Complaints about reception problems with Apple's new iPhone 4 have entered the courtroom. At least three lawsuits have been filed, accusing the device maker and AT&T Wireless of negligence in marketing, unfair business practices, and false and misleading advertising.
Separate complaints from a customer  in New Jersey and another in Massachusetts were filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, and another lawsuit was filed Thursday in Maryland.
'Misrepresentation and Fraud'
One lawsuit, from Christopher Dydyk of Cambridge, Mass., said "Apple's sale of the iPhone with this unannounced defect, assuming Apple's prior knowledge of the defect, constitutes misrepresentation and fraud." The complaint added that "in omitting to disclose the defect in the iPhone 4, Apple perpetrated a massive fraud upon hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting customers."
Dydyk asks that Apple provide a free "bumper," or rubber case, for every pre-ordered iPhone, or that it be ordered to pay for customers' bumpers.
Maryland residents Kevin McCaffrey and Linda Wrinn said Apple and AT&T "actively suppressed and concealed the fact that the iPhone 4 could not be held in a manner consistent with the normal usage of wireless communication devices," and they are looking for unspecified damages.
Apple hasn't commented, but has consistently said there is no antenna issue.
On Wednesday, there were indications that Apple was indirectly confirming the existence of antenna problems because of a new job posting for an "Antenna Engineer-iPhone," and a reportedly leaked memo.
The memo, allegedly an internal Apple customer-care document, surfaced earlier this week on industry web sites. It advised AppleCare employees about how to deal with complaints relating to reception, noting that "gripping almost any mobile phone in certain places will reduce its reception."
It advised employees to suggest that customers who are experiencing this on the iPhone 3GS "avoid covering the bottom-right side with your hand," and, if it's happening with the iPhone 4, to "avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band."
Lawsuits 'Not Surprising'
The memo also notes that "the use of a case or bumper that is made out of rubber or plastic may improve wireless performance" by keeping a hand from directly covering those areas.
The issue, now being reported in forums and elsewhere, is a drop in signal strength when the phone is held, which could be related to the fact that the iPhone's stainless-steel casing serves as the antenna. Some users are reporting that, with the antenna centered on the bottom left of the device, holding it in the left hand causes the signal bars to fade into no signal at all. (continued...)
ChazDT:
Posted: 2010-07-09 @ 3:45pm PT
I'm wondering why the bumper that was available at the pre-ordering window was there. Was it because Apple knew that the bumper would help alleviate the loss of signal (not the bars, but the actual loss of a call because the signal was affected by the "regular" positioning of the left hand on the phone to use the phone. I'm looking for a refund for the purchase of the $29 bumper that has cleared up the problem....not just that the bars were going from a 5 to 1 when holding it, but actually not able to continue on a call due to loss of signal. Sounds like the early days!
R2D2:
Posted: 2010-07-02 @ 8:38am PT
R2D2 here,
Apple Inc. said Friday that it was "stunned" to find that its iPhones have for years been using a "totally wrong" formula to determine how many bars of signal strength they are getting. Since Job’s first fix “you’re holding it wrong” did not sell well he now has the solution: Use software to pretend that the hardware is working. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Oh, and that new software will also make you weigh ten pounds less and will add 10K to your bank account. Ahhhhhhahahahaha! Oops, help me Obi-Wan! I laughed so hard I fell over and can’t get up.
It’s July and hot on Earth. Better drink up that Kool-Aid.
No such problems with my Droids. The hardware is the best in the galaxy. You earthlings can expect another delivery very soon. The Millennium Falcon has just jumped to hyperspace to get my Droids there without delay.
The Force is with us! R2D2
|
