Apple on Friday quelled concerns on iPhone 4 ’s signal and response issues , but the company needs to shed its masquerade party of secrecy and be quick in addressing customer concerns before such issue coil out of control , analyst suppose .
Apple will offer complimentary Bumper casesuntil the end of September to facilitate iPhone 4 customer concern about signaling and reception issue , company officials said at a hastily organizedpress conferencein Cupertino , California . The ship’s company is also offering a full iPhone 4 repayment within 30 day of purchase for unsatisfied customers .
Apple CEO Steve Jobs also iterate that there were no design trouble in the iPhone 4 , saying other smartphones have similar characteristics that could lead to reception issues and drops in signal effectiveness . caper charge a faulty algorithm used to forecast the bars representing signaling posture . The troupe this hebdomad released the Io 4.0.1 update with an algorithm to more accurately represent the sign strength .
Holding a last - second press conference to come up to the issue was uncharacteristic , but a good move , analysts enjoin . However , it come too late , and if Apple had take a proactive stance to fix the issue , the press conference may not have been necessary . The smartphone was set in motion on June 24 in five countries , and customer started point out signal and reception issue within a week .
The controversy will not belike affect the iPhone 4 sales , analysts say . Expectations for devices like the iPhone are gamy , and small issues can easily corkscrew out of restraint .
It was late , but Apple take up the right steps in offering spare Bumper cases , said Jack Gold , chief analyst at J. Gold Associates . “ The case is not going to cost them so much money , and it ’s going to keep people happy , ” Gold said . “ It certainly will quell the flame . It still does n’t put them out . ”
Most customers do n’t seem to have antenna or receipt problems with the iPhone 4 , said Jeff Kagan , a wireless industry psychoanalyst . The issue wo n’t affect the party in the long term unless other issues with the iPhone 4 erupt .
Malus pumila ’s customers are emotionally connected with the products , so there are expectations for the company to make “ watertight ” products , Kagan said . A repercussion against a minor problem in an Apple ware could quickly spiral out of control , and the company has to respond quicker instead of staying soundless , Kagan said .
Apple set itself up to take the incrimination with the hype fence the iPhone 4 , but AT&T has to take an adequate amount of inculpation , Gold sound out . “ If the problem was so simple just to give everyone a rubber Bumper , AT&T could have done that , ” Gold say .
While Apple address voice and dropped outcry in the press conference , the caller did n’t address information , Gold said . “ It ’s hard to do data on a phone than it is to do voice . ” amber say . As the signal decrease , data transfer of training slow down too , Gold said .
Apple said it has sold over 3 million iPhones in the three week since the launch . Less than 1 pct of iPhone 4 users have squall Apple ’s support help about sign or response problem , Jobs said . He also point out that the return rate for the iPhone 4 were less than its predecessor , the iPhone 3GS .
orchard apple tree earlier in apublic lettersaid the hardware design was not incorrect , direct to a algorithm flaw in the phone .
Nonprofit publication Consumer Reports ab initio recommend the iPhone 4 as one of the top smartphones , but after testing antenna public presentation , wonder Apple ’s claimsand pulled its recommendation . The publication said the use of Apple ’s Bumper face to mask the antenna could remedy the problem .
