The iPhone4 conspiracy: Is Apple trying to defraud customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars?

G'day ATS,

Okay, as you are all aware by now, the Apple iPhone 4 has a major design flaw, illustrated below:



This thread isn't about discussing this flaw specifically, go to this thread for that:

IPhone 4 Dropping Calls When Held Left handed!

Being a conspiracy theorist, I feel compelled to look at the situation from another angle. The first item I'd like to present is this:

Apple announces Bumpers for iPhone 4, gets into the protection biz

During an Apple keynote, it's almost impossible to catch all of the info flooding out of Moscone. One thing we did catch, and then had to search for, was something about "Bumpers."

A quick look at the pages on the Apple Web site didn't seem to show anything until I scrolled to the bottom of the Tech Specs page. Lo and behold, there was a very short description of Bumpers. Available in six colors (white, black, blue, green, orange, or pink), Bumpers slip over the stainless steel edge of your iPhone 4. They come with metal buttons for volume and power and are made of a combo of rubber and molded plastic.

This may explain why we've received several tips over the last few days from people saying that iPhone cases are being removed from the Apple Stores. Bumpers are Apple's first foray into the iPhone case business (a market that has been run by third parties so far), and it will be fascinating to see not only how they sell, but what the reaction will be from long-time case manufacturers.

What is strange here is the lack of publicity regarding this, almost as if Apple didn't want to make a fuss about it.

Apple then released a statement advising its customers (me among them!!) on how to address the problem detailed in the video above:

Apple’s answer to iPhone 4 Reception Issues : Hold it differently

Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

Okay, the second part of the conspiracy "puzzle" can be found in this article:

Apple sells 1.7 million iPhone 4s through Saturday, June 26

There you have it. 600,000 pre-orders have turned into 1.7 million iPhone 4 sales through this Saturday. The Sunday transactions haven't even been tallied up yet, but Steve and company already have another reason to look smug. That total eclipses the 3GS' already phenomenal 1 million units sold over a weekend, and stands pretty much head and shoulders above any other launch the mobile world has yet seen.

For the next component of my conspiracy I'll refer to the updated press release regarding the antenna issue. apparently (and I'm not convinced about this one) the problem is with the software used for measuring the signal, not the antennae themselves.

Apple finally release statement about iPhone 4 reception issues

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

But it seems that this will do nothing to alleviate the hardware (antenna) issues.

Apple Admits iPhone 4 Reception Woes Are Hardware-Related

It’s been like pulling teeth, and it took journalists mailing AppleCare rather than Apple’s notoriously tight-lipped and selectively-responding public relations department, but we have our answer. That iPhone 4 software update will do nothing to fix the reception problems–it is a hardware issue.

Gizmodo e-mailed AppleCare support three times this week and got the same answer every time, which means that Apple has changed their tone ever so slightly. AppleCare representatives confirmed an antenna interference issue when the phone is held near that infamous lower left-hand corner. The software update would only make iPhone 4′s signal meter more accurate, and not fix the problem.

So it seems, all us iPhone 4 buyers will either have to return our phones, or buy the "bumper", which costs £30 in the UK, and mysteriously, is Apple's first foray into the iPhone cover market......what's that? They've NEVER sold iPhone covers/bumpers before?? It just so happens that the first time they do, is after they release a phone that looks like it will require one!!


Right, to summarise:


7th June - Apple announces iPhone 4 release, very quietly prepares to sell the "Bumper" for the first time.

24th June - Apple release iPhone 4, immediately complaints about loss of signal are reported.

26th June - Apple reports the sale of 1.7 MILLION iPhone 4's.

26th June - Apple advises to "hold the phone differently, or buy one of their bumpers.

Bare in mind, the bumpers cost $29, now just taking that price (it's more in other countries), that's potentially 49,300,000 dollars in sales!!!

Now I know, not everyone will buy one, nor will they all buy one from Apple, however, I find the coincidence remarkable.

Are we to believe, that one of the largest tech companies in the world could make such a basic error, and it just so happens they quietly released the "fix" for the problem before release, with little fan fare?

Also this is also quite important:

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula.

Now, the iPhone 4 comes with a 30 Day Money Back guarantee, if you were one of the first to get it, what are the bets that the software update comes too late, and that those who DO wait for it, find out that it doesn't work (after the 30 days has expired). THEN ALL 1.7 MILLION OF US WILL HAVE TO SPEND $30 TO GET THE BUMPER

That's just using the sales figures from the first weekend. Imagine how many millions more have been sold since then, we are talking hundreds of millions of dollars here.

I've heard crazier theories on ATS my friends!

