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The iPhone 4 "Bumper Conspiracy"

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posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 02:44 PM
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[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6086b8c1f316.jpg[/atsimg]

Conspiracy time!

ATS Team, reliable sources tell me that right now there's a sinister conspiracy going on in the world of consumer electronics. It involves Apple Inc. and their new iPhone, the much talked about iPhone 4. The iPhone 4 was introduced by Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs at WWDC on June 7, a presentation plagued by bad WiFi connectivity. The WiFi problems were interesting (and of course funny) but more interesting was the fact that Mr Jobs also introduced "bumpers" for the phone, an Apple Inc. first. A bumper is a rubber thingy used to protect the phone from damage if you drop it, think of bumper cars.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5593272060d7.jpg[/atsimg]

Not long after the iPhone 4 was released on June 29th people started reporting having reception problems. Consumerreports.org have since confirmed that when your hand touches the lower left portion of the phone you loose signal strength. However, covering the region with a piece of tape "or a thick non-conductive material" i.e. bumper will fix the problem. Is this mere coincidence? I think not. I believe Apple Inc. knew about the antenna problem but took a gamble that people would use bumpers. The iPhone 4 is an elegant piece of hardware and in my experience most Apple users are somewhat anal retentive, this makes the scenario very probable in my opinion.

Apple Inc. are claiming that this is a software display issue and that reception is not really affected, this is clearly a smoke screen and the upcoming "solution" will only mask the problem. What are your thoughts on this pressing matter?



WWDC 2010 Keynote

Consumerreports.org iPhone 4 test

Apple Inc. official response on the antenna issue

[edit on 12-7-2010 by cripmeister]



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 02:50 PM
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reply to post by cripmeister
 





Apple users are somewhat anal retentive


Star and flag for that comment alone because I agree whole heartedly, but I don't believe that there's a bumper conspiracy here.

The iPhone 4 has a beutifull glass front AND BACK! that a lot of people won't want to cover up with a conventional protective case so bringing out a "case" that only covers the bit that you don't mind hiding makes a lot of sense. It's probably pretty effective too as I can tell you that I've dropped a lot of phones over the years and it's weird that they always seem to land on the part that this bumper would cover.

Just like my toast always lands butter side down. Hmmm

EDIT: The iPhone 4 may have reception issues but the good news is that it also blends, which may or may not be a handy thing to know for all of the frustrated iPhone 4 users out there.




[edit on 12-7-2010 by RMFX1]



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 03:10 PM
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reply to post by RMFX1
 


You're rationalizing something that is clearly a conspiracy. Please review the data once more, I think you will find that the dots are clearly connected



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 03:18 PM
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reply to post by cripmeister
 


I think that you are also missing a trick here and I'm dissapointed because it should be very obvious to anyone that having a bumper around the sides of your iPhone 4 will not only make you feel more of an individual, it will also make it easier to grip the rubber as oppsed to the slippery metal surround that it ships with. That means that you will be far less likely to drop your phone and that you will be able to take it out of your pocket easier.

It's genius.



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 03:36 PM
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reply to post by RMFX1
 


No I think you're missing the key point in all of this, I consider it the "smoking gun". The new bumpers were part of the WWDC 2010 iPhone 4 Keynote, now that's big! The bumpers are important to Apple Inc. otherwise they would never have included them in the Keynote. Now why would a piece of rubber be so important to a giant like Apple Inc?

[edit on 12-7-2010 by cripmeister]



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 03:37 PM
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this was already posted

but, it is a conspiracy, hardware problems ... and they dont want to do a recall!!



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 03:40 PM
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I would have to agree with the OP on this one.

The Antenna position on the iPhone is the problem and a software update will not fix anything.

Apple even said themselves that the phone does have reception issues.

Here is a article of a study done by an independent consumer report company and their verdict was to NOT buy an iphone 4 until apple fixes HARDWARE issues.

www.fonearena.com...

But you know apple fans, they can't accept that the iphone may not be up to par at the moment so they will still buy them and deal with all of the problems while bragging to their friends how perfect the iPhone is compared to their phones



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 03:46 PM
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I work for Telstra (largest telecommunications company in Australia) and i would never buy an iphone period, we always have the iphone reps coming in talking about the planed obsolescence of there iphones (usually being 12-18 months) and the deliberate nature to have the first model of a series have problems/bugs so they can bring the next one out "without" that bug and get more sales.


As they always say there is no point bringing out a model that will last a long time or one that doesn't have any bugs or else no one would ever buy the next model. There will always be problems with any model of iphone because thats how they are designed, to get that rotating door type of consumer, the shorter period of time they last, the more of them you will have to buy ... simple as that. The reps laugh about it all the time.

