Back in July, Consumer Reports decided not to cite the iPhone 4 as a recommended product because of the antenna issue. Oddly enough, and despite being "not recommended", the iPhone 4 still held the top ranking of the smartphones category.
This was probably the cherry on top for Apple who decided to throw a special event where they pretty much said there was absolutely no problem with the iPhone 4 antenna, and to prove there was no problem, they gave away free cases to every iPhone owner...
You just knew that when antenna problems showed up for the iPhone 4, there would be refurbished devices for sale soon. Heck, I went through 2 spare models and am on my 3rd iPhone 4.
9 to 5 Mac reports that AT&T is now selling the refurbished devices for $150 for 16GB or $250 for the 32GB. For those under a rock that's $50 cheaper than normal..
It doesn't seem like it but Apple's free case program is coming to end soon. September 30th is the date Steve Jobs announced as reevaluation date and now Apple says that indeed the program will (sort of) fall by the wayside on that date.
The official statement reads as such:
It has been several weeks since we have heard about the iPhone 4 antenna issue and how it is affecting the selling power of the new device. With record sales reported it comes as no surprise that a recent survey shows potential buyers are more concerned about the absence of a Verizon branded iPhone.
Apple Insider dissected a Piper Jaffray poll that was comprised of 258 cellphone users in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It turns out that of those questioned, 3 times the population was more upset over not having the iPhone available on Verizon than those who hesitated on buying the device due to the antenna...
Just when you thought we'd forgotten about the whole iPhone antenna issue, an article on Gizmodo shows us how to check our iPhone reception.
This trick will work for any iPhone rocking the new iOS 4.1 firmware.
This week Apple will release the iOS version 4.1 for the iPhone. If our calculations are correct the newest version of the mobile operating system will be hitting iTunes on Wednesday, September 8th.
The last couple of updates from Apple haven't been anything to write home about. Version 4.0.1 simply addressed the algorithm while the antenna issue was flooding the news wire. After that, version 4.0.2 basically just patched up a security issue that Apple left exposed. As far as actual tangible features both refreshes were pretty dull at best...
iDB reported about the iPhone 4 arriving in Mexico last week. Today Mac Rumors posted an article claiming an executive from Telcel, the mexican iPhone carrier, says the iPhone 4 will be getting a hardware revision once the free case promotion runs out.
Marco Quatorze comments that the policy of giving away free cases will be implemented the same to the rest of the countries selling the iPhone 4. Following September 30th (the date Steve Jobs said Apple would reevaluate the issue) the hardware would be changed to resolve the antenna discrepancies. A bold assumption to say the least...
A couple weeks ago I received and email from Jeff at iPhonePatch.com, a website that sells little stickers to supposedly prevent iPhone 4 antenna issues. Jeff was very friendly and easy going so when he proposed to send me some patches to try out, I agreed. I received the patches last week and I've been trying them ever since and I'd like to tell you a bit more about my experience.
The patches come in 15 different designs to choose from. They're tiny little vinyl patches that take a few seconds to put on. Personally, I put the skulls and recycle logo patches on my iPhone because I thought they were the one that fit me best. It looked a little funny to have these on my phone at first but I quickly got used to them.
I have terrible signal in my house and when I grab my iPhone, I usually get just one bar. After putting the patches on my i4 though, I was able to get 2 or 3 bars constantly when holding the phone. For the purpose of this review, I tried to replicate the antenna death grip and I wasn't able to. The least I would have was 2 bars.
If like me you don't like having a case on your iPhone, using these vinyl patches might be a good alternative to using a Bumper to increase signal strength.
Starting at $5.99 for a six pack of vinyl patches, I think they are a good deal. The only thing I have against the patches is the poor variety of designs. There is indeed not much to choose from but Jeff tells me he's going to be adding more styles in the near future.
You can buy vinyl iPhone patch from iPhonePatch.com.
This antenna issue will never die, will it? Just when you thought it was fading away, the news get revived, especially due to the firing of Apple's chief of iPhone hardware.
