DailyTech - Apple to Hold 1PM EST Press Conference on Friday to Address iPhone 4 Issues

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Gadgets Apple to Hold 1PM EST Press Conference on Friday to Address iPhone 4 Issues
Brandon Hill (Blog) - July 14, 2010 8:31 PM

46 comment(s) - last by sebmel.. on Jul 16 at 1:32 PM

It's time for Apple to face the music

The title says it all folks. It looks as though the heat has finally got to Apple and they will now try to address the matter head on. According to Engadget, Apple has called a press conference for 10am PST on Friday (1pm EST) to specifically address the issues surrounding the iPhone 4.

The first and foremost issue that is on everyone's mind are the lingering problems with reception on the iPhone 4. Problems were first reported shortly after the phone was made available late last month and came to a head on Monday when Consumer Reports said that they could no longer recommend the iPhone 4 based on the reception problems.

Consumer Reports' Mike Gikas concluded in his blog post, "Apple needs to come up with a permanent—and free—fix for the antenna problem before we can recommend the iPhone 4."

Another issue that appears to be affecting a number of iPhone 4 users is a problem with the proximity sensor. On some iPhone 4s, the proximity sensor malfunctions when the phone is held up to your face causing the screen to "magically" spring back to life and accept touch input from none other than your cheek. This results in calls being put on hold, calls being disconnected, or other contacts being dialed while you're trying to have a conversation.

There is no word on whether Apple will address this issue as well, but hopefully they will.

For its part, AT&T has been giving out free 3G MicroCell base stations to its "Most Valuable Customers" to help resolve reception problems.

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Your still holding it wrong.

By michal1980 on 7/14/2010 10:30:33 PM , Rating: 5

That is all

RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By chick0n on 7/14/2010 10:47:27 PM , Rating: 2

The press conference is about :

iPhone 4 has no known issue. Thank you.

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By quiksilvr on 7/15/2010 9:48:30 AM , Rating: 2

Honestly, do you need a PRESS CONFERENCE for this?

Why didn't they just say this:

"We forgot to put invisible armor coating on our external antenna, please come to our Apple Stores where we will have free antenna coating stations for your iPhone 4 along with a free $25 iTunes card!"

That would have been GREAT PR, you would get customers to your store again (which increases chances) and stimulate your killer app (iTunes).

Instead you took the douche side and didn't even cut the price of your fugly iPhone bumper case. $29? Are you kidding me?

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By quiksilvr on 7/15/2010 9:49:31 AM , Rating: 2

(which increases chances of sales). Cmon, DailyTech. If you don't have an edit feature, at least give us a delete option before people comment.

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By sebmel on 7/16/2010 1:32:44 PM , Rating: 1

I see the psychics are out in force.

For those who don't share their ability to see into the future there's live coverage at Engadget here:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/live-from-apple...

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By Wiggy Mcshades on 7/16/2010 11:16:48 AM , Rating: 2

The whole point of stainless steal is to not let anything bond to the metal. You won't be able to effectively coat the band around the phone because its all stainless steel.

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By xsilver on 7/14/2010 11:16:44 PM , Rating: 3

Or the BRAND NEW release of iphone 4.1 - now with a sticker that says - "dont hold it with your left hand"

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By InternetGeek on 7/15/2010 1:16:17 AM , Rating: 5

I can already see how the conference will go:

'So Mr. Jobs, are you gonna talk to us about the defects in the iPhone 4?'

<hand wave> 'You don't want me to talk about the defects in the iPhone 4'

'We don't want you to talk to us about the defects in the iPhone 4'

<hand wave> 'You will go home and rethink your life and buy an iPhone 4'

'We will go home, rethink our lives and buy an iPhone 4'

<hand wave> 'You will also buy a bumper case and all the accesories'

'We will also buy a bumper case and all the accesories'

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By Quadrillity on 7/15/2010 7:28:09 AM , Rating: 2

LOL! +6

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By Azure Sky on 7/15/2010 9:29:45 AM , Rating: 1

+6, but are you sure the syth can use the jedi mind trick :P

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By mcnabney on 7/15/2010 10:04:45 AM , Rating: 2

Probably even better. Messing with people minds is usually considered an evil trait.

/remember mindtricking a hooligan into jumping off of a platform to his certain doom in KOTOR2. Good times (definitely better than the prequels)

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By InternetGeek on 7/15/2010 1:37:53 AM , Rating: 5

The greatest trick Steve Jobs will ever pull is convince the world the defects in the iPhone 4 do not exist.

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By Mitch101 on 7/15/2010 2:05:49 PM , Rating: 2

We could see the return of "Jimmy Swaggarts" - "I have sinned against you" a brief fake cry then Steve Jobs resorts to the removable thumb trick and every Wooo's and forgives.

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By Mortando on 7/16/2010 10:52:14 AM , Rating: 2

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE PHONE!

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RE: Your still holding it wrong.