[edit on 12/7/10 by King Loki]



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 04:12 PM
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building an item that lasts isn't conducive to selling more units. it is the goal of big business to create consumer demand.

sure, big business plots incessantly to part consumers from their heard earned money, and for the most part it's legal. so technically no conspiracy.

buyer beware.

perhaps aggressive marketing should be illegal. radio and television might be tolerable without someone constantly browbeating the public into buying crap they don't need.

in order for a conspiracy to exist there must be more than one individual participating in or plotting a crime. the nature of business is exploitation. the true crime being that it is usually done within the letter of the law.

it isn't a crime to be stupid. a fact which is undoubtedly capitalized upon.

waaaiiiit a minute... is this thread an apple ad?




posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 04:26 PM
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Good topic, I kind of thought about this idea too, it does seem quite a coincidence. It does put a dent in their reputation to be manufacturing such obviously defective goods though, that's the only thing that doesn't make me all out embrace this idea. On the other hand though, the Cult Of Apple ensures a lot of customers for whatever they put out.

Something else I find interesting is the whole thing of not allowing Flash on the iPhone. Jobs and co's excuses didn't really ring true to me. I think it's more likely that they don't allow Flash, because that would allow many people to bypass the App Store for things like games. Why pay $$ for a crappy game from the App Store, when the web is full of crappy Flash games you can play for free?


[edit on 12/7/2010 by harpsounds]



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 04:49 PM
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I think your theory is very plausible. Lord knows Apple doesn't have a strong track record of creating gadgets which lend themselves to any sort of repair or hardware modifications. It could very well be that they took a negative from the FCC's rule about antena placement being as far away from the user's brain as possible, and turned it into an opportunity to make more money.

IMO, a class action lawsuit forcing these bumpers to be provided to owners free of charge should be in the works over this. They developed a crappy product.



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 05:35 PM
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PC world sugests Apple may have to eat the cost and send every owner a free bumper case. This looks like the cheapest solution for them. I do see it hurting sales of the many many websites that sell rubberized cases for smart phones, but thats about all.

www.pcworld.com...



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 05:46 PM
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Thanks for the replies people


[edit on 12-7-2010 by cripmeister]



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 06:22 PM
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This is a "pressing matter?" you make it sound like they installed spy stuff to listen to phone convos. So what they made something that doesnt work Ive used windows for over a decade, how is this news?



posted on Jul, 12 2010 @ 11:30 PM
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reply to post by harpsounds
 




Good topic, I kind of thought about this idea too, it does seem quite a coincidence. It does put a dent in their reputation to be manufacturing such obviously defective goods though, that's the only thing that doesn't make me all out embrace this idea. On the other hand though, the Cult Of Apple ensures a lot of customers for whatever they put out.


I believe they became aware of the reception issue when it was too late and decided to gamble it and lie obviously. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[edit on 12-7-2010 by cripmeister]



posted on Jul, 15 2010 @ 09:29 PM
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*UPDATE*

Evidence is mounting that Apple Inc. knew about the antenna issue prior to launch.



Bloomberg.com

Apple Inc.’s senior antenna expert voiced concern to Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs in the early design phase of the iPhone 4 that the antenna design could lead to dropped calls, a person familiar with the matter said.

Last year, Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert, informed Apple’s management the device’s design may hurt reception, said the person, who is not authorized to speak on Apple’s behalf and asked not to be identified. A carrier partner also raised concerns about the antenna before the device’s June 24 release, according to another person familiar with the situation.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.



posted on Jul, 15 2010 @ 10:16 PM
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reply to post by cripmeister
 


i think the conspiracy is the wussiness of the bumper color choice.



posted on Jul, 15 2010 @ 10:21 PM
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Originally posted by harpsounds
Good topic, I kind of thought about this idea too, it does seem quite a coincidence. It does put a dent in their reputation to be manufacturing such obviously defective goods though, that's the only thing that doesn't make me all out embrace this idea. On the other hand though, the Cult Of Apple ensures a lot of customers for whatever they put out.

Something else I find interesting is the whole thing of not allowing Flash on the iPhone. Jobs and co's excuses didn't really ring true to me. I think it's more likely that they don't allow Flash, because that would allow many people to bypass the App Store for things like games. Why pay $$ for a crappy game from the App Store, when the web is full of crappy Flash games you can play for free?

[edit on 12/7/2010 by harpsounds]



well, i disagree. i've utilized a resource indicator when i engage flash applications and you can see that the cpu and ram usage is way out of proportion compared to other apps. i know this is anecdotal, but i firmly believe that apple's war with flash is sincerely about a proprietary, poorly-constructed resource hog of an application that is prevalent on a network where the means exist to not need proprietary "thru-software."



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