iPhone 4 Is Apple's Oil Spill

Stains have started appearing on the otherwise white linen of Apple. iPad and A&T email leak was a  major blow to Apple's reputation. Even before the twister of iPad AT&T blunder could have settled down, iPhone 4 arrived with a new set of problems.

If there is a problem, why is iPhone 4 selling so well?
Apple claims that the iPhone 4 is the most successful phone the company has ever sold. Apple's market is different from Microsoft, Google or Nokia market. Firstly, Apple has a cult following. Secondly, the way Apple cripples its latest model, leaving some core features for future devices, ensures the sale of future versions.
 
iPad, for example, doesn't have a camera and many other features found on even the most basic PCs. iPad users will die to get a camera. So, once the next version of iPad is launched with a camera the current iPad users will throw their iPads in the trash can and buy the latest one. So, much of this crazy sales come from that desire to get the basic missing features.
 
Apple has image, competitors have products
Look at Cisco Cius, even if the device is not targeted at home users it has everything that a customer need and features that Apple will add to iPad in the coming years. So, the sales figures of Apple doesn't say much other than the loyal Apple customer's desire to get the latest devices.  It will be interesting to see if the sales drop in the coming weeks or the momentum continues.

Apple has a brand image -- a company which supposedly doesn't compromise with quality.  Recent events have started staining that image. The glossy polish is wearing out, exposing the rough surface underneath. iPhone 4, touted as the best product Apple ever created, has serious technical problems.

The media and blogsphere is abuzz with reports and opinions that users are facing problem with the iPhone 4 reception.
 
Bugs are nothing new and even the most polished product may have one or two minor bugs. Some companies admit and fix those bugs (the way Google fixed infamous Buzz bug), may others try to hide and fix those flaws secretly. A company like Apple which brags about 'quality' and 'value' is no exception.
 
It took several weeks of media and customer protest for Apple to acknowledge iPod Nano's screen problems. Even in that case Apple said it was a 'minor' fault.
 
If there is a bug which may tarnish Apple's stainless image, the company would silently patch that bug without informing customers. What if customers do not install that patch? What is more important – customer's data or company's image?

Apple stands tall on its image, and that image is in deep troubled waters.

Apple is either hiding or doesn't know the truth
First there was a long silence from Apple about this problem. Amid customer complaints of antenna problems, Apple released sales figures of the iPhone 4. “This is the most successful product launch in Apple’s history,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

Was it an attempt to suppress the complaints by sending a message that this problem is non-issue as we are hot selling, or was is a marketing team rhetorical? Only Apple knows.
 
There is a chain of actions from Apple that may upset customers. Steve Jobs reportedly replied to a customer that the antenna problem is a non-issue on the iPhone. He reportedly added that “most phones have this problem when you hold them in a particular way. Just don't hold it like that".
 
This is a very confusing statement. By telling that every phone has this problem it seems Apple tried to brush the dust off its shoulders that its not just us. This is half true. In the history of mobile phones there has never been an outcry like this for bad reception. Mobile companies know that if you cup the antenna you may affect the reception. That is why they protect the antenna from any such contact.
 
Apple bragged about the new antenna design, but that design seemed to be the biggest flaw of this hardware. What was going on in the R&D department of Apple when the antenna design was considered? Why did Apple's engineers fail to see the very basic concept of antennas that it may drop signals if held the way normal people hold it?
 
It doesn't end here, the rabbit hole goes deeper
Boy Genius published leaked reports that Apple is training its AppleCare representatives on how to handle antenna issues, with specific mention of not to promise a free bumper. A loyal Apple customer who spends $1000 every year to upgrade to a new Apple toy neither deserves to know the truth nor a free $29 bumber?
 
How do you feel as an Apple customer who give free publicity/advertisement (worth millions) to Apple by bragging about 'your' iPhone -- showing it off to your friends, posting one iPhone picture a day on facebook -- when you hear Apple doesn't think you should get a free bumber to fix their problem. I don't know about you, but I would feel insulted.
 
Some did feel insulted that is why there is a series of lawsuits against Apple.

Here are the words of wisdom
Finally came words of wisdom from Apple, which may infuriate a serious customer. The statement  looked like a Hollywood script. There was drama, suspense, discovery and if I may steal Steve Jobs words when he responded to Gizmodo story during D8, “I'm sure there's sex in there somewhere. Somebody should make a movie out of this."

Instead of addressing the real problem that script wasted most ink in bragging about how great the iPhone 4 is.
 
The script tried to make it look like a generic and not iPhone 4 specific problem... "gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones."
 
As I said earlier, yes antennas are susceptible to contact that is why 'many' Droid, Nokia and RIM phones are designed in a why which do not affect the reception.
 
