn't that imply its the network? I'm wondering if he used different phones from different respected service providers would the antenna issue look even as half assed cleaned up as it is?

 

[captaincranky]

It's just ridicilous that they're fixing the problemw ith bumper cases. They look so sucking to me actually. That's why I do'nt by apple products anymore. I'm buying the phone, first I have to payy additional cost to make it work, then they remove it and gives the fix for free. With the bumpercase iphone doesnt look that good.

That's why quitting buying Apple products is like quitting smoking, it's much easier if you never start in the first place.

 

[foreverzero89]

Reloader2 said:
Well 1/200 of 3000000 is still a lot of faults, and I can almost surely say that everyone with the problem didn't call Apple.
On the other hand it's good that Apple gives out free bumper cases to fix the problem.

the bumper thing is a band-aid, not a fix. this is a damned joke!

 

[foreverzero89]

Julio said:
For a smartphone that can browse websites better than any, shoot high-res photos and video/teleconferencing, carries one of the best screens ever on a phone, and can extend its functionality in a zillion ways with apps... to me this antenna thing is still a big design flaw on the most basic level, no matter how you paint it.

"Blown out of proportion"? Yes, and no. Everything Apple is blown out of proportion by media, so if you take the good why not the bad.

agreed, the iphone is phone, FIRST AND FOREMOST, so why can't that work flawlessly?

 

[Guest]

Seems that all the phones used in the latest conference were on at&t network. Even if it wasn't the antenna, wouldn't that imply its the network? I'm wondering if he used different phones from different respected service providers would the antenna issue look even as half assed cleaned up as it is?

steve sobs had problems even at the conference, youtube it.

 

[SNGX1275]

How many of you people complaining this isn't a good enough fix actually have one? If you do have one, are you experiencing more dropped calls than before? If you are, are you willing to accept the 'bumper fix'? Are you willing to return it?

The bottom line here is Apple is getting railroaded for a problem with their phone (which apparently happens with a lot of phones, and I just tested it on an older Blackberry Pearl where I lost 3 bars) when you can just return the damn phone if you are unhappy.