“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.
MDN. Apple did not screw up. This is not a real issue. Shut the eff up you are making me go somewhere else for news.
MDN seems to be the only one making sense on this issue!
Didn’t take long.
While I think is is actually a non-issue, it IS a PR problem for Apple. I know a number of non-fanboys who have all asked me about it. It’s all they hear about on the mainstream news and they are calling the iPhone 4 a “lemon.” Not good publicity for Apple. But the, Apple can’t make enough of them, so maybe this is their way of tempering the demand!
How fat are these guys who are suing, and do they have big fat sweaty fingers? If this this gets to court the judge should make them hold seven other brands of cell-phones in the court to test. How many of you who have the reception problems have fat sweaty fingers. Just askin’. I’m not fat. I wonder if this happens in Darfur?
MANY of you are MISSING the point here.
I LOVE Apple, and probably have been buying and using Apple products longer then any of you on this forum (since 1979). I would venture to say that I have been directly or indirectly responsible for many many Apple products.
This iPhone issue is an abomination, and not up to Apple standards. PERIOD. It is a screwup and NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED properly and now.
Apple is better then this.
Snide remarks such as “don’t hold it that way”, or “buy a case” or “take it back” is besides the point.
Apple needs to man up, admit the error, create a solution, give the solution free to current owners, and move on. In addition, it should apologize for any stress this issue may have caused, and give a discount to all iPhone 4 users for an Apple Store purchase as well as a free case or bumper.
And no, I have not purchased the iPhone 4 (yet) specifically due to the lack of a Verizon model (but also I would not purchase until this issue is resolved in any case).
Apple has superior software, and superior products BUT it is capable of making mistakes (cube anyone?, Apple III?). No big deal – it happens. We cannot, however, run block for this issue. We need to keep Apple honest to insure that Apple continues to enjoy the position as the best computer/phone/media player company in history.
I am not sure the new iPhone is any worse than any other phone in this regard. Until there is good, solid statistical, controlled conditions proof that there is a real problem with this particular design and that it performs worse than other phones, this is all bogus. Just for convenience we have allowed quality of voice communications to go backward by 50 years. Recall the Sprint ads with pin dropping? Today with cell phones we are lucky to get enough clarity to hear a railroad spike drop. Very simple solution: Apple just needs to state they will take back your new iPhone and AT&T;will cancel your contract with no penalty if you don’t like the reception. Let the market speak as SJ would say. No need for low life lawyers and everyone is happy.
Sorry, I meant responsible for many many Apple product SALES….
@macinfo
“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?”
It’s a highly regarded principle in civilised societies called JUSTICE. Nothing has been proven and nobody has been found guilty yet (except anyone, in your eyes, who dares say anything negative about Apple). It will be up to the plaintiffs and their team to provide evidence, Apple to present their point of view and then for the court to decide if there have been any wrong doings. Everyone gets to have their say and a judgement is made based on facts. Seems fair to me. Not like in your world where you would shout down anyone that even dared to mention something you don’t like.
I love Apple products and their whole approach, design and inventiveness. I have owned numerous Macs, iPods and iPhones over the years and think they are wonderful, useful and inspiring devices. Yet I am realistic enough to realize that we live in a world where nobody gets everything right all of the time. Mistakes happen. Even at Apple. Being dogmatic and insisting that Apple (or indeed any company of your choosing) can do no wrong therefore anyone that begs to differ must be shot down in flames is plainly ridiculous. Denying that there is a problem simply because you don’t seem to be suffering from it yourself is equally illogical. Let people have their say (freedom of speech – another highly respected principle) and stop heckling anyone in these comment boards from having their point of view just because it is different to yours
That is one Attorney looking to score a big payday.
I think if the Federal courts are going to allow this type of case the rules need to change so that Attorney’s are not allowed to take such case on contingency. Attorneys are not permitted allowed to collect or charge more then a flat hourly fee and all costs must be bore by that fixed cost. Further if the defending attorney can show that the plaintiffs solicited for in any way by the filing Attorney, the Attorney’s staff or by any third party compensated in any manner by the Attorney or the Attorney’s Office. The Judge would be required to dismiss the case with Prejudice, putting each of the plaintiffs on the hook for all court costs (so, say there was 50 plaintiffs and the court cost total $1,196.00 each plaintiff would be responsible for paying $1,196.00.
I’d like to see new rules that prevent the huge Class Action Suites were the attorneys make billions and class members get a $2.00 coupon if you can find a receipt that is 5+/- years old and spend the time completing a form that make an IRS TAX form look like a kindergarden crossword puzzle and then send in the receipt and completed forms to the claim center run by the attorneys just to have it denied because your answer on line 108 part j sub section 598 was capitalized incorrectly. Because at the end of the claim period the funds in the claim trust become the sole property of the trustee aka the attorneys or a company directly owned and controlled by the attorneys.