A WSJ article revealed today that Steve Jobs knew about the iPhone 4 antenna weaknesses over a year ago.
It was Mr. Jobs, rather than Mr. Papermaster, who decided to move forward with the development of the phone even though the company was aware of the risks of the antenna design as much as a year ago, according to people familiar with the matter.
Why in hell would Steve Jobs force a product out if he isn't sure of its performances? Apple clearly prioritized physical design over performances. Why?
The iPhone 4 antenna issue claimed another victim, and a big one! Apple's Senior Vice President of iPhone Hardware Engineering Mark Papermaster isn't on the payroll anymore. The NY Times article that broke the story doesn't know if he was fired or if he resigned.
However, according to John Gruber, Papermaster did get fired over the antennagate:
From what I’ve heard, it’s clear he was canned. Papermaster was a conspicuous absence at the Antennagate press conference. Inside Apple, he’s “the guy responsible for the antenna” — that’s a quote from a source back on July 23. (Another quote from the same source: “Apparently the antenna guys used to have a big chip on their shoulder. No more.”)
I'm a bit confused here. According to Apple, there is no antenna problem with the iPhone 4, so why did Mark Papermaster got ousted? Sarcasm apart, someone had to take the heat for this.
TechCrunch reports that Apple removed every video showing rival smartphones losing antenna signal from its US website.
As you can see on this page, the videos are nowhere to be found. Instead, the page now only shows the overview of the antenna design and test labs. A search of Apple’s website brings up a few of the landing pages where the videos used to be — here’s the Droid X one, for example — but now those just redirect to the antenna design page as well. Odd.
What's interesting is that the videos were not removed from the Canadian website or from Apple's YouTube channel, even though they are now a little header to find there.
So why were these videos removed from Apple's website? Your guess is as good as mine but one can easily imagine Apple may have received legal threats from RIM, HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and Nokia who weren't probably very happy to see their handsets associated with Apple's negative press.
Last month, RIM, Nokia, and HTC responded to Apple's claim that every smartphone suffers from antenna attenuation by pretty much saying Apple is trying to bring every smartphone maker down with them. I can see why they'd be pissed at Apple.
What's your take on it? Why do you think the videos are down in the US but not in other parts of the world? What's going on here?
As the holder of a Masters in Advertising, I've always appreciated Apple's marketing machine. No matter what you think about the firm from Cupertino, you have to admit their PR and marketing machine is perfectly oiled. Every word, every product have been thought through to deliver the exact message Steve Jobs & Friends want you to receive.
Lately though, I think Apple kinda lost control of their PR/Marketing machine showing the oh-so-perfect company can be sloppy at times. Here is what I think Apple screwed up in the last couple months.
1. Apple announces the iPhone 4, which will supposedly come in black and white.
2. Rumors going around say the iPhone won't be available in white at launch. Strangely, Apple doesn't even deem it necessary to communicate on this.
3. On the iPhone 4 pre-order day, Apple just let us find out by ourselves the white iPhone wasn't available. Lame.
4. Apple finally decides to speak up and admits the white iPhone won't be available until mid-July.
5. In the meantime many people start reporting having problems with the iPhone 4 antenna.
6. Steve Jobs sends a cocky reply to the iPhone 4 antenna complainers telling them they don't know how to hold their phones and they should buy a case.
7. Apple admits the problem comes from the formula used to display bars. They say they will release a software update that will fix this.
8. Apple holds a special event where they pretty much confirm there is no problem with the iPhone 4 antenna. Because there is no problem, they will give away free cases. Wait, what?
9. On the same day, Steve Jobs says the white iPhone will start shipping at the end of July.
10. A few days later, Apple says in a 2-sentence statement that the white iPhone 4 will not be available until later this year.
I think there were communication mistakes on Apple's part. These antenna and white iPhone episodes could have been killed since day one if they had sent the appropriate information instead of staying silent and closed out.
But hey, at the end of the day, I've got my black iPhone 4 which I love, and I also get a free Bumper. So no, I'm not complaining, I'm just laying down facts from the last few weeks.
What do you think?