Apple Engineer Warned About iPhone 4 Issue

[Gman496]

*** Yet another update *** "Update: Apple Release Fix" Read More ... It has emerged that a senior engineer at Apple raised concerns that the design of the iPhone 4's antenna could lead to signal problems long before the product went on sale to the public.

Apple fans take pictures of themselves after buying the new iPhone 4


Bloomberg has reported that last year antenna expert Ruben Caballero told the firm's management that the device may have faults.

Apple has refused to comment on this claim but it appears Mr Caballero's warnings went unheeded.

Apple launched the latest version of the phone last month to great fanfare as it boasted of a design that put the antenna in a stainless steel band around the phone's frame.

But it has been plagued with user complaints about dropped calls when the phone is held in a way that covers part of the antenna.

The company has announced that a special press conference will be held on Friday to address the problems customers are experiencing.

However, an Apple spokesman declined to give further details, including whether the conference will address the new model's reception problems.

But Apple watchers say they believe that the company will offer a solution.

An Apple devotee waits to become one of the first people to own an iPhone 4


"Given the intense pressure and scrutiny Apple has come under on the problem with the iPhone 4, it's going to be about some kind of fix or compensation for the owners of the phone," said Ed Snyder, an analyst with Charter Equity Research.

Antenna-design experts have said that the phone design, while cutting-edge, was risky because it exposes the antenna to touch.

What started out as a small number of users complaining about reception has now ballooned into a full-scale public-relations issue.

Critics say Apple has created a public relations headache for itself by appearing to dismiss or ignore the problem, allowing a minor issue to be turned into headline news.

 

[aldan]

wonder how long the engineer is going to be working at apple.lol

 

[axxxo]

I still doubt thet'll have a call back for millions of phones so it'll be interesting to see what software solution they will come up with. Probably be eventually passed off as a network problem!

 

[Gman496]

I still doubt thet'll have a call back for millions of phones so it'll be interesting to see what software solution they will come up with. Probably be eventually passed off as a network problem!

I'm not sure the fix will be software related to be honest?

Apple has blamed a software glitch that overstates network strength but others say the antenna itself on the redesigned device is at fault.

The fact that it is down to how you hold it would lean towards it being the position or type of the actual antenna?

They could of course try to fool the users further by releasing a software fix to show a higher signal bar reading weather it actually exists or not? I wonder would they be stupid enough to try that in order to try to save face with their investors by attempting to avoid a recall?

-

 

[Gman496]

Apple faces music on iPhone flaw but recall unlikely

*** Update ***



Apple Inc is likely to announce a fix for the iPhone 4's reception problems on Friday rather than recall the device, hoping to stem a growing chorus of complaints and avert any lasting damage to its carefully earned reputation for quality products.

Apple, which surprised consumers and investors when it said it will convene an iPhone 4 press conference, has kept mum on what it will do. But analysts are betting that -- despite lawsuits, a poor review from Consumer Report and growing user complaints -- it will not initiate a costly and embarrassing recall.

Investors will be looking for a fuller explanation of what analysts call a minor issue, but which has managed to cause a media firestorm. A growing furor over iPhone 4 signal-strength flaws has hurt Apple's shares ahead of its quarterly results next week.

Since June 28 -- days after the launch, when complaints about faulty reception began surfacing on Internet technology websites -- Apple has lost about $16 billion in market value, with at least some of that related to the iPhone controversy.

The stock fell as much as 2.1 percent on Thursday, before closing down 0.5 percent at $251.45 on Nasdaq.

"We do believe that Apple needs to be more proactive in identifying and addressing the issues for the iPhone 4," BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachman wrote in a research note. "A real risk is if the press keeps talking about this issue, iPhone 4 growth could slow."

Some analysts suggest Apple could simply offer free protective cases for the device -- which prevent the signal interference -- at a cost of $1 to $2 each.

That solution could cost as much as $45 million, according to one estimate. An in-store repair program could run as much as an estimated $300 million.

Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that Apple engineers had warned Chief Executive Steve Jobs in the early design phase of the iPhone 4 about the antenna design. Both reports cited people familiar with the matter.

But Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said the Bloomberg report was "simply not true," while later declining to comment on the Journal report.

Some users of the phone complain that reception turns weak when the device is held in a certain way that has come to be jokingly called the "iPhone 4 death grip." But the problem does not appear to be widespread.

QUICK FIX

Apple has blamed a software glitch that overstates network strength, but others have said the antenna on the redesigned device is at fault.

Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross expected Apple to use the press conference to provide a remedy to users who are experiencing the problem, and try to redirect attention back to the iPhone 4's strengths.

"We do not expect a recall and believe Apple will quickly move past this issue," Cross wrote in a research note.