By marvdmartian on 7/15/2010 9:33:23 AM , Rating: 2

SJ: "This phone is MAGICAL....you are obviously NOT magical enough to use it correctly.....therefore, the problem is not with my MAGICAL product, but rather with the user, so there is no reason for us to fix what is NOT broken!"

Apple Fanboys: "Yes, yes, it's true, it's true!!"

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Who cares

By dewlim on 7/14/2010 10:54:41 PM , Rating: 5

Shut up and take my money!

RE: Who cares

By afkrotch on 7/15/2010 2:34:19 AM , Rating: 2

Why do they call it an eyePhone?

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RE: Who cares

By mcnabney on 7/15/2010 10:07:40 AM , Rating: 2

I'll tell you after I install it.

/wait for the earpiece...

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RE: Who cares

By inperfectdarkness on 7/15/2010 8:48:50 AM , Rating: 4

reposted, just because i never stop laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7yD-0pqZg

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oh,god!

By xiaoa on 7/14/10, Rating: 0

RE: oh,god!

By mollick2 on 7/14/2010 11:09:38 PM , Rating: 3

The reception issue has been well known for months now...
if your not aware of it by now its you own fault. consumer research ftw.

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RE: oh,god!

By Tony Swash on 7/15/2010 12:34:10 AM , Rating: 1

quote:
The reception issue has been well known for months now...

The iPhone 4 has been out for a month - get a grip dude!

I know everybody here is getting enormously excited about the reported reception issues with the iPhone 4 but you all need to calm down a bit. Wait for the press conference this Friday and we will all see how this thing pans out.

Deep in your hearts you all know that this will probably have no impact on the general trajectory of the iPhone, Apples mobile market share and least of all on Apple's profitability.

Yearning for Apple to fail won't make it happen.

I sympathise because I felt exactly the same about Microsoft and Windows back in the 90s.

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RE: oh,god!

By themaster08 on 7/15/2010 3:58:20 AM , Rating: 3

quote:
Yearning for Apple to fail won't make it happen.

The thing is though, Tony, as much as you may find this hard to comprehend, we don't want Apple to fail.

We want them to change their attitude and downright anti-competitive practices.

We want Jobs to stop acting like the self-righteous, bigoted asshole that he is and give his competitors at least a little respect.

We want them to own up to their mistakes and address them accordingly.

We want them to stop being so authoritarian, thinking they have a "moral right" to protect us from satire and pornography.

We want them to stop thinking that every company wants to be Apple.

The last thing we want is for Apple to fail. They will never fail. They are the reason that Microsoft and so many other companies make such great products (not that their own are not, but you know what I mean).

Competition spawns innovation, and I thank Apple for providing that competition.

quote:
I sympathise because I felt exactly the same about Microsoft and Windows back in the 90s.

Well that was just stupid wasn't it, Tony? It's a good thing we don't think like you then, isn't it?

On another note, I hope you're having a great trip, It sounds like you're having a fantastic time so far :)

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RE: oh,god!

By Azure Sky on 7/15/2010 9:39:35 AM , Rating: 1

this needs a +6, honestly, couldnt agree more.

well other then apple will never fail, I got a feeling they will fail as soon as jobs dies, like last time he was out of the picture.....he may be a tool, but hes the one whos kept apple from failing to date.

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RE: oh,god!

By Tony Swash on 7/15/10, Rating: 0

RE: oh,god!

By semiconshawn on 7/16/2010 1:45:48 AM , Rating: 1

Apple is leading itself into irrelevance anyway. biggest claim to fame is a phone that is now getting beat in sales by android phones and a market share of the os world in the single digits. Jobs is fading and getting wierder by the day. He is an absolute master of the UI but thats it. when he is gone so are they. Nobody will put up with apples draconian bullshit when the 'magic' interface is gone or just not quite so good. I know it you know it and he knows it.

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Oh god

By OUits on 7/14/2010 8:55:25 PM , Rating: 3

This is going to be worse than the Lebron James thing.

RE: Oh god

By JimboK29 on 7/14/2010 9:12:10 PM , Rating: 2

I agree. The media is loving this. According to reports (or rumors) Apple is silently working on a hardware fix.

http://www.threatcore.com

My friend has one and he said it works fine other than dropping a call on the way home from school but that was probably from his location where many people lose connection.

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RE: Oh god

By theapparition on 7/15/2010 8:19:56 AM , Rating: 2

Anything less than a full recall will be a failure in my book. Not that it affects me in the least, though.

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Oldest trick in the book

By bwave on 7/15/2010 12:13:23 AM , Rating: 3

Hey wait, isn't this the oldest trick in damage control? Hold a press conference on a Friday afternoon (1pm EDT) so that it gets virtually no coverage and is long forgotten by Monday morning?

RE: Oldest trick in the book

By Taft12 on 7/15/2010 10:01:26 AM , Rating: 2

If this were a company other than Apple, yes. Instead, a PRESS CONFERENCE is the hottest news on the internet. This is a sad day.

