New York:
Apple announced on Friday it would give free protective cases to buyers of its latest iPhone to alleviate the so-called 'death grip' problem in which holding the phone with a bare hand can muffle the wireless signal.
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs announced the giveaway on Friday during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, even as the company denied that the iPhone 4 has an antenna problem that needs fixing.
The more than three (m) million people who have already bought the iPhone 4 and new buyers through September 30 will be eligible to receive a new case.
Jobs said users who had already purchased the 29 US dollar 'Bumper' cases would be refunded.
Jobs began the event by saying, "we're not perfect" but was quick to point out that no mobile phone was perfect either.
In designing the iPhone 4, Apple took a gamble on a new design, using parts of the phone's outer casing as the antenna. Phones usually have an antenna inside the body.
That saved space inside the tightly packed body of the phone, but means that covering a spot on the lower left edge of the case blocks wireless signal.
Consumer Reports magazine said covering the spot with a case or even a piece of duct tape alleviates the problem.
It refused to give the iPhone 4 its 'recommended' stamp of approval for this reason, and called on Apple on Monday to compensate buyers.
Analysts have criticised Apple's first responses to reports of reception problems as dismissive, and cautioned that the company could come across as arrogant.
Earlier, Apple said the problem with the phone was primarily a software issue, with iPhones displaying more mobile phone signal bars than they should have been, leaving people who believed they had a strong signal frustrated by dropped calls.
Apple issued a software update on Thursday it said would make the number of bars shown on the phone's face more accurate.
Apple shares slipped 1.55 US dollars, less than 1 percent, to close on Friday at 249.90 US dollars.
However, economic analysts said the company had appeared to have escaped the situation lightly.
"Now on the cost end, sure they're going to give away free bumpers, but at the same time, that's the least expensive solution, in our opinion, the other one was a recall and probably a possible redesign of the antenna," said Standard and Poor's equity analyst Clyde Montevirgen.
"That could have cost the company a lot more," he added.
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs announced the giveaway on Friday during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, even as the company denied that the iPhone 4 has an antenna problem that needs fixing.
The more than three (m) million people who have already bought the iPhone 4 and new buyers through September 30 will be eligible to receive a new case.
Jobs said users who had already purchased the 29 US dollar 'Bumper' cases would be refunded.
Jobs began the event by saying, "we're not perfect" but was quick to point out that no mobile phone was perfect either.
In designing the iPhone 4, Apple took a gamble on a new design, using parts of the phone's outer casing as the antenna. Phones usually have an antenna inside the body.
That saved space inside the tightly packed body of the phone, but means that covering a spot on the lower left edge of the case blocks wireless signal.
Consumer Reports magazine said covering the spot with a case or even a piece of duct tape alleviates the problem.
It refused to give the iPhone 4 its 'recommended' stamp of approval for this reason, and called on Apple on Monday to compensate buyers.
Analysts have criticised Apple's first responses to reports of reception problems as dismissive, and cautioned that the company could come across as arrogant.
Earlier, Apple said the problem with the phone was primarily a software issue, with iPhones displaying more mobile phone signal bars than they should have been, leaving people who believed they had a strong signal frustrated by dropped calls.
Apple issued a software update on Thursday it said would make the number of bars shown on the phone's face more accurate.
Apple shares slipped 1.55 US dollars, less than 1 percent, to close on Friday at 249.90 US dollars.
However, economic analysts said the company had appeared to have escaped the situation lightly.
"Now on the cost end, sure they're going to give away free bumpers, but at the same time, that's the least expensive solution, in our opinion, the other one was a recall and probably a possible redesign of the antenna," said Standard and Poor's equity analyst Clyde Montevirgen.
"That could have cost the company a lot more," he added.
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