How About a Free Case From Apple?

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/07/steve-jobs-free-iphone-4-bumpers-for-one-and-all.ars' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...one-and-all.ars</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"After days of being pilloried for the iPhone 4's antenna problems, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage in Cupertino, California to respond."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1279305669.usr105634.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Image Credit: CNET</em></p><p>And he responded with an offer most won't refuse: a free case or bumper. Starting at the end of next week you will be able to go online and submit your request at Apple for a bumper or another approved case, and if you already purchased a bumper you can apply for a refund.</p><p><MORE /></p><p>There was more to the short press conference, such as the testing Apple did on other smart phones to find similar issues, as well as a Q &amp; A session after the main presentation by Jobs. But the real interesting part for me was on the issue of complaints. According to AppleCare stats, only 1/2 of one percent of iPhone 4 owners had called in a complaint about the antenna issue. And while the dropped call issue was a bit worse for the iPhone 4 over the 3G or 3GS, it still amounted to one out of every 100 calls. Jobs thoughts? Perhaps it was because of the lack of cases, and that when the 3GS came out everyone already had plenty of cases to choose from or had existing cases from their 3G. Sounds plausible, but I also think that once the issue was publicized, people tried it resulting in more dropped calls than there normally would have been, skewing the data. Who knows for sure. All that is for sure is iPhone 4 owners get a free bumper or case out of the deal. You can check out the video of the press conference <a href="http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/100716iab73asc/event/index.html" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;</p>

[tiwahu]

According to AppleCare stats, only 1/2 of one percent of iPhone 4 owners had called in a complaint about the antenna issue.

Maybe people didn't call in because they couldn't get a signal...?

[chascarter]

My iPhone 4 works great. I cannot get it to drop a signal no matter how I hold it, it is the best phone I've ever owned and I have no intention of trying to get something for free just because I can.

[encece]

I get the bar drop...but I've never dropped a call. I'll take the free Bumper...but probably wont use it. I just want them to fix the damn Proximity Sensor issue and I'll be all sorted out!

[chascarter]

Did you try resetting your settings? It worked for me. It was a bit of a pain to re-input the wifi codes and stuff, but it's been fine since.

[encece]

Reset Network Settings...No Good.
Hard reset phone....the same.

Updated to 4.0.1 yesterday and crashed during the process. (First time that has ever happened). But I started from scratch as a result and still not working correctly.

I'll wait impatiently for the next update.

Thanks tho!

[Deslock]

I held off buying an iPhone4 because I was happy with my 3GS and I had some concerns over the fragility of the new design.

I reserved one a week ago thinking I *probably* wanted one (figuring I could always opt not to pick it up). It arrived on Thursday so I had the luxury of getting to hear what they had to say during Friday's press conference before making up my mind. I decided the free case was an adequate workaround for any protection and "death grip" concerns, so I picked it up Friday night.

The screen is absolutely sick. Despite having 4X the pixels, it's even snappier than the 3GS.

[dequardo]

They can't make bumpers fast enough? And Steve is supposed to be a genius? Hmmm.

[Dyvim]

I haven't had any issues yet. I am now occasionally able to replicate the bar drop (at first I couldn't get it to happen), but it has had no real world ramifications for me so far.

I pre-ordered a black bumper along with the iPhone 4 and tried it out for several days but it's not for me since (a) it doesn't fit in the dock, (b) almost no connectors (not even older Apple ones) fit the dock connector cut out, (c) few headphones except the Apple ear bugs fit in the headphone port cut out, and (d) it doesn't fit into my vehicle mount. If they'd just expanded those cutouts by a mm or so, I might stick with it. So, end of story, I was always having to take the stupid thing off in order to connect the phone with various accessories. I now have a Sena ultraslim pouch to protect the device in my pocket and slip it out to use it naked (I've never put a proper case on any of my iPhones, just a pouch). So anyway, I'll be filing for a refund on the bumper.