Antenna

At the conference about the iPhone 4 antenna issue today, Apple announced that it will be giving away free cases to iPhone 4 owners. Even though they don't admit that the iPhone 4 has a problem with the antenna, Apple said they do all this because they love their users.

If you look at the transcript of the conference, it's actually clear that  "we love our users" was the message Apple wanted to get across.

When asked if Apple had learned anything from this debacle, Steve Jobs replied:

There are some things we know that we did learn here. One thing is how much we love our customers and how we are going to take care of them. We were stunned and upset and embarrassed by the Consumer Reports stuff, and the reason we didn’t say more is because we didn’t know enough. If we’d have done this event a week and a half ago, we wouldn’t have had half the data we have today.

Hmm. I have a hard time believing Apple would have done anything if Consumer Reports hadn't brought the antenna issue to the mainstream. After all, Steve was pretty quick at telling people the iPhone had no problem at all and that we were holding it wrong. He didn't seem to need any "data" at the time.

Besides, what kind of data does Apple have right now? The fact the iPhone 4 drops only one call per 100 more than the iPhone 3GS? Did it take Apple 3 weeks to figure this out? If anything, this data should prove that the iPhone 4 antenna is worse than the 3GS'.

When Ryan Block from GDGT asked how does touching the corner with a single finger seem to cause this issue? It’s not just a grip, it can just happen by touching a single finger. Bob Mansfield replied, completely avoiding the answer:

Your body is a pretty effective signal absorber. When you make contact with that phone, its performance in contact with you is less than its freespace performance. It’s a way to attenuate the signal by some amount.

This doesn't answer the question. Apple can demonstrate how other smartphones drop signal by gripping them but you don't need to grip your iPhone 4 to make it drop signal. You just need to put one finger on it.

To me Apple didn't address the issue at all today. They didn't admit their product was flawed. All they are doing is calming people down with free cases.

Today, I don't believe Apple when they say they care about their users. Ultimately, the only thing they care about is putting an end to this publicity massacre.

What do you think?

At the emergency conference called by Apple today, Steve Jobs started his presentation saying that Apple is not perfect, and phones aren't perfect as well. The fact is Apple wants to make its customers happy and that's what they're going to talk about today.

Well, it took Apple just about 3 weeks to react to the negative press they were getting about the iPhone 4 antenna issue. Apple sent an invite to a few tech journalists for a press conference this Friday, and while it's not clearly said the conference will address the "Antennagate", one can only assume this will be the topic of choice.

The fact this problem was brought to the mainstream when Consumer Reports said they don't recommend the iPhone 4 is probably the reason why Apple is having a press conference on this matter. The conference will be this coming Friday, at 10am PST.

[Engadget]

The iPhone 4 antenna issue is becoming a big problem for Apple. Not that it wasn't before, but at least until then, this wasn't an "advertised" issue. With Consumer Reports saying yesterday they do not recommend the iPhone 4, the antenna problem has been brought to the mainstream.

Until today, Apple's stance had been pretty clear: "YOU create the antenna issue. The hardware is fine, you just don't know how to hold your iPhone." But can they maintain this? While fanboys easily drink the Apple Kool Aid, I doubt the average person will...

Crisis Communication expert Pr. Matthew Seeger tells Cult Of Mac:

Apple will be forced to do a recall of this product. It’s critically important. The brand image is the most important thing Apple has. This is potentially devastating.

A recall on several millions iPhone? Ouch! It's going to cost them a lot... Seeing how Apple lost 9 billion dollars in market capitalization today on the stock market in the wake of what TechCrunch call the "Antennagate", a recall might reveal more "cost effective". Doing the right thing might prevent Apple from losing more money and stain their brand forever.

At this point, I think Apple only has 3 options.

I doubt Apple will do a recall of the iPhone 4. A recall means they will fix the issue and so far, they don't know how to. So let's assume they recall your iPhone. What are they going to do with it? Put some tape around it? No. There is no fix but removing the antenna and sticking it back inside the device, but we know this isn't an option as there is no room for it inside.

The other thing Apple can do is to offer a free Bumper to every iPhone 4 owner. This will cost them a couple dollars per iPhone, which I assume is the production cost of one Bumper. Even if Apple has to give away 100 million Bumpers, it's still much better than what it's losing right now on the stock market... Sure the Bumper won't fix the antenna death grip, but at least it will appease angry or frustrated customers.

Finally, Apple's last option is to keep silent as it usually does, hoping people will be tired of trashing the iPhone 4, and see it as what it really is: the best communication device out there.

What do you think Apple will do? Will they acknowledge their mistakes and come clean? Or will they stay mute?