Apple, AT&T Hit With Class-Action Lawsuit

Apple's new iPhone 4 has a front-facing camera, multitasking, and what appears to be an big antenna problem.

Numerous iPhone 4 users have reported that holding the phone in a certain way--specifically, so that bare skin touches the phone's antenna--can interrupt the phone's signal and cause reception headaches.

Although Steve Jobs has told consumers, via email, that "there are no reception issues," Apple and AT&T have been hit with a class-action lawsuit over the iPhone 4's antenna.

According to Gizmodo, which has a copy of the official complaint, the lawsuit accuses the two companies of the following:

• General Negligence (APPLE and AT&T)
• Defect in Design, Manufacture, and Assembly (APPLE)
• Breach of Express Warranty (APPLE)
• Breach of Implied Warranty for Merchantability (APPLE and AT&T)
• Breach of Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose (APPLE and AT&T)
• Deceptive Trade Practices (APPLE and AT&T)
• Intentional Misrepresentation (APPLE and AT&T)
• Negligent Misrepresentation (APPLE and AT&T)
• Fraud by Concealment (APPLE and AT&T)

Handling any phone's antenna while it is in use can affect signal strength, but what differentiates the iPhone 4 is that its antenna is part of the structure of the phone, making it difficult to handle the phone without touching its antenna.

"It's got integrated antennas right in the structure of the phone--it's never been done before and it's really cool engineering," Steve Jobs said at the unveiling of the iPhone 4. "This is some brilliant engineering -- we use that stainless steel band as part of the antenna system." Using a rubber "bumper" case for the iPhone can reportedly resolve the antenna issues.

As ReadWriteWeb points out, a leaked copy of an internal Apple memo instructing employees on how to handle iPhone 4 reception complaints could be damning. "Within its instructions are tips about how to hold the device to avoid touching the antenna and the suggestion to use a case or bumper made of rubber or plastic," ReadWriteWeb writes.

Moreover, Apple has recently indicated that is hiring antenna engineers.

Is the class action suit justified or excessive? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

See users' biggest complaints about the iPhone 4 so far.

Comments

[fairplaystacy]

09:51 AM on 07/04/2010

.07% out of 1.7 Million iPhone4 customers have contacted personal injury attorneys at Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff to join the Class Action.

Could that mean that 99.93% of customers are happy with their iPhone4?

Doesn't look like a good case so far. I mean this is not a life or death issue, like an automobile rollover or an exploding toaster. LOL

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

09:57 AM on 07/04/2010

your dead wrong. it is clearly a life and death issue. people use their telephones when
people are trying to breakin to their home, for heartattacks, and to respond to calls
for first responders, etc. etc. etc. AND beyond that, the live transmitting antenna being touched is an almost 100 year old piece of wisdom which has been discarded without any research on mammals at all. your heart is essentially electrical, as is your brain, and your body is a single piece of connected tissue and bone. wake up

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

10:24 AM on 07/04/2010

When you divide up Apple's 45 billion cash account by your 1.7 million owners you
get a little over 26,000 for each iphone4 owner. Almost all of them will take it and
move on to Android Froyo. Apple will be an also ran, the iphone4 relic in the
Smithsonian in the Hall of Smoke and Mirror collection showing America's greatest
frauds. Apple employees will be discriminated against, unfairly. They will deserve
a second chance after going back to college and learning the ropes

[fairplaystacy]

11:13 AM on 07/04/2010

If you want more than two fans you're going to have to give up the peyoti mushrooms

[Ichor]

09:11 AM on 07/04/2010

Just when hubris reaches its peak, Steve Jobs and Apple learns a Toyota lesson

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

09:59 AM on 07/04/2010

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[JasonMcl]

07:54 AM on 07/04/2010

People are making such a big deal about a phone not being able to be used as a phone. It was a slight mistake and Apple has clearly shown people how to remedy the situation. You just have to hold the phone correctly as Job's is demonstrating here...

http://thenextweb.com/apple/files/2010/07/500x_steve-jobs-full-bars-e1278084376287.jpg

It's up to the users to fix the problem, Apple can't be held accountable for stuff like that. It's just not right.

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

08:35 PM on 07/03/2010

Having glanced at a few Apple threads, its apparent there is a dominant theme which
Apple defenders repeatedly use, copying and pasting it thousands of times. It occurrs
below in these words: "so start talking about all the other phone with the same issues and stop singling out apple"
.

The readers of Apple threads should ignore these commentators
as they appear to be convinced that if they repeat the same nonsense over and over
people will unconscously think maybe there is something to it.

