Apple to give away free cases to iPhone 4 users

I am new to Apple but for a company to say, "listen, we messed up and we are going to give you a free case to fix it and if you still aren't happy you can return your phone/contract with no extra fees (restocking fees)" is pretty damn impressive. Most companies wouldn't fess up to their mistakes but rather try to sweet things under the rug. I applaud Apple and how they handle themselves.

BTW
I have no issues with my Iphone 4 and won't be returning it.

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Apple's not really ready to say it's sorry about the iPhone 4 antenna design, but it is willing to give all you darn squeaky wheels free cases for your trouble. Since Apple can't build its own Bumpers fast enough, it will give you a few options and let you decide, then send it your way for free as long as you purchased the phone before September 30th. Not good enough for you? Well, if you already bought a bumper from Apple you'll get a refund, and you can also return your phone for a full refund within 30 days as long as it's unharmed.

This solution comes at the end of 22 days of Apple engineers "working their butts off," according to Steve, with "physics" ultimately being pinned as the main culprit. Apple claims you can replicate the left-handed "death grip" bar-dropping problem on the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris, and Samsung Omnia II, and that "phones aren't perfect." Steve also claims that only 0.55% of people who bought the iPhone 4 have called into AppleCare to complain about the antenna, and the phone has a 1.7% return rate at AT&T, compared to 6% with the 3GS, though he would cop to a slight increase in dropped calls over the iPhone 3GS. For this Steve has what he confesses to be a pet theory: that 3GS users were using the case they had from the 3G, and therefore weren't met with the horrible reality of a naked, call dropping handset. Hence the free case solution, which will probably satisfy some, infuriate others, and never even blip onto the radar of many of the massive horde of consumers that's devoured this product in unprecedented numbers.

Update: Our own Richard Lai just waltzed down to the Regent Street Apple Store in London with his iPhone Bumper receipt in hand. A few minutes later he left with cold, hard cash, and kept the Bumper to boot. Seems as if the refund effort is a go, at least over in the UK.


http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/a...phone-4-users/

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I am new to Apple but for a company to say, "listen, we messed up and we are going to give you a free case to fix it and if you still aren't happy you can return your phone/contract with no extra fees (restocking fees)" is pretty damn impressive. Most companies wouldn't fess up to their mistakes but rather try to sweet things under the rug. I applaud Apple and how they handle themselves.

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They are only doing it because now their is pressure from mainstream media. Sources such as Engadget have been reporting for weeks on this problem and internal Apple memos to NOT promise free bumpers to people.

Caving to pressure is not impressive. Neither is releasing a poorly engineered product to the public. This is supposed to be the end-all-be-all of smart phones, and it has a stupid problem like that? Come on. Not only that, but this problem was predicted by an Apple engineer who holds many antennae related patents, and a professor from Sweden if I'm correct well before the phone was released to the public.

At the beginning of this little scandal some weeks ago, Apple blamed it on software, hence the 4.0.1 update. For a long time they refused to acknowledge the issue as a hardware problem. That is, until Consumer Reports said they couldn't recommend the iPhone 4 because they could reliably reproduce the issue in many different phones.

This is merely a case of they can afford to **** up because people will buy it anyway, because we are that dumb.

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Originally Posted by Nooomoto

They are only doing it because now their is pressure from mainstream media. Sources such as Engadget have been reporting for weeks on this problem and internal Apple memos to NOT promise free bumpers to people.

Caving to pressure is not impressive. Neither is releasing a poorly engineered product to the public. This is supposed to be the end-all-be-all of smart phones, and it has a stupid problem like that? Come on. Not only that, but this problem was predicted by an Apple engineer who holds many antennae related patents, and a professor from Sweden if I'm correct well before the phone was released to the public.

This is merely a case of they can afford to **** up because people will buy it anyway, because we are that dumb.

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I totally disagree with you.

DSM

Did you have an iphone before the 4?

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Originally Posted by Xtralarg

DSM

Did you have an iphone before the 4?

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Yes, i had the 3Gs (my first Apple product).

Is the 4 any better?

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Originally Posted by DSM4Life

I totally disagree with you.

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Well you can disagree with my views on Apple and the way they do business. But you can't disagree with the facts as they are presented. This has been going on for a while and only now is Apple admitting some sort of fault, just search Engadget.

I wonder what the fine print is on that return for your full money back? There has to be a catch to that. I dont see how they could take that hit

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Originally Posted by Nooomoto

Well you can disagree with my views on Apple and the way they do business. But you can't disagree with the facts as they are presented. This has been going on for a while and only now is Apple admitting some sort of fault, just search Engadget.

