“Filed in federal court in Maryland Wednesday on behalf of a pair Maryland residents who purchased two iPhone 4s each only to find they “cannot be used for the normal purpose and in the normal manner in which such devices are intended to be used,” the class action accuses Apple and AT&T of knowingly selling phones with a defective antenna design,” John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD. “Evidently ‘just avoid holding it that way’ didn’t go over to well with the plaintiffs who say their iPhone 4s experience significantly reduced reception and performance when handled the way any reasonable person would handle a cell phone.”
MacDailyNews Take: Didn’t go over very well with us, either. Neither do the snide remarks we hear from people who get their information from 5-second sound bites on TV news (“Better be careful how you hold that thing!” “That’s some death grip you’ve got!”) when they should be admiring our shiny new iPhone 4s or staring at them in reverence or, better yet, minding their own business. (The iPhone 4 is a tremendous device and we’d hate to see it get “Newtonized.”)
Regardless of the merits of this lawsuit (return the phone if you don’t like it, there is a grace period), Apple blew this one and they haven’t managed to be able to get ahead of managing the PR crisis, either.
Like we’ve said before, maybe Steve’s grown a bit too soft? If he’s not, he really needs to knock some heads over these constant mistakes. All of these stumbles, some bigger than others, they all add up, Mr. Jobs. And the constant stream of avoidable errors indicates that Apple might be growing too fast and/or employees aren’t trying hard enough anymore. Seriously, nobody at Apple foresaw this rather obvious antenna issue? Why not? Who’s responsible?
Paczkowski reports, “’Plaintiffs were sold defective iPhone 4 units, which drops calls and data service when held in a manner consistent with normal wireless phone use,’ the complaint reads. ‘Plaintiffs have experienced numerous dropped calls, and as a result, Plaintiffs are left with a device that cannot be used for the normal purpose and in the normal manner in which such devices are intended to be used. Plaintiffs are unable to return the phone without incurring a substantial restocking fee. As a result of the defect in the iPhone 4, Plaintiffs have suffered monetary damages. Defendants’ design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, or sale of the defective iPhone 4 has directly and proximately caused all class members to suffer injury.'”
Paczkowski reports, “The suit goes on to accuse Apple and AT&T of a host of misdeeds including: General negligence; Defect in design; Breach of warranty; Deceptive trade practices; Intentional misrepresentation; Negligent misrepresentation; Fraud by concealment.”
Read more in the full article, including the full text of the lawsuit, here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we’ve been saying ever since this issue came to light, “If the iPhone 4 requires a ‘case’ or rubber ‘bumper’ in order to operate properly, then Apple should provide one in every box free of charge.”
Either tell us you can fix it in the software and when you plan to do so, or do the right thing by your customers, Apple, and provide us with cases*. If not, you may well be forced to — and that won’t be good PR, either.
Going forward, of course, you may want to rethink that bare metal and coat it, or portions of it, with a clear non-conductive material. Doing that all along would have saved you some major headaches. Why no Apple engineer insisted on it is beyond us.
In fact, it no longer matters if this is even a real issue. The perception, which Apple failed to manage properly, is that there is an issue. Period. Therefore, the perception must be corrected. Free rubber bumpers for iPhone 4 owners and a statement on the exactly how they’re going to “fix” the issue going forward is along the lines of what it’s going to take to stop this in its tracks.
Lastly, we wonder, did the iPhone 4 leak that was plastered all over Gizmodo and subsequently everywhere else, stunt iPhone 3GS sales to the point where Apple rushed iPhone 4 through testing and onto the market? Because that’s certainly what it seems like to us.
*It’s the principle of the thing, not the measly $29 for a rubber bumper, however overpriced that may be.
Proof that the USA is a sue-happy society. Rather ridiculous.
If you don’t like it, can’t you just take it back for a full refund and cancel your phone contract. Aren’t you allowed to do that in the USA?
Yeah, the firm handling the case calls themselves “injury attorneys”. How are these folks being injured by this? All of these things came to light within a day or two of iPhone 4’s release. First of all, give them a chance to fix it. And second, if you don’t like it then return it or sell it on ebay. I’m sure you”d at least get what you spent back.
Nothing will stop people who are looking to sue Apple for anything possible (a deep pocket) except deep surgery ie: A lobotomy.
If these people really didn’t care for the problem, return the phone, why waste everyone’s time and money with a lawsuit, what does that really accomplish?
the plaintiffs aren’t going to get doo-doo, other than a bumper if that..
So I’m on my iPhone 4 right now using the MDN App and holding the phone normally and not once did I suffer any harm or injury or reception loss. I have repeatedly done this hundreds of times per day without a problem. This lawsuit is bullspit.
“General negligence; Defect in design; Breach of warranty; Deceptive trade practices; Intentional misrepresentation; Negligent misrepresentation; Fraud by concealment.”
Wow…these attorneys are really reaching for the stars.
Just return this f@ci#g thing back to the store and get Kin, it’s been only a week.
This site should change it’s name to Apple Hating News. This suit is ridiculous and everyone knows it except “MDN”.
