MacDailyNews Take: Who exactly is calling for Apple to recall the device?
Ogg continues, “While a recall could be damaging to Apple’s reputation, it would also be a costly endeavor, according to some calculations made by Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi. In a research note on Tuesday, Sacconaghi estimated that while ‘a full product recall of the iPhone 4 (is) highly unlikely,’ it would cost Apple $1.5 billion, or 3.5 percent of its total cash on hand.”
“What would be more likely–and cheaper–is that Apple could issue a free rubber bumper case with each phone,” Ogg reports. “That would prevent a person’s hand from coming into contact with the phone’s antenna, which is built into its exterior metal strip. Although Apple charges $29 at retail for the rubber cases, Bernstein estimates that giving them away to iPhone 4 customers would cost the company $1 per unit.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Drive down the price of AAPL shortly before earnings are reported by whatever means necessary, so that when it pops, you rake in a tidy profit. Rinse, lather, repeat; four times per year, at least. It’s just like stealing, but without the jail time.
Exerpiencing the EXACT same problem with or without the bumber. So it doesn’t help having it on! With all the tests I have never seen anyone do the test with the bumber on! Maybe someone should before they say that it fixes the problem! I don’t know, just an idea!!!
@ Clown
Is that satire?
I have a 3GS and no connection issues what-so-ever!
Guess im lucky I didnt Upgrade! 😀
Think I will wait until version 2 of the iPhone 4 comes out and they sort out this HARDWARE FAULT before I get one!
Sometimes not being an early adopter is the best option.
:DD
Beleaguered iPhone.
I’m a clown. What do you think?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for criticism, just so long as people keep in mind that this isn’t a game. Or rather, a much, much more complex game than people treat it to be, where every tiny decision can affect the future of the company.
It’s like a game of chess, where a novice player loses the game because he didn’t consider the consequences of capturing that undefended rook.
Yup. This whole issue is nothing more than troll fuel. I believe Consumer Reports also said that iPhone 4 was the best phone currently on the market. So a ‘garbage’ iPhone is still superior to everything else? That says a lot about everything else.
Has anyone else noticed that the trolls always have the grammar and reasoning ability of, well, trolls?
@eric spielberg
Please, go back to grade school and learn how to write proper English before you post here. You’re killing us with your kindergarten-level grammar and lack of punctuation.
I bought an iPhone 4 the first day, put a case on it, and never had issues with the antenna. I saw an iPhone 4 with the InvisibleShield on it, and it looked great. The iPhone 4 looks, and feels, like a phone that doesn’t belong in a case. I had my phone wrapped a couple days ago, and I love it! Then the trouble began…
I am right handed, hold the phone in my hand no special way, just the way I always do. I am losing signal strength, and dropped a call because of it. I am sitting here right now with 5 bars of 3G, touching the iPhone in the middle, on the sides. When I hold it as I do when I am talking, I lose a bar. However, when I place a finger on the top (which I sometimes do when talking), I drop to one or two bars.
My suspicion is this: the issue is much broader than Apple admits. Most people got their iPhone 4 in a case immediately to protect the glass, therefore these people don’t have an issue. It is still there, but not evident to them as the antenna is protected. If everyone who owned an iPhone 4 left them exposed, we would see more complaints.
I am an Apple guy, and feel I am reasonable. However, I expect Apple to do the right thng, and soon. This iPhone 4 is one of the most beautiful pieces of technology I have seen in years. It is flawed though, and Apple needs to recognize it seriously, and show they understand the issue and will take care of it for customers who have the problem.
Sure I can put a case on it, and most likely will, but I shouldn’t have to, which is the point. The iPhone 4 should work no matter how I opt to use it. In fact, it is a reasonable consumer expectation that ANY product purchased should work without limitation. If this was any other company, with this type of problem, there would be mass returns. But since it’s Apple, they get a reprieve, which will end soon if they don’t stop acting Ike Apple, and show they really do care about the consumer.
This isn’t about iPhone reception. It’s about short selling on the margin, driving the price of a stock down so they can sell shares of the stock THAT THEY HAVEN”T PAID FOR WHICH DON’T EVEN EXIST when the price rebounds. Right now the game is to paint a black picture so the stock price keeps falling. This is a practice that is a holdover from the days of a paper-based stock exchange which needs to be stopped in the electronic era. The practice of micro-second arbitrage, also enabled by computer-based trading, needs to end also. A simple SEC rule that requires a 10 minute delay between placing an order and having it executed would help immensely. I think 24 hours would be better. The stock exchange needs to go back to being an investment process rather than a first person shooter casino.
As far as Apple goes, if you have a problem WITH FINGER PLACEMENT ON THE ANTENNA BAND, you can have a free bumper, or return the iPhone. I’ll bet any returned phones will be resold through the refurb store at 90% of their retail price, no problems. Not likely to cost Apple more than $100 per unit returned, which will not be more than 300,000 of the 3 million sold.
Recall this. My iPhone is by far the best gadget I own because I am yet to buy an iPad.
All the people that are pushing for a recall are all of those that do not own an iPhone 4. Peculiar.
CNET: your source of anti-Apple news. This non-issue has made Apple’s popularity even more obvious.
http://themacadvocate.com/2010/07/14/apple-the-brangelina-of-tech/
Apple could always put a label on the iPhone that says ‘Don’t hold the phone here’ as it will interfere with the antenna, just like my 29 dollar Samsung phone had.
While it is highly unlikely, a total recall of [insert product here] would cost [insert number here] billions of dollars.
