Apple Offers Free Iphone4 Cases Due To Design Flaw

July 16, 2010

Apple is offering a free case to every owner of its iPhone4.

Apple boss Steve Jobs unveiled the offer at a press conference called to tackle the ongoing issues about the iPhone4's antenna problem.

The case will help overcome a widely reported issue in which phone signal strength was drained when the phone was held a certain way.

Declaring "We're not perfect", Mr Jobs said reception problems were endemic throughout the smartphone industry.

To get their free case, owners will be able to apply via the Apple website from 22 July.

Mr Jobs said Apple could not make enough for all owners of the phone but would source a supply and offer a range of cases.

Based on retail prices of iPhone cases, supplying one to all three million customers could cost Apple about $180m (£118m).

Mr Jobs also extended an offer to iPhone4 users to give them a full refund if they were still unhappy with the handset's performance. This offer will be available until 30 September.

"They had to do something," Van Baker, research vice president at Gartner, told BBC News.

"The buzz kept getting louder and louder and louder and the evidence kept mounting more and more and more. They just couldn't ignore it."

Brian Marshall, managing director of Gleacher & Company said he did not think the negative headlines hurt apple in the marketplace though he was pleased that Apple took action.

"This has been blown out of proportion and is a media firestorm," he said.

The problem is caused by the steel case of the phone which also houses several of the phone's antennas.

Holding the phone on the lower left bridges the gap between two antenna depleting the signal.Putting a case or "bumpers" around the phone stops this gap being bridged.

Apple had been looking closely at the issue since the first reports of problems surfaced just over three weeks ago, he said.

Mr Jobs said the design of the iPhone4, with a gap separating two sections of antenna, might have contributed to the problems as it perhaps subliminally encouraged people to touch that spot.

In the firm's defence, he cited figures from its Apple Care service arm which showed that only 0.55% of all iPhone4 users have complained to the company about the issue.

"Historically for us, this is not a large number. This doesn't jive with what you read about this problem."

The number of phones returned to Apple was 1.7%, less than the 6% of 3GS models taken back to the shop by their owners.

Mr Jobs also shared data about the number of calls the iPhone4 dropped compared to the 3GS.

This revealed that the iPhone4 drops only one call more per hundred than its predecessor.

He speculated that this was because most people who own a 3GS have a case for it. By contrast, he said, most iPhone4s leave Apple stores without a case.