Where Can I Fix An Apple Iphone With Cracked Screen In Alaska

Pardon the produce-heavy language, but Apple is in 1 serious pickle.

The company'south iPhone 4 antenna debacle has quickly spiraled into an all-out PR disaster. Afterward near three solid weeks of customer complaints — all of which were pooh-poohed by Apple — Consumer Reports dropped a bomb on Monday when it reported its hardware tests had "confirmed" a problem with the iPhone 4'southward reception. Apple's stock has already fallen post-obit the news.

"When your finger or manus touches a spot on the phone'due south lower left side — an easy thing, especially for lefties — the betoken can significantly degrade enough to crusade you to lose your connexion altogether," Consumer Reports says. "Due to this problem, we can't recommend the iPhone 4."

Apple, of course, is no stranger to conflict and controversy — hell, the visitor's practically every bit famous for its cocky-righteous ways as it is for its products — but with the iPhone reception consequence, Steve Jobs' team has dug itself into a pretty deep hole. And the prospect of escaping with grace grows more difficult past the day.

Apple's iPhone 4 Antenna Effect: A Trouble of Positioning

The problem isn't so much the iPhone iv antenna result itself; it's how Apple tree has responded to it. From the go-go, Apple's maintained that the consequence isn't with how it designed the phone, but rather with how everyone else is using it.

Take a deep breath.

First, we take Jobs' infamously terse e-mail responses to customers inquiring about iPhone 4 reception problems. One user described the then-chosen "grip of decease" and asked what could exist done; Jobs dismissively replied: "Just avoid property it in that way." That gem of a note was followed by some other classically-Jobsian response: "In that location is no reception issue."

Only it doesn't end at that place. Apple tree soon released its own official response to the matter, further downplaying the idea of whatsoever defect.

"Gripping any telephone volition event in some attenuation of its antenna functioning, with certain places beingness worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone," Apple'south statement said.

("Except that the antenna is not located in a place where people put their fingers on any other phone," it probably should take added.)

Next, the Cupertino company came out with an open up letter declaring that a trouble with the way the iPhone measured bespeak strength was actually to arraign.

"Upon investigation, nosotros were stunned to find that the formula we apply to calculate how many bars of signal force to display is totally wrong," the letter said. "Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than information technology should for a given bespeak forcefulness."

(Consumer Reports says its findings "telephone call [that claim] into question.")

Finally, in the virtually sigh-inspiring move of all, Apple appears to have started erasing threads that mention the Consumer Reports study from its official support forums. Become ahead and sigh. I'll wait.

Apple tree'south iPhone 4 Options

Back with me? All right — so, given that messy foundation, where does Apple go from hither? At that place are actually two basic options:

1. Admit that there's a problem with the iPhone 4'south antenna. By doing this, the company finer confesses that either it (a) was previously lying and trying to downplay the result or (b) got it incorrect and doesn't have a clear understanding of its own products. It's sure hard to imagine a guy like Steve Jobs taking either of those stances.

ii. Keep to flagrantly ignore the issue and pretend, in i mode or some other, that the problem doesn't be. This has been Apple tree's approach thus far. Now, however, given the lab-driven report past Consumer Reports — an independent, nonprofit, highly regarded arrangement — Apple is going to look pretty ridiculous if it continues maintaining this position.

It's a lose-lose scenario; Apple has simply dug itself in too deep to emerge from this unscathed. Even a fix of some sort — be it a full recall or a distribution of free bumper-style cases that'd protect the antennas from direct peel contact — can't get Apple off scot-free, given everything that's transpired.

Now, I'thou fully aware that the virtually devoted portion of Apple's fan base of operations — "Apple fanboys," equally they're known — are fully supportive of Apple tree'southward actions. And that'southward to be expected. Only exterior of that wildly allegiant group, people are starting to inquire questions.

Unfortunately for Apple, I'chiliad not sure there are whatever good answers.

JR Raphael is a PCWorld contributing editor and the creator of the Steve Jobs E-mail Generator. You can find him on Facebook: facebook.com/The.JR.Raphael