She said Apple could provide free, low-cost iPhone cases -- which appear to solve the reception problem -- to consumers at a cost of less than 5 cents a share.

And it could add a thin coating over the antenna in future models to fix the issue, Cross added.

Analysts noted that Apple has bowed to pressure in the past to mollify consumers. In 2007, after Apple slashed the price of the original iPhone two months after it went on sale, the company offered a $100 store credit to appease angry buyers.

Apple's July and August option implied volatility, which measures the expected magnitude of share price movement, surged on Thursday.

In all, about 214,000 calls and 158,000 puts traded in Apple, above its combined average daily volume of 290,000 contracts, according to option analytics firm Trade Alert.

"Apple option traders are bracing for a big move in the underlying shares boosted by uncertainty over the iPhone 4 smartphone and next week's earnings," said Jon Najarian, a co-founder of Web information site optionMonster.

"Professional investors believe this is a big deal judging by the amount of Apple options that are being bid up on both the call and put side, indicating how nervous players are."

 

[Gman496]

Apple fixes one iPhone bug as another appears

Apple has issued a fix for one problem with the iPhone as reports start to emerge of another bug.

Before the fix every iPhone misreported signal
strength


An iPhone software update has corrected the way that different versions of the handset display signal strength.

But some users are reporting that an earlier update means their 3GS phones now drop far more calls than before.

The news comes as Apple prepares for a news conference in which it is expected to address the ongoing iPhone 4 antenna problem.


Rebooting phones

The update for the iPhone iOS software fixes a problem that Apple discovered when investigating reports about reception falling away on the newest version of the handset.

In an open letter, Apple said it was "stunned" to discover that the formula it had been using to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display was "totally wrong". The formula regularly displayed two more bars of strength than it should, the company said.

To correct the flaw, Apple issued a fix that owners can get hold of by connecting their phone to a Mac or PC and updating the device. Analysis of the update shows that it does not alter the underlying formula for calculating strength but changes how many bars a phone displays.

At the same time some owners of the iPhone 3GS are reporting that an earlier update to the handset's operating system made their phone far more likely to drop calls.

The dropped calls occur when the phone suddenly reboots during a conversation.

The Apple support forum dealing with the problem now has more than 36 pages of comments attached to it. Apple has yet to give specific advice about this problem but many users report that restoring the phone's firmware fixes the trouble.

At 1800 BST, Apple is holding a press conference at which it is expected to talk about an ongoing problem with the iPhone 4 antenna.

On this handset the antennas for the different wireless services it can handle are built into the case of the device. Many people have reported losing signal and calls if their hand bridges the gaps between the separate antennas.

 

[Gman496]

Apple Boss Admits 'We're Not Perfect'

*** Yet another update ***

Apple boss Steve Jobs has spoken at a press conference to address its iPhone 4 reception bugs and admitted that the company has problems and has offered a free fix.

Some users find signal is lost if they hold the iPhone 4 in a certain way


Opening the press conference, Jobs said: "We're not perfect, we know that, you know that, and neither are our phones perfect."

"But we want to make all of our users happy."

Apple says it will give free protective cases to buyers of phone to alleviate the so-called "death grip" problem - holding the phone with a bare hand can muffle the call signal.

Jobs announced the giveaway at the company's headquarters in California and said those who have already bought the phone and new buyers will all be eligible.

Fox business correspondent Ashley Webster told Sky News that the iPhone 4 problems have been growing for a long time.

"There has been growing criticising of a lack of a signal on the phone," Webster said.

"Apple at first rather flippantly responded to complaints and said, 'Hold it a different way.'"

The phone characteristically dropped calls or lost data links, leaving owners fuming.

At first the manufacturer said it was simply a signal strength indicator fault but its innovative case aerial was long suspected to be the cause.

Apple said it was how some users held their phones and scathing internet groups coined it the "iPhone 4 death grip."

"This is certain a new chapter in Apple's PR history," Webster said.

Tech industry observers are keeping a close eye on what Apple offer to resolve the issues and chief executive Steve Jobs' response.

"A lot will ride on what Steve Jobs has to say today," Webster said.

"Certainly an apology is expected by most people."

Apple, long the darling of the tech world, has suffered recently over product glitches and are learning to eat humble pie.

Apple fans queued for hours in London to get the first iPhone 4 models


The stock fell as much as 2.1% on Thursday, before closing down 0.5% at $251.45 (£162.87) on the Nasdaq exchange.

The furore over the signal-strength flaws of the latest iPhone model has hurt Apple's shares ahead of its quarterly results next week.

Since June 28 - days after the launch, when complaints about faulty reception began surfacing on IT websites - Apple has lost about $16bn (£10bn) in market value, with at least some of that related to the iPhone controversy.