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RE: Oldest trick in the book

By mcnabney on 7/15/2010 10:16:09 AM , Rating: 2

You are thinking about what is commonly called the 'Friday Dump'.

Since this announcement is being pre-anounced I would not count it as such. Now doing it on Friday will minimize the impact of other media outlets griping about whatever Apple is doing.

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Wait

By Goty on 7/14/2010 9:21:44 PM , Rating: 2

What iPhone 4 issues?

RE: Wait

By fic2 on 7/14/2010 9:31:03 PM , Rating: 1

You beat me to it. I thought it was an iPhone user issue. Do you now have to pass a "How to hold an iPhone" test?

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RE: Wait

By afkrotch on 7/15/2010 2:33:54 AM , Rating: 2

Ya, guess the bluetooth problems is also a user issue. Same with the camera problems. All just user issues, apparently.

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Don't count on it

By nafhan on 7/14/2010 11:29:39 PM , Rating: 2

The announcement on Engadget just says that Apple is holding a press conference... If this were any other company, I'd say you were right, but this is Apple the company that tells us signal problems are due to holding a cell phone like a normal person. So, we'll see.

RE: Don't count on it

By bplewis24 on 7/15/2010 12:17:46 AM , Rating: 2

This is going to be very, very interesting. Let's face it, the overwhelming majority of the general public do not know or even have an inkling of Apple's draconian tactics and condescending stance on these types of issues. So, if they come out and admit to the problem, apologize and issue a hardware fix they come out looking golden, albeit with a bit of egg on their face by actually admitting to this severe blunder. For some of us who have closely followed these types of issues, we may feel it's a big disingenuous of them and they are simply doing what they had no choice to do...and a bit too late to deserve any bit of credit for it.

Now, that would shock and silence a lot of the fanboys who claimed there never was a problem to begin with...and I honestly don't think Apple wants to admit to a problem. So, I'm a little curious as to how they will approach this. It could really go either way.

Brandon

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Breaking news

By StephR on 7/15/2010 4:02:05 PM , Rating: 2

1.During press conference:

Steve: Hello everyones! Thank you all for testing the beta version of the Iphone 4! With you support and numerous efforts in telling us the problems, we will release the all new magnificent redesigned phone..... now!

Everyones: :O

Followed by World records sales...

/Loop 1

RE: Breaking news

By bfellow on 7/15/2010 5:18:52 PM , Rating: 2

Steve Jobs: Who the hell is using Wifi. I can't connect to my own conference! Everyone in the building stop using Wifi!

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NO iPHONE FOR YOU!

By Justin Time on 7/15/2010 1:05:58 AM , Rating: 3

You have complaint ?

You are banned for 1 year !

A press conference? Really?

By phatboye on 7/15/2010 3:30:49 AM , Rating: 1

Does anyone else find it odd that they are holding a press conference for a defective phone? Really is this phone that big a deal that all the cable news networks are going to stop coverage on the BP oil spill the war in Iraq or the Haitian relief efforts to cover a defective phone? Any other company would have just made a web site telling people to return the defective phone to the nearest AT&T/Apple store by now. It's a defective phone, not that big a deal Apple give people a refund or release an updated phone and allow a free exchange.

RE: A press conference? Really?

By robinthakur on 7/15/2010 4:32:26 AM , Rating: 2

Calling the iPhone just a phone (whilst true) is a bit like admitting you've been living under a rock since 2007. The press loves Apple, when Apple commented that we were holding the iPhone wrong, it was the no. 1 reported story on virtually all news websites worldwide. This in itself is sad, but I guess this is what happens when the whole world has gone iPhone crazy. Seriously, when i got the iphone 4 upgrade from the 3GS you got used to people just coming up to you in the street or wherever to talk to you about *your phone*. Its all everybody has been talking about for ages at work too, but the irony is that my iPhone isn't really affected by the issue unless i'm in a low signal area AND holding the lower left. You do kind of get used to not touching that part, but at the end of the day, why on earth should you have to having paid for one of the most expensive phones on the market?

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Apple is now distorting time!

By HoosierEngineer5 on 7/15/2010 3:15:37 PM , Rating: 2

Apple believes they are on Eastern Standard Time. Most of the rest of the US is on Daylight Saving Time. Go figure.

Good Game

By mrdeez on 7/15/2010 8:51:58 PM , Rating: 2

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/letterman-joins-th...

Bets

By Ard on 7/15/2010 9:11:06 PM , Rating: 2

This ought to a good one...

I'm taking bets on what's going to happen.

10:1 - They announce the number of sales and the availability of the white iPhone 4.

100:1 - They tell everyone how great the iPhone 4 is and that, officially, you really just need to hold it differently.

1,000:1 - They announce that the iPhone 4 is coming to Verizon

10,000:1 - They give out free bumpers to anyone experiencing problems.

100,000:1 - They actually publicly admit that there's a hardware problem and commit to offering anyone with the problem an exchange for a new phone that fixes the issue.

1,000,000:1 - They announce a recall.

Get your bets in now!