Apple knew that the iPhone 4 is flawed

What did we tell you about the iPhone 4? The hardware is flawed.

External antennas are not new or “revolutionary” as Apple and Steve Jobs would like you to believe; and on the iPhone 4, the installation is terribly flawed causing signal reception to drop from two to five bars.

We explained that anything with an external antenna must have an insulating sheath covering the antenna to avoid contact with other objects causing performance to drop significantly. Unsurprisingly, we found out that a Professor who is an expert in antennas and mobile technology mentioned the same thing.

Now, through an apparent leak of an internal document, it appears that Apple actually knew about the flaw and created a procedure to handle customers who call in to complain about any reception issues.

It is revealed in the document that Apple is still adamant that there is nothing wrong with iPhone 4 and will continue telling customers that many other mobile phone ssuffer from the same problem. Also, if you’re hoping that Apple will be shipping the iPhone 4 with a free Bumper to solve the problem, you can forget about it. The document explicitly mentioned that Apple will not give free Bumpers, period.

In a country where you can almost sue anyone for anything (we’re talking about the US here), it might not be long until Apple gets hit with a class-action lawsuit from customers demanding compensation.

This will definitely make for some interesting blogging.

In the meantime, if you’re wondering when the flawed iPhone 4 will hit Malaysia, we predicted it will be here in August and Maxis COO seems to agree.

Head on after the jump to have a look at the leaked document.

1. Keep all of the positioning statements in the BN handy – your tone when delivering this information is important.

i. The iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. Our testing shows that iPhone 4’s overall antenna performance is better than iPhone 3GS.

ii. Gripping almost any mobile phone in certain places will reduce its reception. This is true of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, and many other phones we have tested. It is a fact of life in the wireless world.

iii. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 3GS, avoid covering the bottom-right side with your hand.

iv. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 4, avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band.

v. 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.

[source via source]
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