Good luck getting a judge to rule you’ve been suckered when you’re only one week into the 30 day return window yet you’re filing a lawsuit.
@ Whatever… I agree. Lately, MDN sounds like it is written by teenagers for teenagers. They would be better off not saying anything at all. Just report the news and shut up.
As for Apple’s Death Grip… They screw up sometimes, and this is one of those times. Bad press and lawsuits will help Apple avoid these kinds of mistakes in the future.
I wonder if the issue never came to light during testing because of the mock up cases Apple was using to disguise the iPhone 4?
This problem is inherently related to all you fat americans with your greasy fingers, I was to Houston last week and I mean geez, how can there be that many fat people in one city, it was friggin GROSS!
I’m with Arnold Ziffel, have spoken with dozens of people and NOBODY complained about the reception! Looks like viral anti-marketing to me…
The iPhone 4 is AWESOME and works perfectly in Europe.
The reception loss is a fact. But I haven’t had a dropped call yet. The us certainly is sue-happy, rather then utilize their 30 days to return the phone (but all I want is an iPhone why won’t it just work how it’s supposed too?!?!? Whiney consumer…) or spend the $30 on a bumper. You spent either $200+ or $300+ on the phone…you can’t afford $30?? Life isn’t based on the principal of the matter you’re not always going to get what’s fair because that’s life. I do find it comical that apple made the bumpers knowing that people would complain. That’s funny. Also comical, apple continues to sell iPhone 4 even with the design flaw. I bought mine after this death grip crap.. Evos screen peels apparently so there you go you idiot dbags. Nothings perfect.
Here are the links for Nokia N900 and HTC HD2 user guides.
http://nds1.nokia.com/phones/files/guides/Nokia_N900_UG_en.pdf
http://member.america.htc.com/download/web_materials/Manual/HTC_HD2/091229_HD2_HTC_WWE_UM.pdf
N900 UG, page 19:
“About your device
Antenna locations
Your device may have internal and external antennas. Avoid
touching the antenna area unnecessarily while the antenna
is transmitting or receiving. Contact with antennas affects the
communication quality and may cause a higher power level
during operation and may reduce the battery life.”
HTC HD2, page 10:
“To assure optimal phone performance and ensure human exposure to RF energy is within the guidelines set forth in the relevant standards, always use your device only in its normal-use position. Contact with the antenna area may impair call quality and cause your device to operate at a higher power level than needed. Avoiding contact with the antenna area when the phone is IN USE optimizes the antenna performance and the battery life.”
How about return the phone if you don’t like it???? Why do these liberal-commie panty wastes always have to file lawsuits???
@ Mr. Whatever
“Apple did not screw up. This is not a real issue.”
I hope you’re in my neighborhood some day soon and have car trouble. I’ll loan you my iPhone4 to make a call, and then you can tell me it’s not an issue.
Also, monetary damages..really??! The dvice works exactly as it should. I could understand if the screen froze or the keyboard never popped up or the email was buggy or mms would do something crazy like kill the battery from too much data, so many other things. But really people really? Ugh disgusting.
Problems with the Bumper:
1. Doesn’t fit well – loose and inelegant
2. Conceals the much ballyhooed stainless steel rim – which we now know is a failed bit due to incompetent engineering
3. Helps with the transmission/reception problems but doesn’t solve them – still unreliable when compared to what it should be
For those who keep saying to return the damn phone if it doesn’t work here’s the problem with that: returning and refunding the phone, the bumper, the extended Apple Care is a nightmare. But it’s only the beginning. Just try to deal with ATT on getting out of the draconian contract! Bozos.
To all who say “Just return the phone,” Best Buy can charge a restocking fee to return a cell phone when the cellphone is being returned for other than “no service” and “defect”. Since every carrier drops calls and Apple is not admitting that this is a “defect” there would be no legitimate reason to return the phone without a restocking fee. This is Best Buy policy not AT&T;. I was told as much by a Best Buy employee. I do not know that she bought it at a Best Buy, only offering it up to the ones who seem to know it all.
Reread the article. They complain about a restocking fee, not a cancellation fee.
This company has brilliantly been inventing the future, and it sickens me to see greedy lawyers and opportunists launch these suits.
I have no intention of returning my phone. I love everything about it except its phone function. I cannot make or receive a call without the proximity sensor randomly activating mute or ringtone or one of the other menu items, I also have the reception problem. The other day on a critical call, I had to put it on speaker phone, hold it from the top end with the bottom pointed at me. Feels ridiculous? Yes, but it’s the only way I can be confident of completing the call, other than the ATT drop, which happened. I intend to be buy the bumper, patiently hope for a proximity fix, and patiently wait for another carrier. The worst thing is the silence from Apple. Tell me you’re working on this.
No problems here. And even if Apple gave me a free bumper, I wouldn’t use it. They are butt ugly and make the phone look like shit.