As what everyone has anticipated, Steve Jobs went on stage to address the Antenna issue (attenuation of signal strength) and also announced a few things that consumers may be happy about. And Singapore will get iPhone 4 from 30th July and white iPhone 4 will be available end-July.
If you think you do not have the time to read the lengthy post. Here is a summary.
Summary
- iPhone 4 available in 17 countries, inclusive of Singapore, from 30th July
- White iPhone 4 will be available end-July
- Free case for iPhone 4
- People can return iPhone 4 for full refund (within 30 days of purchase)
- Software version 4.0.1 available to fix signal and Exchange bug.
- Proximity sensor issue will be fix on next software update.
- Apple provides information on Antenna signal issue
Steve Jobs opening admit that they are not perfect, the iPhone 4 is not perfect and shows (again) the little gap on the circumference of the iPhone 4 that everyone is talking about.
By now, everyone should know that by grabbing onto it, signal strength will drop. However, Steve Jobs is quick to say that this is not a new issue. Many phones suffer from it. The symptom is call Antennagate.
And he goes on to show some test that was conducted to prove the point. BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris, Samsung Omnia II were shown with similar results of signal strength dropping with the “death grip”
To prove the point, Apple has made a page on Antenna with video to show the effect of the death grip on those phones mentioned and also on iPhone 3Gs.
Click Here to Apple Antenna Page
Steve Jobs went on to say that they are an engineering company and spent a lot of money on facilities to test the phone. Below are the facilities from Apple.
Sounds (and looks) impressive, in my opinion. He went on to talk about the complain rate, drop call rate and the return rate of iPhone 4. All are minimum based on the figures.
I guess he knows that those figures still will not make people happy. So, he goes on to announce the new software update yesterday (to iOS 4.0.1)
It is supposed to fix the signal strength (by changing the formula for calculation) and Exchange bug.
Again, he will know that people will be buy that idea as it has been proven that by touching the gap on the antenna, it will drop signal.
So, he finally mentioned FREE CASE for every iPhone 4!
On top of that, people can get refund for those bumpers that they have purchased. And those people has up to September 30th to do the refund.
Steve Jobs also mentioned that there are NOT ENOUGH Bumper casing for everyone (for now, 3 million users). So, there will be third party casing that consumers can choose. They will be updated later on websites.
And they are also thoughtful to know that people might want to return the iPhone 4. Yes, Apple will accept that, provided it is within 30 days of purchase.
Also, if you have been following iPhone 4 news closely, you will know that some have experience proximity sensor issue. Apple will fix that on the next software update.
And for those waiting eagerly for the White iPhone 4, it will ship end of July.
And for Singaporeans, you will be glad to know that iPhone 4 will be available from 30th July, 2010. If you have pre-book from Singtel, you might already received an SMS asking you for color and capacity preferences of the iPhone 4.
And that is it.BTW, the Q&A is quite lengthy. You can follow the source link for it.
Click Here to Watch the Video of the Press Conference
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(source)