Hmm..so the announcement of handing over free cases to every iPhone 4 user has been warmly greeted by everyone. But do you know what Apple went through, all this while, since the launch of the iPhone 4 three weeks ago? Here's a glance...
Since the day the iPhone 4 hit consumer hands, the reports of its flaws started attacking Apple Inc. There were problems with the screen (yellow patch on the screen), proximity sensors going nuts, and then the most famous of 'em all - the "death grip" (antenna issue). After 22 days of turmoil and Apple engineers "working their butts off", they decided to make everyone (or at least most of them) happy by providing free bumpers/cases for iPhone 4. The main reason for all the problems? "Physics", according to Mr. Steve Jobs.
Apple claimed that the left-handed "death grip" issue is not a unique one, and certainly not only an Apple-specific one. They claimed that other leading handsets like BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris, and Samsung Omnia II faced the same bar-dropping problem, and that "phones aren't perfect."
Steve also went on to argue that only 0.55% of the iPhone 4 population actually called AppleCare to complain about the antenna issue, and that the number of phones returned are just 1.7% compared to 6% returns of the 3GS (although he did admit that there was a slight increase on the number of dropped calls compared to the 3GS).
There was another reason (excuse?) for this. Steve claimed that the reason 3GS suffered no such issues was 'cause the 3GS users could use the same case they had from the 3G as their design had no change at all, whereas for the iPhone 4, the new design meant new cases, which left consumers with a naked-nightmare. And by the time everyone could purchase a case/bumper for their iPhone 4, the problems started to appear and began getting noticed. And the fact that there was a shortage of cases, resulting in a crazy price tag on them did not help Apple's cause.
To sum up, this has been a roller coaster ride for Apple and despite its attempt to satisfy a large chunk of consumers by providing free cases for their iPhone 4, they are yet to win back that confidence from people which they previously had. And surely, giving unwanted publicity to RIM (BlackBerry Bold 9700), HTC (HTC Droid Eris), Samsung (Samsung Omnia II), and Nokia will not earn Apple any more friends.
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