Secondly, Apple tried to tell that even if holding any phone in a particular way may affect the signal iPhone 4 does not have this issue. They said the problem is in the way iPhone shows signal strength through bars. So, Apple is in-fact contradicting itself.
 
If the signals of any phone will get affected if you hold it in a particular way, then how come iPhone is not affected by this problem? Does that mean that holding the iPhone in whatever way will not affect the reception. If yes why Apple recommended not to hold the phone in a particular way and to use the bumpers?
 
The next statement looks like an effort to dilute the complaints by stating "At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?"
 
This is an infuriating statement. You go to a doctor that you have a head-ache and the doctor tells you, 'hey we read every day and there are billions are people who are happy and don't have any head-ache. What can explain all of this?'
 
There is a problem Cupertino
The most stunning statement was, "Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong...”
 
A company which wants people to stand in line throughout the night to buy their product, a company which generates billions of revenue from this product is 'stunned' to find a mistake in their formula? This stunning finding not only negates user's complaints but also shows how poor Apple is at investigation.
 
Why do I say that? Listen to the experts who have started probing the iPhone 4, listen to the customers. Customers are not complaining that they see drop in signal bars, they are complaining about call drops.
 
$51 Million addition revenue from antenna mistake
According to Boy Genius report Apple supposedly informed its employees to tell customers:
1. Holding the iPhone a certain way can affect its reception.
c. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 3GS, avoid covering the bottom-right side with your hand.
d. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 4, avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band.
e. The use of a case or Bumper that is made out of rubber or plastic may improve wireless performance by keeping your hand from directly covering these areas.
 
One may argue that these were initial days and Apple had to prepare a response while they were still looking into the problem. Partially agreed. But instead of informing users that there are some issues and this is the suggested solution, Apple instructed its employees to 'coach' users how to hold the phone and recommend buying the Apple Bumper.
 
Apple claims to have sold 1.7 million iPhone 4. If every user has to buy a bumper to get good reception that amounts to $51 million. Loyal customers are expected to shell out more money to fix a major fault in the product they bought. Apple would end up with an approximated additional revenue of roughly $51 million from the mistake that they committed.

The issue doesn't end here. The official statement says that Apple has kinda finished its investigation and found there is nothing wrong with the Antenna. That means there is no fix coming for the antenna problem, as according to Apple there is no fault.

Experts say the antenna is flawed
Third party investigation is needed in this matter. Some reports have started pouring in and experts are in disagreement with Apple on this.
 
Anandtech has pointed out that Apple has disabled a tool called Field Test which one can run via *3001#12345#* dialer code from iPhone 4. "This test on virtually every phone for purposes of debugging the air interface and baseband. Quality metrics like RSSI (raw signal strength) usually in dBm are reported alongside a wealth of other metrics like SNR and even what adjacent towers are visible to the phone for handing off. It's a tool usually buried deep in every phone because the amount of data would overwhelm normal mobile users, but is useful for engineers and curious but savvy users alike to find out what's going on with the cellular network. For whatever reason, Apple really doesn't want anyone running that tool anymore."
 
Why Apple did that is unknown. skeptics me say that Apple doesn't want anyone to know how iPhone 4 handles the signal.
 
Anandtech also proved that cupping the phone actually drops the signal, while bars may show full signal. "So, an entire day and more than a quarter tank of gas later, here are the results. Holding the iPhone 4 without a case, in your left hand, crossing the black strip can result in a worst case drop of 24 dB in signal. As we'll show in a second, how you hold the phone makes a huge difference across every smartphone - and we've tested thoroughly in 5 different positions.
 
Now, there are two vastly different possibilities for what happens to the bar visualization after you drop 24 dB. I happen to live less than one block from an AT&T UMTS tower (it's across the street, literally), and have exceptionally strong signal in all of my house - it's part of why I chose to live here, actually. Signal is above -65 dBm in every single room, in most cases it's at -51 dBm. When I incur that worst case drop of 24 dB from squeezing the phone, I fall down to -83 dBm, which is still visualized as 5 bars."
 
In layman's language it means, yes there is something wrong with how iPhone shows the bars but that is minor, the major issue is it 'does' lose signals, which Apple has not admitted.
 
Apple is successful owing to loyal customers who blindly trust the company. But the way company  handled some issues recently -- (banning Flash and competing Ads) has stained its reputation. Those business decisions, even if unethical, might be ignored considering survival in the market.

This antenna issue is a direct blow in customer's face and trust. Microsoft survived past Vista failure, Toyota is trying to recover, BP's future is floating in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
I wish and hope Apple will survive the iPhone 4 fiasco. What do you think?