(Adds that one Steve Jobs email was faked and that Apple has pledged a software “fix.”)
Apple may see no serious issues with the iPhone 4′s reception, but several plaintiffs’ lawyers have stepped forward to disagree.
Notwithstanding a number of emails from Apple chief executive Steve Jobs urging disgruntled buyers to keep calm and stay tuned–implying a software amelioration is in the works–customer lawsuits seeking class-action status have begun to hit the courts. A typical entry, filed in Maryland, accuses both Apple and sole US iPhone carrier AT&T of negligence, breach of warranty, deceptive trade practices and “fraud by concealment”.
The suit was brought by two Maryland customers who say holding the iPhone 4 in a standard way dropped calls and data connectivity, leaving them “with a device that cannot be used for the normal purpose and in the normal manner”.
Apple’s ads had touted improved reception and showed users holding the phone in the same way the frustrated buyers did, the suit says.
Additional ammunition comes from a leaked customer-service document that instructs Apple representatives not to offer warranty services and instead argue that all phones have reception problems when held in certain ways.
In recent reported emails to complainers, Mr Jobs urged recipients to remain calm. (Apple said the one in which he allegedly told a buyer to “relax” and that it’s “just a phone” was fake.)
But the fix the company offered Friday will only show how bad the signal really is, not change the reception.
