The Apple iPhone 4 press conference was held on Friday, July 16, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. PST in Cupertino, California and was attended by invitation only. The conference opened with the spoof video The iPhone Antenna Song which YouTube had featured earlier in the day in reference to recent iPhone 4 events. Several news sources such as the LA Times provided live blogs of the conference, and a blow by blow account of the presentation.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/07/apple-iphone-steve-jobs-antenna-1.html As the conference began, Steve Jobs addressed the claim that holding the iPhone a certain way decreased reception bars. He challenged this claim by demonstrating that the same thing occurs by gripping the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Jobs indicated that less than 1% of customer issues with iPhone 4 had to do with reception or dropped calls and that this is a characteristic of all smartphone technology. The return rate of the iPhone 4 is apparently 4.3% lower than that of it's cousin, the iPhone 3GS.
The Apple iPhone 4 was released in late June 2010 and is the latest issue of the iPhone line. According to Apple, a technological obstacle universal to all smartphones causes the iPhone 4 to read low reception strength while the cell phone feature is engaged. Additionally, users are finding that their calls are being dropped when they hold the new iPhone in a certain way, and speculate that this is due to faulty antenna design. Jobs indicated that the antenna is superior and that the dropped call rate is not significantly increased over previous models. He also said that AT&T is tracking drop rates and optimizing their network accordingly.
According to Jobs, the iPhone situation was blown out of proportion and that part of the problem is users' failure to purchase and use a bumper for the phone. Jobs indicated that Apple will be issuing free bumper cases which can be obtained through application on their official website starting next week. Apple also will be accepting returns of iPhone 4s which were purchased with a bumper, for a full refund until September 30.http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/07/16/live-coverage-apple-iphone-press-conference/
Video: Apple iPhone 4 Recall Press Conference
At a news conference on July 16, 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that it would offer free rubber bumpers to anyone that purchased an iPhone 4. According to MSNBC, Jobs acknowledged that there was a problem with a design flaw in the antenna, but that a hardware fix was not forthcoming. The conference came in response to customer complaints that holding the phone and covering the lower left corner of the device was affecting phone reception.
iPhone 4: What now?
This is a video of a news clip discussing the July 16 Apple iPhone 4 conference. According to the video, Apple is expected to address issues which have been reported with it's antenna reception. The announcement comes just days after Apple has released an update to it's phones' software for developers only.
References
Fast Facts
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A result of consumer dissatisfaction and iPhone 4 recall rumors
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Apple addresses reception and dropped calls with the new iPhone 4
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iPhone 4 is the first iPhone which Consumer Report has not endorsed
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1.7 million phones sold worldwide, with 17 new countries receiving the iPhone 4 on July 30
