Apple Press Conference Friday 10 am

I wonder if they will hand out free rubber things for your iphone 4 at the front door, or from maybe a wall vending machine in the bath rooms?
 
I really do love Apple and just about every product they make, but I really wouldn't be surprised if they just ended up tiptoeing around the actual problem some more. I'm incredibly surprised a company with so much emphasis on customer care is handling this the way they are.
 
LithiumRage158 said:
I really do love Apple and just about every product they make, but I really wouldn't be surprised if they just ended up tiptoeing around the actual problem some more. I'm incredibly surprised a company with so much emphasis on customer care is handling this the way they are.
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And that's the problem here, not the actual technical defect, they could have handle this SO much better. I guess nobody's perfect, well almost nobody.
 
There was an actual perfect and logical post about what a guy thought Apple would say at this event, and my god if I wasn't surprised it came from MacRumors forum!

MR Forum said:
The iPhone 4 has been our most popular product ever. We've been excited and humbled by unprecedented sales volume of the past few weeks. It's been our biggest Apple launch ever. Millions of people are loving their iPhone 4's. Retina etc. Awesome.

We've made incredible improvements in the RF design of this device. Here are some examples of press coverage describing the iPhone 4's ability to hold onto calls in what used to be dead spots.

We understand that there have been reports of some people experiencing reception problems when the iPhone 4 is handled in a particular way. We agree that appearance of these problems is related to the "innovative" external antenna design, but this issue has been exacerbated by an error we made in how we display the bars in iOS. [Reference what was learned from Anandtech's analysis.]

We are extremely confident in the overall design of the product. So much so that today we're announcing that anyone who buys an iPhone 4 during its first 6 months can return it--no questions asked--within 30 days of purchase, with no restocking fee, regardless of which authorized reseller you bought it from. This includes the 1.7 million people who bought an iPhone 4 on launch day. We're confident you will love your iPhone.

In addition, next week we will release a software update that will (among other enhancements) do two things. 1) It will make our signal display more accurate, and 2) it will include an update to the radio equipment in the iPhone that will make it more effective at maximizing signal strength even when the two antennas are bridged by your hand.

Finally, anyone who has already bought an iPhone 4 will receive a $50 Apple Store gift card with our compliments. If you would prefer to make sure the two external antennas are never bridged by the way you hold your iPhone, you can buy a bumper or another case on us. If you don't feel you need a case for your iPhone (or if you already bought one) we hope you enjoy whatever you buy with the card.

That's all we have to announce for today. Thanks for coming. And screw Jason Chen. And also those dirtbags at Consumer Reports.
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I agree with just about everything here being something Apple would say and do, it's not the best situation I think, as all 4 people I know with iPhone 4's.. all have the antenna issue, I basically have to hold my phone as if it's on a pedestal from the back to get data some times... I even have a case, the network was never this temperamental with my 3GS, and I'm not loading up the iOS 4.1 Beta yet despite being a developer because I don't want to have a 'Final' build that includes beta software (read: GameCenter being yanked from the 'retail/consumer' Final build).

I also want nothing to do with the bumper case, it's a terrible product, it's fit is poor, it's ugly, it feels crappy in the hand, I have an Incipio Feather which is MILES better than the bumper, sure it doesn't protect the screen from falls in any way, but that's not what I wanted, I just wanted the reception issue to go away and still have it feel like the new phones shape which I feel in love with after a few days.. There are some issues with this case though, the flash/camera cutout isn't perfect, and it doesn't work with the dock despite being the thinnest case besides an invisible shield, oh well, maybe Incase will come up with a new slider or if I pick up a 2G phone dock I'll end up happy.

I'm also from the camp that this is a hardware issue through and through, yes the bars may have been misrepresented, but that still doesn't change the antenna grounding issue and it's a big deal IMHO.
 
I'm hoping they'll introduce a rollback for those of us fuckwits with 3G's that "upgraded" to OS4.

"We at apple are proud to announce that your 3G iphone will not run at glacially slow speeds anymore, and you don't have to fuck with boot settings on your Vista 64 computer to roll back your OS anymore."

On second thought, if I wanted to kill myself, I'll hold my breath for that little tidbit.

Since I want to live, I guess me and my iphone can keep living the slow life together. Hey, I'll bet that's a "feature" if you ask stevie blow-jobs.