Webster said: "Steve Jobs is used to doing victory laps...people are watching to see how contrite he is."

 

[Gman496]

I can just see it now!


Buy

Get

Free!

 

[Gman496]

Defiant Jobs stands by iPhone 4, dishes out cases

A defiant Steve Jobs on Friday rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4's design was flawed, but offered consumers free phone cases to address reception complaints that have hurt Apple Inc's image and shares.

At a rare, 90-minute press conference, the Apple chief executive asserted that reception issues were a problem shared by the entire smartphone industry, naming specifically rivals Research in Motion, Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp.

Jobs maintained there were no problems with the iPhone 4's wraparound antenna design and accused the media of trying to "tear down" a company that had grown so successful.

After the June 24 launch of the iPhone 4, some users reported drastically reduced signal strength when they held the touch-screen phone a certain way, in what has come to be known as the "iPhone 4 death grip."

Apple has lost more than $16 billion of its market value since June 28, with at least some of that attributed by analysts to the iPhone snafu.

Apple set the tone of Friday's event early, leading off with a YouTube video poking fun at the so-called "Antennagate" controversy (here).

"This has been blown so out of proportion, it's incredible," Jobs, 55, told reporters and analysts in an auditorium at Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters.

"This is life in the smartphone world. Phones aren't perfect. Most every smartphone we tested behaved like this."

Analysts said sales of the iPhone 4 had not been impacted by the antenna flap, though some warn about longer-term damage to a reputation for quality products honed on the iPod.

Most on Wall Street have not altered -their iPhone sales estimates for the current quarter, which range from 10 million to 12 million units.

Communications experts said the flap has always been less about a presumed flaw in the iPhone than the secretive Apple's slow and uneven response to it.

The cost of Apple's remedy should be insignificant. One analyst estimated simple cases would cost the company as much as $45 million, while an in-store repair program would have run as much as $300 million.

Shares of Apple climbed as much as 1.4 percent after Jobs offered the free case to users, but closed 0.62 percent lower at $249.90 in an overall market sell-off.

Some analysts said they had expected more from Apple to address the issue, and thought that Jobs should have taken full responsibility.

"Apple is held to a much higher standard. You don't want to compare yourself to the competition," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw.

A CROCK?

Others lauded Jobs -- who apologized to users only after he was asked if he was sorry -- for offering a free fix.

Experts say covering a small gap in the antenna with a plastic case -- or duct tape -- will help boost signal strength by preventing contact with a user's fingers.

"This was a difficult thing for Steve to do ... but he did the right thing," said Gleacher & Co analyst Brian Marshall. "He probably helped consumer sentiment. They stand by their products."

Jobs said Apple will offer the free cases through September 30, when the company will reassess the situation. "Maybe we will continue it or maybe we will have a better idea," he said.

If iPhone 4 users were not satisfied, Jobs said Apple will offer a full refund within a month.

Jobs admitted Apple and the phone were "not perfect" and said he first heard about issues with the antenna 22 days ago. He called a Bloomberg report that he had been warned about the issue well before the June launch a "total crock," and dismissed a New York Times report for "making this stuff up."

The Apple chief said the iPhone 4 drops just a tad more calls than its predecessor, the 3GS, with a return rate of less than a third of the older model. Just 0.55 percent of iPhone 4 users have complained to the company's tech support, he said.

"We're pretty happy with the antenna design," he said. "We're not feeling right now that we have a giant problem that we need to fix."

The high-margin iPhone is Apple's most important product line and yields 40 percent of revenue. The company is embarking on an ambitious push to drive iPhone growth in overseas markets. Jobs said Apple has sold well over 3 million units of the iPhone 4 in the three weeks since launch.

"Jobs was a little bit defensive, and Apple has a tendency to do that," said Gartner analyst Van Baker. "They'll be criticized for that. But at the same time, the position that they outlined about their product relative to others is fair, and their offer is generous."

But some shoppers who were interviewed by Reuters at an Apple store in New York were not impressed by the offer of a free case. "I probably wouldn't buy one still. It's expensive and the calling plan is restricted, and now the case is restricted," said one shopper, Nathaniel Johnson.

Another shopper, Jason Slab, said, "The fix doesn't make much sense; it just seems cheap."

In a Reuters online poll, 213 out of 373 respondents -- 57 percent -- said the entire controversy made them less likely to buy an iPhone. But just 43 out of 253 respondents who owned an iPhone said they would return it.

Its first public statements advised consumers to hold the phone differently. Then, earlier this month, it blamed the problem on a software glitch that overstates signal strength.

The iPhone controversy followed Apple's very nasty public spat with Adobe Systems Inc and the imposition of new restrictions on app developers, which many viewed as onerous.