Apple and Apple alone has a touch antenna phone, and that is the issue at hand. The
idea that it has been certified suggests the certification process in this instance
needs to be examined with a fine tooth comb, every dot on every i, every cross of every t.
Was this certification done on the basis of fact, or fiction, without interference
and without temporal pressure of any kind? IT is absurd to be deflected by discussion
of other phones. THE ISSUE IS IPHONE 4 and whether it really is a phone, and whether it really is a clear and present danger to the public.

[Vitorio]

05:03 PM on 07/03/2010

kharma

[fairplaystacy]

11:13 AM on 07/03/2010

Here's your smoking gun - it's ALL AT&T baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlpYhNUJvqk
The phony algorithm goes so nicely with this ad campaign that they've now abandoned...
More bars in more places...like in prison

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

12:10 PM on 07/03/2010

argument by obfuscation is not going to work here. design errors come in all forms and sizes and are as old as the earliest stone axes and arrowheads known to archaelologists. apple's design error goes back to the earliest human beings, and trying to divert the issue away from
the design error won't work. you are just making irrelevant noise. around the world
everyone is waiting to see if the FCC withdraws certifications and demands unconditional
returns without restocking fees. it is the job of the regulators to regulate, and the US SENATE
to investigate where, when, and why it fails to do so in a timely manner in the protection
of the public. the real question is where to bury the iphone4. does Cupertino have a city dump that can handle it?

[fairplaystacy]

12:44 PM on 07/03/2010

Oh please you have no idea if AT&T is totally liable for the chunk of code that calculates reception. If there's an agreement in place between AT&T and their carriers that indemnifies the phone manufacturers for defects in code that may be 100% AT&T Intellectual Property Apple is in the clear. The news coverage at this point favors Apple in this issue. You're the one obfuscated with your primitive analogies ( no pun intended ) join the 21st century. We have laws, contracts, rules of evidence and damning AT&T TV Ad campaigns.

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

07:51 PM on 07/03/2010

(((join the 21st century))))

Apparently you are in the dark about the fact that the FCC is led by an appointee who promised he would have an open FCC and that it would make decisions that were fact based; and yet they certified in total secrecy a phone which does not, according to Apple itself, accurately represent signal strength. What about other measures on this phone, especially the touching of a hot node during transmission and reception? Are
they more accurate? Can children hold these phones in their hands for hours playing online games safely? Can people with pacemakers? Who is fooling who?
It is amazing this 21st century people are subjected to the marketing of dangerous
products made in China; the current administration is obviously not doing its job
to reign in the special interests.....such as the Apple Lobby....and their influence on
the FCC. the problem is not only not solved, its just starting....

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

12:55 AM on 07/03/2010

In a famous interview Richard Nixon was asked if he had ever himself been in the Watergate, to which he replied 'never, i was never inside at all....(pause) others were...(pause) unfortunately"

Nixon of course was at the top of his game looking forward to a second term when he disasterously threw away the Constitution, and then engaged in a coverup which was
taped and ended the good fortune for himself and many others.

Apple likewise is at the top of its game, and has made an extraordinary blunder in
the design of its flagship product. Now it is engaged in an extraordinary coverup
of that blunder.

The truth of course is that a telephone is a serious matter for most people, and a smart
phone with its diverse capabilities and uses even more so. Apparently Apple thinks
otherwise, and that its blunder and coverup will not have serious consequences for
its clients or for itself.

The parallel of antennagate to watergate is alarming and subtle. What both have in common
is the arrogance of power and the use of overt deception. It will be interesting to see
if a secretive quarter of a trillion dollar company with tentacles in the major media can
do what Nixon couldn't, namely get away with being a total crook. One has to wonder
why the FCC has not stepped in and reversed its certification?

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

01:18 AM on 07/03/2010

What is bothersome to a great many people is that VP Laurete Gore is on the Board of the company now engaging in the coverup of its fraud, and that is hardly a tenable position to be
in when the fraud involves the RELIABILITY of a device which has vital and enormous consequences across a wide range of situations too vast to even iterate here. If he is going along with the coverup he should state this, or resign. It is the July 4th, a reminder to everyone of a time when real men showed there abhorrance of the use of arrogant power.

[fairplaystacy]

12:50 PM on 07/03/2010

ha ha shouldn't your tin foil hat be pointing west to pick up the best conspiracy theories.