Hmmm.
Haven’t bought an iPhone 4 yet due to shortages. For the very first time ever, a new iPhone purchase is giving me pause ….
Fuck it! I’m getting one!
Freakin sue happy WTF has this great nation come too! Over stupid shit! Please excuse my language
Actually Steve you can return your phone and cancel your contract within 30 days of activation if service is found to be inadequate. Pity that I don’t hear of HTC and Nokia being sued and their smart phones exhibit the same behavior. These people are so stupid because they will never get the remedy they think they deserve. If they choose not to return the phone and the suit is found to have some merit the best they can hope for is some credit towards service from AT&T;or some ITunes credits. The only people that may make some money are the lawyers taking the case. What do you want to bet that the number of people actually experiencing this problem is less than 0.1% of the IPhone 4 population out there. I haven;t heard of any mass returns…have you?
This is not going to be good when describing the merits of the iPhone. Then have to explain an antenna issue. The bumper should correct the issue or problem. The this will hurt sales.
If for nothing more than doubt.
@silverwarloc
It appears they are just throwing things against a wall to see what will stick.
It is so sad, you have to be shitting right ? Every carrier in US have one month no penalty return policy so what happend hear ? You could only own it for two weeks , go return the thing and go back to your landline! It makes me so sorry for the rest of US
My iPhone 4 does do this (if you need video proof I can provide) it also gets WORSE reception than the 3GS in some cases. I’m not sure what to make of this whole thing :/ I love the phone for sure though.
This lawsuit is trying to do what you mactards refuse to do. That is to make Steve Jobs apologize, admit that there is a legitimate issue and to produce a solution to correct the issue. At this point I’d accept the bumpers as a resolution if I had been unfortunate to purchase an iPhone 4 before the problem came to light.
Apple needs to step up and so do the posters on this board. Make Apple accept responsibility and correct this issue before Android is looked at by the general public as the superior choice. Android is fragmented enough to insulate it from individual phone
issues (i. e. EVO brick issues, etc.) With iPhone the hardware is married to the software, no matter which one fails it’s still reflective upon Apple.
I do think this suit holds more merit than the monopoly suit that was filed back in 2007. That one is just plain stupid. Sure the plaintiff are probably just looking for a payday, but we all know the only one who’s going to get paid is the lawyers!
MDN,
Quit the hatin’ attitude. It’s been getting worse over the last two weeks or so. Are you under new management? Did you hire a few new writers?
6 or 7 years ago when I upgraded the totally worthless Windows ME operating system to Windows XP I should have sued Microsoft. The XP upgrade box says it is the “most reliable and secure operating system ever”.
Actually, I could have sued earlier – the constant blue screens of death with Windows ME were a little annoying too.
Live and learn.
Ridiculous! If it doesn’t meet your needs, take it back. Period.
El Guapo,
When Apple screws up, we call them on it, as we always have.
We side with Apple customers over Apple Inc. when we believe it’s warranted.
“General negligence; Defect in design; Breach of warranty; Deceptive trade practices; Intentional misrepresentation; Negligent misrepresentation; Fraud by concealment.”
All true.
“Going forward, of course, you may want to rethink that bare metal and coat it, or portions of it, with a clear non-conductive material. Doing that all along would have saved you some major headaches. Why no Apple engineer insisted on it is beyond us.”
Excellent suggestion, MDN. Question is: with his world famous ego and previous remarks that if you hold it like he holds it, you will have a problem going to result in iPhone 4 = Newton? Or, worse?
I’ve had iPhones since day one three years ago, and iPhone 4 is a tremendous advancement over the previous iterations. iPhone 4 has to be seen and held in one’s hand to appreciate the design and build quality. As for the antenna ‘issue,’ I can hold my iPhone 4 in a way that has the bars indicating decreasing signal strength, this without a bumper or case (because the AS didn’t have any when I purchased my iPhone 4 last Thursday). But it isn’t an issue for me, and besides, I plan to get a hard case just as I have done with my 2G and 3GS. I find a ‘grippy’ case lessens the likelihood of drops, and in three years of owning iPhones, I’ve only had two drops, neither which resulted in damage.
iPhone 4’s screen is way beyond amazingly clear and bright – it looks like the images are printed right on the glass surface.
There are many people/companies who have a vested interest in trashing Apple and its products – it is they who are behind 95% of the bitching and moaning.
Enjoying iPhone 4 like nobody’s business!
I am having these connection problems in Japan, and we cannot simply return the phone here. We have to cancel the contract, pay lots of money, get blacklisted, all kinds of silliness. I stopped listening after a minute and decided to hold my iPhone in the prescribed manner.
I also agree with the posters above. If the product is still available to be returned without penalty, the laws should absolutely not allow these idiotic lawsuits. There are thousands of other phones to choose. The iPhone is not the only mobile cellular device.
So with this lawsuit, and others like it, every time a consumer purchases a product and it doesn’t perform to expectations, we have the right to sue the company?
Now if the iPhone blew up in their hands or caused their eyes to bleed, then I could see a lawsuit.
This country is full of idiots.