"We've slowed down the 3G phones because it simply operates too fast under OS4 for the human type brain to comprehend. If we hadn't dumbed it down for your stupid ass, you'd never be able to use your 3G again. Dipshit."

--Steve Jobs
 
rampantandroid said:
Is iPhone OS4 Apple's Vista?
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I don't really think so... As much as Apple would like you to believe that this is an issue with iOS 4, I believe 100% that this is a hardware problem. iOS 4 runs great on my 3GS, and to compare it to Vista is a bit of a stretch. My main problem with Vista was that it was bloated and resource heavy- Quite the opposite of iOS 4... At least in my experiences.
 
rampantandroid said:
Is iPhone OS4 Apple's Vista?
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Theres nothing wrong with OS4, the problem is the iphone 4. I've installed OS4 on several 3GS's including a 3G and had zero issues so far. Is this apples fail of the past 4 years? probably.
 
Won't be anything earth-shattering. Prediction:

- Jobs or whomever will come out
- Laud the sales numbers, which leads into:
- Explaining the problem is not across the board (which apparently it isn't)
- Discuss the coming software patch about the signal bars
- Quickly explain the science behind antennas and how their design and testing worked
- Remind people they can return it with no restock fee within 30 days
- Offer bumpers at a discount price, but not free
 
Looks like update 4.0.1 is out already... which adjusts the signal bars. It will be interesting to see what they have to say tomorrow.
 
It'll be about the signal problem to be sure... And the solution...

Launching on verizon!

What better time to announce it while people are still capable of returning?

That would be an awesome ATT back stab.

[/dreaming]
 
I would bet money on them offering free bumpers to people who want them. The external antenna was a boneheaded engineering decision. While the problem wasn't consistently reproduced for everyone (it only interrupted 3G browsing for me once, otherwise I never dropped a call or had its quality degrade, nor could I consistently make the bars drop by bridging the black strip), it sure as hell affected a crapton of people.

Worst of all, Apple has handled this terribly so far, so I hope tomorrow is a real acknowledgement of the problem. All they would lose is the opportunity cost on bumper sales (and screw over a lot of case manufacturers), but its a much better financial option for them than a mass recall. Microsoft took a full year to acknowledge the inherent hardware defects in the XBox 360, and it ended up costing them over a billion dollars. Apple gets an easier way out like with Nintendo giving away rubber Wii remote covers, if they do the right thing.

Anyway, we'll see.
 
and the excuses start spewing, now steve is on stage talking about all the other phones they tested that lose signal when held. Umm hello, you shoulda been testing on your own defective phone, not blackberrys and samsungs. and I'm sure those phones don't lose all signal when just 1 finger is touching it at a certain spot.
 
Ugh... so far not the best strategy Apple... attacking other companies? sigh...
 
why in the hell is he defending the phone? Obviously there is something wrong with it.


I only caught a few mins of it in our lobby, can someone watching keep the rest of us poor souls updated?
 
Judging by the various live blogs, Steve Jobs' "not perfects" are closing in on Phil Schiller's ubiquitous "incredibles".
 
Torquemada XP said:
Won't be anything earth-shattering. Prediction:

- Jobs or whomever will come out
- Laud the sales numbers, which leads into:
- Explaining the problem is not across the board (which apparently it isn't)
- Discuss the coming software patch about the signal bars
- Quickly explain the science behind antennas and how their design and testing worked
- Remind people they can return it with no restock fee within 30 days
- Offer bumpers at a discount price, but not free
Click to expand...

You've been spot on thus far. Did you write his presentation? Lol

*Edit, except for the bumpers. :D
 
Version_3 said:
You've been spot on thus far. Did you write his presentation? Lol
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Missed the free bumper part. I honestly did not expect them to do that. And for EVERYONE who bought an iPhone 4? Snap.

EDIT: Seems it's a free CASE, not necessarily a bumper.
 
Yeah. Rather than engineer a fix, they're covering the problem... Still a fail. I like the metal of the iPhone :(

[edit] And extended returns for those unhappy. I like that.
 
I can has free Vapor?! <3

I wish.

Oh well, my iPhone won't even have active service!
 
that's interesting about the blackberry, android and windows phones... seems like this issues exists in all of them.

Kudos to apple for at least addressing the issue. It sounds like this problem was more internet hype than anything considering their return rates and complaints.
 