Add up the cost of a bumper or case subsidy for every iPhone 4 sold (say $5 each) plus the cost of refunds to people who return the iPhone 4. The total cost would probably not exceed $100M, at a rough guess, and that seems generous. The “billions” speculation is FUD. If it is being used to manipulate AAPL, then it is criminal.
@Mahoodas
The people who are in denial are the people who are claiming that everyone else is in denial. You are denying the fact that we aren’t denying that their might be a design problem that requires some sort of action on the part of Apple. We are denying the unfounded assertions by various bloggers who are speculating wildly based primarily upon anecdotal information and flawed “science,” facts that cannot be realistically denied.
By the way, denial does not render a statement invalid. Some things can be validly denied, while some people live in a state of denial.
@Dean Waterman
Please re-read your post (particularly the excerpt quoted below) and ponder the illogic of your position. If you don’t understand why your position is ridiculous, then all that I can say is that *nothing* works without limitation. This is just one example of the useless string of hyperbole that has been embedded in most iPhone 4 articles and many related forum posts.
“The iPhone 4 should work no matter how I opt to use it. In fact, it is a reasonable consumer expectation that ANY product purchased should work without limitation.”
It can be a virtue to seek perfection, because you may come close. But you are doomed to disappointment if you expect perfection in any aspect of your life.
Until Apple comes out with a definitive response on the iPhone 4 situation, this is the last post that I will make on this subject.
@Mac-nugget
Your comment:
“All the people that are pushing for a recall are all of those that do not own an iPhone 4. Peculiar.”
is complete and utter rubbish!!
My wife and I both have iPhone 4s … and since it’s my 5th iPhone since 1st buying the 2G in 2007, I think that my observations are valid. We get very poor reception on our wonderful new phones as do so many of my colleagues in the music industry. I would say that out of the 20 or so people I know about 60% are having issues with reception. I’ve made 15 iPhone to iPhone calls so far today (it’s 15:15 now) and of those, 8 have dropped out.
So, when are Apple going to start the recall process? Pretty soon, I would guess, since if so many of us are having these problems, it’s a pretty safe bet that a whole bundle of Apple employees in Cupertino are having the same problems, maybe even his Steveness too.
@KingMel
What a load of rubbish!
Very few consumers read Consumer Reports anymore. Their reputation has been damaged too much by the web and their insistence on paid web subscriptions. Their tests are nowhere near real world tests either. You need to test hundreds of the same products from different manufacturing lots and evaluate all the data. 5 or 6 is not a reliable test.
Bottom line – Do more research, don’t just trust CR. Their testing is flawed.
Jeez, people really want their free fucking cases, don’t they.
@Register
“Very few consumers read Consumer Reports anymore. Their reputation has been damaged too much by the web and their insistence on paid web subscriptions. Their tests are nowhere near real world tests either. “
That’s not what this mess is about! By now, this test has become news around the world. German news magazines have commented on the article, as have French. (Those are the ones I know.)
That spells trouble, because when Europeans read that a US testing magazine has panned the iPhone, then that takes on a different slant.
Remember 20+ years ago, when a couple of purple-haired ladies in Florida drove their Audis against the garage walls? This cost Audi many millions, and years, to regain its former position.
Apple must start and CONTROL this story, not respond with platitudes.
Even a complete recall would be cheaper than the image loss, which this could cause.
prenzelberger
A complete recall would be disastrous to Apple not in terms of money, but momentum. If Apple recalled it’s phones. They are dead in the smartphone category for the next 3 years and Android wins by default And I suspect this is what many people want. Cripple Apple by any means necessary even if the same problem exist in most smartphones and apologized in the future when the damage is done.
I’m sorry, but in my opinion, those who have defective iPhones can return them to Apple within thirty days for an exchange or refund.
@will
“If Apple recalled it’s phones. They are dead in the smartphone category for the next 3 years and Android wins by default”
Why 3 years?
Apple must have been aware of the antenna problem, otherwise, they wouldn’t have introduced the bumper case right away.
How they handled the unavoidable public awareness of the problem, has been extremely surprising for a company, whose most precious asset is its name, brand and customer loyalty. Totally amazing!
Apple seem intent on sitting it out, but the world public is just becoming aware of the issue, so it will be interesting to see, how the launch outside the USA will run.
Also, with the iPhone and iPad, Apple have just started to win customers, who would never have bought a Mac. Will these people be as loyal as the computer customers, who often quite enjoyed being part of the “rest of us”.
Can iPod/Phone/Pad customers be expected, to be as loyal?
Apple must take decisive action very soon. They must control the press again, which they did so well before.
Right now, it appears as though they have not even been prepared for the potential fall-out.
The next week or two will be crucial.
Personally, I have cancelled my order for the iPhone. I’m a tad sad, because I had been looking forward to the improved camera, the better navigation and the video.
As it stands, however, I’m quite content using my 3G for another year, or however long it takes Apple, to fix the thing. For now, I most certainly wouldn’t be looking at an Android phone. I don’t need a new phone, I just wanted one.
Let’s see, how many like me there are. The next sales figures will be interesting.
Because it will take that long for Goggle to build the pieces together into a cohesive juggernaut that can withstand any competition or government scrutiny.
They are making some decisive actions now by quietly working on the problem.It might be software, it might be hardware or it might be a combination of both or it might be something else. I rather have them looking at the problem and solving it in a manner that is beneficial to both the company and it’s customers than making some decisive action that will make things worse for Apple and it’s customers because they panicked and blindly accept suggestions from outside sources without understanding the merits or lack of those for the sake of doing some decisive actions that does nothing to the problem at hand.