That didn`t take long.
The iPhone 4, which made its long-awaited debut last week, is now the subject of several lawsuits taking issue with the device`s apparent propensity to drop calls.
Two class actions were filed in San Francisco, and one in Maryland. The suits allege that, when the iPhone is held a certain way, it receives almost no signal -- leading to dropped calls and much frustration. Specifically, using one`s hand to cover the phone`s metal frame in the lower left-hand corner -- where the antenna is exposed -- causes a dramatic drop in “bars” indicating signal strength.
One of the California suits says that the only way to prevent the signal failure is to buy a certain phone cover -- and fork over more money to Apple in the process.
“Consumers are left with three options: hold their phones in an awkward and unnatural manner; return their phones and pay 10 per cent `restocking fee`, or purchase Apple`s own `bumper` cases for their phones, costing $29.95 in addition to the premium they have already paid for the phones themselves, which may somewhat ameliorate the iPhone 4`s defects,” the complaint says.
Christopher Dydyk, the Massachusetts plaintiff, contends that “Apple’s sale of the iPhone with this unannounced defect, assuming Apple’s prior knowledge of the defect, constitutes misrepresentation and fraud. In omitting to disclose the defect in the iPhone 4, Apple perpetrated a massive fraud upon hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting customers.”
Apple blames reception “bars”
Apple, for its part, says that the problem is due in large part to the way that the phone displays reception bars. The display is determined by a formula that`s “totally wrong,” according to the company, meaning that the phone might show lots of bars in an area with almost no reception, or vice-versa.
But that explanation fails to account for the fact that the Maryland plaintiffs say they “began to experience significantly reduced reception and performance when handling the phones as demonstrated in Apple`s advertisements or as a reasonable person would handle a mobile telephone.” The trouble persisted regardless of whether the plaintiffs were “making phone calls, browsing the Internet, [or] sending text messages.”
The company had previously offered the suggestion that consumers buy a bumper case for their phones, but that suggestion was absent from the company`s latest statement -- perhaps due to the blowback from consumers who just finished paying for a brand new smartphone.
Jobs dismissed concerns
One of the suits also cites a supposed email exchange between a newly-minted iPhone 4 owner and Apple CEOSteve Jobs, in which Jobs appeared to dismiss the problem as a non-issue.
“MacRumors forum user samcraig emailed Steve Jobs about the low signal issue while holding the new iPhone 4 in a specific way,” the suit reads. “Samcraig emailed Steve Jobs: `Question -- what`s going to be done about the signal dropping issue. Is it software or hardware?` To which, Jobs replied with a typically short response: `Non issue. Just avoid holding it that way.`”
Some reports have questioned whether the exchange actually occurred, suggesting that the supposed Jobs response may have come from an impostor.
Apple has promised to provide a software fix for the problem within the next few weeks, although it`s unclear whether the remedy will deal only with the supposed “bars” formula glitch or will address the larger issue of phones` actual antenna strength.