Q: I can't get my Bold to drop right now, maybe you can show me how to do it?
Steve: You may not see it in certain areas.
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Awww c'mon now Steve, the iPhone doesn't seem to have location specific failures.
 
C7J0yc3 said:
Awww c'mon now Steve, the iPhone doesn't seem to have location specific failures.
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are you sure about that?

considering this problem isn't effecting everyone with a new iphone, it may very well have to do with your distance from a tower.
 
Guess I'll grab a free case for shits and giggles depending if I like any of them.

But I haven't had a single dropped call yet on my iPhone 4, and used to have an occasional one with my 3G.
 
dr.stevil said:
that's interesting about the blackberry, android and windows phones... seems like this issues exists in all of them.
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I'm surprised they didn't talk about the Nexus One. It's particularly bad on that phone — yet it never made headlines.
 
phide said:
I'm surprised they didn't talk about the Nexus One. It's particularly bad on that phone — yet it never made headlines.
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haters (especially apple haters) love to hate. Just check out the front page 'news' thread

I'd still want to test one before I purchased it though, just in case
 
Torquemada XP said:
Total dodge on the "did you consider a recall" question.
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They are in effect, doing a voluntary recall. Take it back for a full refund. There is your recall.

As for attacking others, no, they are showing that many phones with internal antennas have this problem. I know my Blackberry 8830 sure did as well as other phones I've used.

So..take the case, get a refund, or STFU. It's that simple and I think that's all they need to do.
 
NetJunkie said:
They are in effect, doing a voluntary recall. Take it back for a full refund. There is your recall.

As for attacking others, no, they are showing that many phones with internal antennas have this problem. I know my Blackberry 8830 sure did as well as other phones I've used.

So..take the case, get a refund, or STFU. It's that simple and I think that's all they need to do.
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lol shhhhhh, don't say that too loud... I don't feel like reading 30 threads about how people that have never owned a RIM product are now going to start boycotting them :D
 
NetJunkie said:
They are in effect, doing a voluntary recall. Take it back for a full refund. There is your recall.

As for attacking others, no, they are showing that many phones with internal antennas have this problem. I know my Blackberry 8830 sure did as well as other phones I've used.

So..take the case, get a refund, or STFU. It's that simple and I think that's all they need to do.
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Truth be told, the issue DOES affect all phones...

For instance, If I hold my blackberry curve 8520 upside down while covering the keyboard and back bottom half in my closed hand, I can get it to drop from 5 bars to 4 bars while at my cottage...

And if I hold my milestone on the bottom half with a claw grip where all 5 of my fingers end up resting on the touch screen, I drop from 3 bars to 2 bars...

But if I hold them like a phone, We're all good.
 
NetJunkie said:
They are in effect, doing a voluntary recall. Take it back for a full refund. There is your recall.
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No that's called a return policy.

A recall is saying "We badly developed the antenna on the 1st Gen iPhone 4. We have since come up with a coating for the antenna that does not degrade the signal quality however prevents the bar dropping we currently see. You will be able to trade in your current model for the new one at any apple store or online / over the phone with applecare support."

I own multiple apple computers that I enjoy using. I have had the 2G, 3G, and 3GS iPhones, and was planning to get an iPhone 4 depending on the outcome of today's press conference. I am by no means an Android / Windows Mobile / Apple / Blackberry fanboy. However I have to say that this press conference was a train wreak. Jobs came out saying "There is no problem, none at all. But if you still think there is a problem you can have a free case, and if you don't like your free case you can return your phone within our & AT&T's normal return window so long as the phone is unmodified, not damaged, and you have all the original box and papers." They made a big show out of reminding everyone of the return policy. They also said that they would do the free case / bumpers until September and then re-evaluate if they were going to continue the give away. So hopefully that means in September they are going to have their real recall at which time they are going to be absolutely flogged after telling us today that there is no issue and it is industry wide.

The other thing I find funny is they release an iProduct and they tell us that it is the greatest thing in the world. Then when there are issues with the product and everyone talks about them the apple fanbase pipes up and says "You know if it were any other company no one would care. They wouldn't buy the product and move on." Your right. But then again most companies don't come out on stage and say things like "This is the most magical revolutionary life changing device you will ever have the chance to spend money on." They kinda set themselves to fall hard and are surprised when it happens.
 
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