Apple Hosting iPhone 4-Related Press Event This Friday: Reception Issues To Be Addressed?
Some would say "Well, this had to happen." But did it, really? What companies really hold entire press conferences just to address the howling public? Toyota certainly did with their whole "brake" issue, and BP has done the same with the oil mess going on in the Gulf right now. But both of those situations were far, far more significant in the grand scheme of life than a phone that has reception issues.
Either way, Apple has always been a company that values their image, and no other gaffe in recent memory has shaken their reputation like this. Of course, iPhone 4 handsets continue to fly off of store shelves at a record pace, so it's not as if reports of signal issues are really hurting the company's sales figures, but their stock price has definitely slid the past few days and it's just about all that anyone in the tech industry is talking about.
We never found too many signal issues with our own iPhone 4 test unit, but the sheer amount of complaints surrounding the infamous "reception problem" has evidently led Apple to host a sudden press event at their campus in California. It's unclear now just how many outlets have been invited, and there's no published agenda. The only thing that is certain is that the event will surround the iPhone 4. That's it. There's no proof that Apple will address the issue, offer free bumpers to all buyers in an effort to calm the pundits demanding a free solution, or even initiate a recall (highly unlikely).
But it's not hard to read between the lines here. Apple has been dealing with a constant flow of criticism ever since the iPhone 4 launched, and all of that came to a head in recent days with Consumer Reports removing their Recommendation to buy the iPhone 4 after being able to replicate the signal loss issues in their testing lab. In reality, nearly every cellphone can lose signal if held a certain way, but Apple's products are magnified. The good looks better, and the bad looks worse. It's just how it goes when you're Apple.
The real question is this: what will be said? What could Apple possibly say at a press event addressing the iPhone 4? Will they recall the phone? Will they offer to sent out cases to everyone in order to combat the issue? Will they demonstrate in front of the world how to correctly hold the phone? It's anyone guess as of now, but we'll certainly be watching closely when the event kicks off at 10:00am PT on Friday, July 16 from Apple's Cupertino campus in Northern California.
Either way, Apple has always been a company that values their image, and no other gaffe in recent memory has shaken their reputation like this. Of course, iPhone 4 handsets continue to fly off of store shelves at a record pace, so it's not as if reports of signal issues are really hurting the company's sales figures, but their stock price has definitely slid the past few days and it's just about all that anyone in the tech industry is talking about.
We never found too many signal issues with our own iPhone 4 test unit, but the sheer amount of complaints surrounding the infamous "reception problem" has evidently led Apple to host a sudden press event at their campus in California. It's unclear now just how many outlets have been invited, and there's no published agenda. The only thing that is certain is that the event will surround the iPhone 4. That's it. There's no proof that Apple will address the issue, offer free bumpers to all buyers in an effort to calm the pundits demanding a free solution, or even initiate a recall (highly unlikely).
But it's not hard to read between the lines here. Apple has been dealing with a constant flow of criticism ever since the iPhone 4 launched, and all of that came to a head in recent days with Consumer Reports removing their Recommendation to buy the iPhone 4 after being able to replicate the signal loss issues in their testing lab. In reality, nearly every cellphone can lose signal if held a certain way, but Apple's products are magnified. The good looks better, and the bad looks worse. It's just how it goes when you're Apple.
The real question is this: what will be said? What could Apple possibly say at a press event addressing the iPhone 4? Will they recall the phone? Will they offer to sent out cases to everyone in order to combat the issue? Will they demonstrate in front of the world how to correctly hold the phone? It's anyone guess as of now, but we'll certainly be watching closely when the event kicks off at 10:00am PT on Friday, July 16 from Apple's Cupertino campus in Northern California.