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An on going issue , the phone has only been out for 3 weeks !

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Originally Posted by Xtralarg

Is the 4 any better?

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Yes, i love it. The multitasking isn't that impressive but the performance improvement is really noticeable. I am traveling for work which makes me miss the bf a lot and using the facetime with him is amazing. We talk everyday on the phone but for us to be able to see each other , even though its over the phone ,still makes me feel a little more connected.

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Originally Posted by DSM4Life

Yes, i love it. The multitasking isn't that impressive but the performance improvement is really noticeable. I am traveling for work which makes me miss the bf a lot and using the facetime with him is amazing. We talk everyday on the phone but for us to be able to see each other , even though its over the phone ,still makes me feel a little more connected.

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Fair point, I think I will wait till they sort out the antenna issue then buy one.

Thanks for the info

This is from July 2nd:

Apple iPhone 4 reception problems a software issue

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Apple: iPhone 4 reception problem is a software issue, fix coming in 'a few weeks'

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This is from June 29th:

No free bumpers!!

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a document being distributed by Apple corporate to AppleCare reps tasked with handling iPhone 4 customers miffed with the antenna performance fiasco -- and for the time being, the recommendations are focusing on managing expectations, not fixing the problem.

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And this was going on before the phone was even released.

Yes, impressive.

So your saying that from June 29th until today it should have been fixed ? I think your expecting too much. A company doesn't start investigating a issue until they get many complaints about it (ask Toyota). Just because one person calls in to complain doesn't mean they stop the presses. After a few weeks they called their engineers in to look at the phone which took a few weeks and now here we are.

BTW

If this was Motorola , you would have never had a press conference, never offered a free case, and you can bet your ass not offered a refund.

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Originally Posted by DSM4Life

So your saying that from June 29th until today it should have been fixed ? I think your expecting too much. A company doesn't start investigating a issue until they get many complaints about it (ask Toyota). Just because one person calls in to complain doesn't mean they stop the presses. After a few weeks they called their engineers in to look at the phone which took a few weeks and now here we are.

BTW

If this was Motorola , you would have never had a press conference, never offered a free case, and you can bet your ass not offered a refund.

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No, I'm saying the phone shouldn't have even been released with an issue like this. Multiple sources commented on the issue internally and externally BEFORE the phone was released, and it was released anyway. They are now just playing catch up, after attempting to ignore the situation and play it off as something other than faulty engineering.

Cell phones have been out for too long for something like this to be a problem. Not only that, as much as this thing costs, I find it even more unacceptable. It's like if I bought a Porsche, and complained about not being able to go over 50 and they told me "Oh, well you need these shoes for it to go over 50"

How many companies take customers over their stock holders ?


Apple Q/A

10:46AM Q: Are you willing to make an apology to investors?
Steve: You know we hear from customers who love this phone and have a great experience with it, and we're doing a lot to help them with any issues they're seeing. To investors, you know, you invest in the company we are, so if the stock goes down $5... I don't think I owe them an apology.

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Originally Posted by Nooomoto

No, I'm saying the phone shouldn't have even been released with an issue like this. Multiple sources commented on the issue internally and externally BEFORE the phone was released, and it was released anyway. They are now just playing catch up, after attempting to ignore the situation and play it off as something other than faulty engineering.

Cell phones have been out for too long for something like this to be a problem. Not only that, as much as this thing costs, I find it even more unacceptable. It's like if I bought a Porsche, and complained about not being able to go over 50 and they told me "Oh, well you need these shoes for it to go over 50"

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Steve says that article was BS and they asked for evidence to prove otherwise which never surfaced.

From Q/A

10:44AM Q: Were you told about the design before the phone was released?
Steve: Are you talking about the Bloomberg article? That's a crock, and we've challenged them to show proof that that. If anyone had said this thing has problems, we would have dispatched people to deal with that issue.

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Originally Posted by DSM4Life

Steve says that article was BS and they asked for evidence to prove otherwise which never surfaced.

From Q/A

10:44AM Q: Were you told about the design before the phone was released?
Steve: Are you talking about the Bloomberg article? That's a crock, and we've challenged them to show proof that that. If anyone had said this thing has problems, we would have dispatched people to deal with that issue.

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Just like it was a software issue, and not a design issue on July 2nd...right. Again, the product is too high end to have a stupid problem like that. There only excuse for letting it slip by is just how it is: People will buy it anyway, why bother trying to correct it?

Weird how no one is reporting these types of issues with the HTC EVO 4G, or the Motorola Droid X.

But yes Apple is God, let's all bow down and choke on Apple cock.