

Apple Won't Recall iPhone 4 - tshtf
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704682604575369311876558240.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLESecondNews

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joubert
_The mounting iPhone 4 controversy has hit a receptive ear in Washington, as
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D., N.Y.) Thursday wrote to Mr. Jobs urging Apple to
come up with a "permanent fix" to the problem at no cost to customers. Mr.
Schumer asked Apple to provide customers with a clearly written explanation of
the cause of the iPhone 4's reception problem and "make a public commitment to
remedy it free of charge."_

does this politician have nothing better to do?

~~~
leviathant
I think the way Apple handled the antenna issue was dumb, but I think that
Schumer's open letter is even more dumb. That being said, there is the
(admittedly very slim) possibility that he is perhaps representing his
constituents, rather than acting selfishly.

There are still about a bazillion more important things to get senatorial over
though.

~~~
makmanalp
Or maybe just trying to get a piece of the media pie.

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novum
I think a large-scale recall is unlikely. True, in places where reception is
already bad, touching the no-zone makes things worse. But overall call
reliability and data throughput (especially 3G HSPA upload rates), even in
poor reception areas, is far better on the iPhone 4 than on any previous
iPhone.

If the reception issue were a dealbreaker on the iPhone 4, I think we should
expect that people would be returning the phone on a massive scale. But
they're not. People love their iPhone 4s.

If anything, I think they'll give out free bumpers. Or, perhaps, $100 at the
Apple Store for all iPhone 4 owners - just like in 2007, after the original
iPhone's launch. <http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/>

~~~
Terretta
> _is far better than on previous iPhones_

An Anandtech followup backs this up:

[http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-
analyzing-...](http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-
apples-ios-41-signal-fix/2)

1\. Reception in average conditions is sometimes significantly better on the
iPhone 4 than on the 3GS.

2\. Signal strength is sometimes the same as or worse than the iPhone 3GS.

3\. The iPhone 4 is better at holding onto calls and data at very low signal
levels.

The combination of these, it is reported, means Apple made a design trade off
to achieve better calls in more low signal areas.

He calls innovating on antenna design in a way that works better most of the
time but might be picky: "ballsy".

------
Terretta
Headline:

 _"Apple Knew of iPhone Antenna Glitch"_

Body:

 _"Apple said, "We challenge Bloomberg BusinessWeek to produce anything beyond
rumors to back this up. It's simply not true.""_

WSJ regurgitates Bloomberg, buries the rebuttal, and headlines the rebutted
info with nothing to substantiate why the rebuttal should be dismissed.

~~~
bradleyland
This entire article reads like a gigantic copy/paste cluster-fuck of
misinformation and hyperbole. The WSJ ought to be ashamed to call this
journalism. It's as if every major media outlet has identified 'antennagate'
as the next click-generating cash-cow and is riding it in to the sunset.

------
Arron
"These people also said Apple's antenna woes go back years, through multiple
versions of the iPhone and with repeated instances of design clashing with
functionality. The first version had a back made of metal, which hampered the
ability of wireless signals to penetrate to the antenna inside, engineers
said.

Later versions, including the iPhone 3G that was launched in 2008 and the
iPhone 3GS last year, also didn't hold a signal as well as other phones and
experienced more dropped calls, people familiar with the matter said.

For at least two years, multiple iPhone carriers lodged complaints with the
company that its phone doesn't work well in making calls and doesn't hold a
wireless signal for a voice call as well as other devices, these people say."

Maybe after all these years, it wasn't the NETWORK but the PHONE!

------
holman
For what it's worth, Gruber thinks this is a controlled leak by Apple:

    
    
        Apple, adjusting expectations for tomorrow.

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jobu
I'm betting they give out a free bumper case to everyone. Or at the very least
some duct tape.

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ukdm
If they have shipped a faulty phone, which looks to be the case, then they
should recall. It is a phone first and foremost, and the main function of a
phone is to make calls. iPhone 4 cannot do that and therefore is faulty.

If Steve Jobs can ignore his own engineers when they bring up an antenna
issue, then there is something seriously wrong at Apple. No one should have
that much power or influence over a product, especially when you know it's
going to sell millions.

If the solution tomorrow is free bumpers, then there is going to be uproar
among users. How dare Apple put form over function.

~~~
ukdm
Wow, downvotes. I'm not sure why. All I'm trying to point out here is that
there are many people out there who have bought the iPhone 4 and can't hold it
naturally and make calls. Now it turns out that was a potential issue known
about as far back as a year ago at Apple, but it was ignored because the new
design of the phone was liked at Apple.

Does no one else see something seriously wrong with that?

~~~
losvedir
Why can't they just return it? I've returned products to an Apple Store and
it's been completely painless. Is it different with the iPhone because of AT&T
contracts or something?

~~~
byoung2
_Why can't they just return it?_

From what I can tell, it's like being addicted to a drug. You know it's bad,
but you can't resist. I have coworkers who have the reception problem who
would rather alter the way they hold the phone than return it. Even though
they loved their previous iPhones, somehow they can't go back now.

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thought_alarm
No shit.

