If you're an irate left-handed Apple iPhone 4 user, Apple has a bumper for you. Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced in a press conference on July 16 that the company will solve the antenna problems of its latest iPhone by giving owners a free case for their phone.
The iPhone has been a hit with boomers—overall, iPhone sales are equally distributed across boomers, "Gen X" and "Gen Y". And Apple has done a great job of marketing the iPhone to older customers, says marketing consultant Tommy Toy. But the trouble with dropped calls may be a bigger problem for older users who haven't invested in a case or a wireless headset, because they're more likely to hold the phone in a way that causes issues.
Jobs told reporters that the iPhone 4 did have more dropped calls than the iPhone 3G, but it was less than one additional dropped call for every 100 calls placed. He said the additional dropped calls were partially because fewer iPhone 4 users have purchased a case for their phone.
When a "naked" iPhone 4 is clenched by a user in the left hand, it can result in dropped calls. Putting the phone in a case prevents the phone user's hand from touching the gap in the iPhone's steel frame, which also acts as its antenna.
Only a half a percent of iPhone customers have complained of problems, Jobs said. Still, that was enough to warrant Apple making this move.
The problem for many iPhone 4 customers is that cases haven't been widely available. The iPhone 3GS, on the other hand, was similar enough to previous models that case manufacturers were able to get out accessories for it sooner.
The Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler "live-blogged" the event from Apple's headquarters, reporting that Jobs said signal loss problems were common among smartphones.
I ask: Does Apple make people choose between form and function? Jobs says that Apple tries to have its cake and eat it, too. "We are a company that strives to do both."
Jobs said that AT&T would also allow customers to get out of contracts if they returned their iPhones, without penalty. Given how many people are still lined up to get an iPhone, that doesn't promise to be much of a problem for AT&T or Apple.