On July 16th, 2010, Steve Jobs gave a rousing speech stating that the iPhone 4 was still the most advanced iPhone ever made, admitted that all smartphones have reception issues when improperly held, and then proudly offered bumpers to customers who have already purchased the newest iPhone.
The details will be posted shortly on the Apple website, and those folks who already purchased the bumpers (sold for $29.99) will be eligible for a refund on the multi color bands that go around the metallic portion of the iPhone 4.
Reminiscent of an ex-boyfriend apologizing for another bout of abuse, and in the style of a South Park episode, Steve Jobs dismissed Apple's serious design flaws on the iPhone 4, all played to a song now known as the 'IPhone Antenna Song".
Now, some people aren't offended by the whole Apple horse and pony show, but if this wasn't a big deal, why is Apple offering the free bumpers? It looks to us like a snow job put on by a company that hates to admit that it allows form over function, and then tries to spin it and make it seem like no big deal, leaving consumers again with an inferior product in a long line of inferior products, and promising that the next update will fix the problem.
Take a look at the history of the iPhone:
June 2007: iPhone released - 66 days later, Apple dropped the price $200, and gave people who purchased the phone before the price drop a $100 iTunes credit. Worldwide users experience reception problems and were advised that it would be fixed in future updates.
June 2008: iPhone 3G released - Users report inferior reception and battery life, and wonder when their phone will have picture messaging. Apple promises that reception issues are temporary, and will be fixed in future updates, along with MMS capabilities - stating that they elected to leave off MMS because you don't need it on a phone with a full email client.
June 2009: iPhone 3GS released with iPhone OS 3.0 - MMS finally realized, but launch of MMS delayed in US due to data issues. Users complain of reception issues and battery life problems - and again, Apple states that this will be fixed on a future update.
June 2010: iPhone 4 released with OS 4.0. Users complain of reception issues, and well, here we are again, with the promise of another fix in September, but this time, you get your choice of color in bumpers to fix...err...to make sure that Apple customers are happy customers.
There might be a pattern here - just maybe.
If you were wondering about the lyrics to the iPhone song found on YouTube - here they are. Enjoy!
There’s an awful lot of hoopla around the iPhone 4 antenna.
When you grip it with the death grip and your call slips away.
The media loves a failure in a string of successes.
The facts won’t ever matter if they can make bigger messes
Sure I can make it happen but in terms of daily usage I’ve yet to drop a call.
So this whole damn thing is stupid and you can call me a fanboy.
I’ve been called worse things but Gizmodo is just ridiculous
Pulling their anti-Apple strings you bought a stolen prototype
Get over it and move on or hey even better: Let’s all sing this song.
But we know you'll stay with the iPhone for the same reason a woman puts up with an abusive boyfriend: Because you love them. Just sayin'.
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