By the way, the phone itself is awesome, and even with the flaw, I'd recommend it to anyone!!

All the best ATS, Kiwi





[edit on 7-7-2010 by kiwifoot]

Consumers are the only ones to blame here.

Everyone prays to Apple like some alien tech God.

They're products are mediocre at best compared against similar devices.

They have been doing this same thing with all prodcuts and services for 20 years.

The best part is that people will recycle their old devices there.

it is like the scene in fight club where Brad Pitt is stealing the fat from the liposuction clinic. Apple is selling people their own fat asses!

Good times.

I'm sorry but if you're dumb enough to buy a first generation product from any company, including Apple, then you deserve what you get.

These phones and all other devices that are "new" and "improved" or are listed as 1st Generation (which the Iphone 4 is becuase of it's new casing, and all new internal design) are test market phones.

Meaning Apple sells 1.7 million, about half or more of those come back with defects. Apple data mines the defects and uses the data to build a second gen device (think Iphone 4GS) which works wonders above the other.

Microsoft did the same thing with Windows Vista.

~Keeper

One of my favorite theories on the iPhone 4... Assuming they've got an antennae or two on the Apple campus for testing purposes, they probably wouldn't have noticed the signal drop during internal testing...

and when they took the phone off-site (like the one that was bought by Gizmodo), they had it disguised in a different case, so they wouldn't have experienced the issue there either!

flagged ...

you are very right sir, this is a real issue !!

they did lie and now are saying that it is a hardware issue!!!


They should do a freaking recall!!!!

plus > DAYS AFTER THE FIRST REPORT, THEY ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WOULD BE HIRING EXPERTS (ENGINEERS ON ANTENNAS) - dont know if you added that


www.engadget.com...

Apple hiring iPhone antenna engineers for some reason

Three Apple job postings for iPhone / iPad antenna engineers to "Define and implement antenna system architecture to optimize the radiation performance for wireless portable devices." All three were posted on June 23rd, the same day that we started seeing widespread reporting of the left-handed reception issues. Coincidence?

reply to post by tothetenthpower


LOL ... iphone 4 first generation? come on ... it is based on iphone 3gs

I dont know how they missed the problem...

yeah, a cellphone that dont have a proper CALL function !! its the customers fault for buying something first generation!! LOL - lets be serious here, you dont make any sense in your argument

big lawsuit incoming for sure ... and I would like to see jobs now

- no I didnt buy, and I never bought an apple product ....

[edit on 7/7/10 by Faiol]

Originally posted by Faiol
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

LOL ... iphone 4 first generation? come on ... it is based on iphone 3gs

I dont know how they missed the problem...

yeah, a cellphone that dont have a proper CALL function !! its the customers fault for buying something first generation!! LOL - lets be serious here, you dont make any sense in your argument

big lawsuit incoming for sure ... and I would like to see jobs now

- no I didnt buy, and I never bought an apple product ....

[edit on 7/7/10 by Faiol]

No, it's still a first generation product, I work in the cell phone industry, I know what I'm talking about.

BASED on the 3GS is the key word there, it's ENTIRELY different than the 3GS...

Anytime a company DRASTICALLY changes the design, function, feature of a device, it's considered First Generation.

And it is the customer's fault. If your dumb enough to buy something in today's electronic market when it first comes off th shelf and expect it to work 100% of the time, you're an idiot.

These are TEST MARKET devices.

That's why there's a second generation of EVERYTHING.

They use consumer failure data to fix the bugs and problems and then release new versions. They can't be sued for something like that either smarty pants.

~Keeper

IPhone is all about image. That's the main reason people by the phone because it makes others go " Oooh you have an...iPhone" ... the salesfigurrs are not true as it was discovered that 70% of iPhone 4 purchases were in fact upgrades...

Reply to post by tothetenthpower

Never bought anything Apple. Never will.

I love my Droid.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

To you it's a "conspiracy", to Apple and Wall Street it's called a "business plan".

1. Make a faulty product
2. Make a product that can fix original fault
3. Promote the fix
4. Profit

There's a sucker born EVERY DAY.

Disclaimer: I'm a happy Motorola Droid owner

I got the first iphone and i was pretty happy with it, but im into the tech thing and i knew what i was getting into with apple. I knew that there would be a new and another new one and another new one on and on and on (just like their computers).
I use my phone to talk, check email and the occasional text. I have no need for 3g or 4g or whatever else they come out with next year. I think it is a fool's race to try and keep up with things like this.
Apple has lost the computer market because no matter how many neat little gadgets they come out with they still only have an 8-10% market on it. You would think people would have used the phone before they started selling it.

[edit on 7-7-2010 by zaiger]