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

06:04 PM on 07/03/2010

You post 'rule of law' pontification, and then name call like a 3 year old in a freenzy
when it suit you. Truth is what everyone on the planet is wondering about now is not
only Apple's admission it was asleep about misrepresenting signal strength from iphone one day one, but the fact that the FCC was also asleep. Shouldn't the congressional oversight committee call immediate hearings to find out how it has been certifying the phones of the most valuable technology company in the world? Who
is responsible for allowing such a massive fraud to have occured, for having
certified all these phones. Given this failure its patently clear to the entire scientific community that the FCC certification of the new iphone antenna design requiring
hours of touching of a hot node, including children, is deeply suspect. What is necessary now is a CEASE AND DESIST ORDER for all importantion and sales, and a full unconditional refund without restocking fees. Who is going to buy such a phone but the uninformed, the thick, and employees of companies which buy more than one.
IT is the job of the FCC to wake up and take action ASAP.

[cheetahpea]

08:16 PM on 07/02/2010

Humans should NEVER come in contact with the antenna while the phone is active. Doing so exposes the user to much more magnetic radiation than would otherwise be the case. This is a dangerous and possibly life threatening design. Horrible decision by the engineers and Apple. It must be changed before the public exposure becomes immense.

[Mr Lebowski]

12:56 AM on 07/03/2010

Face it, there isn't any connection. It's your roll.

[goodog]

02:36 PM on 07/02/2010

As it turns out, the iPhone never had a particularly strong signal in the first place.

"Apple Inc. said Friday that it was 'stunned' to find that its iPhones have for YEARS been using a 'totally wrong' formula to determine how many bars of signal strength they are getting.

"Apple said that's the reason behind widespread complaints from users that the latest model, iPhone 4, can show a sudden plunge in signal strength when they hold it in a way that covers a small black strip on one edge of the phone.

"...the phone can wrongly display four or five bars of signal strength when it shouldn't, Apple said. 'Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place,' the company said in a statement to users."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/07/02/financial/f055210D98.DTL

So Jobbo wants to explain away sudden call-ending drops in signal strength by suddenly discovering that Oops... we were reporting exaggerated signal strength all along anyway?

What is this, some kind of plea deal, copping to a lesser charge, once the class action law suit pops up?

"No, no... you're not losing signal strength! And we can prove it. You never had it in the first place!"

Good job, Jobbo.

[Mydian01]

08:41 PM on 07/02/2010

consumer reports doesnt seem to think its such a big deal http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2010/07/apple-iphone-4-antenna-problems-dropped-calls-att-signals-bars-os-software-bugs-glitches-os-os4-iphone4-reception-problems-in.html

and i trust them way more than i trust you, or any limited blogger you could quote.

[planetarywisdom2ndround]

02:28 AM on 07/03/2010

The repeated citation of something from consumer reports indicates nothing at all
and the promotion of it even less. It is not a research report at all but simply selective
quotes, a mashup of a few lines out of context. When seen in context, a rather different point emerges. In any case, its perfectly clear the author of the report does nothing more than copy and paste. Totally worthless.

[The Dude67]

02:47 PM on 07/03/2010

And you trust them more than real world customers?

[fairplaystacy]

01:02 PM on 07/02/2010

LOL - Class Action lawsuit was premature, there will be NO WAY for the lawyers to get the money back that they've already spent. This is so laughable. The problem was an algorithm and cosmetic in nature...and can totally be remedied by a software upgrade. What a knee-slapper...for everyone except Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff aka Dewey, Blohart & Howe

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html

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. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

[mlambush]

01:56 PM on 07/02/2010

Yeah, that's what Apple says. Not everyone shares that assessment.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20009328-260.html

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

[Mydian01]

08:42 PM on 07/02/2010

and not everybody agrees with your assessment.. like consumer reports, they seem to like the iphone 4, signal issues or not http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2010/07/apple-iphone-4-antenna-problems-dropped-calls-att-signals-bars-os-software-bugs-glitches-os-os4-iphone4-reception-problems-in.html
and this is consumer reports were talking about, there is no more trusted name out there.. anywhere.

[CapsFan78]

09:00 PM on 07/02/2010

From the Anandtech article:

"From my day of testing, I've determined that the iPhone 4 performs much better than the 3GS in situations where signal is very low, at -113 dBm (1 bar). Previously, dropping this low all but guaranteed that calls would drop, fail to be placed, and data would no longer be transacted at all. I can honestly say that I've never held onto so many calls and data simultaneously on 1 bar at -113 dBm as I have with the iPhone 4, so it's readily apparent that the new baseband hardware is much more sensitive compared to what was in the 3GS. The difference is that reception is massively better on the iPhone 4 in actual use.

It's amazing really to experience the difference in sensitivity the iPhone 4 brings compared to the 3GS, and issues from holding the phone aside, reception is absolutely definitely improved. I felt like I was going places no iPhone had ever gone before. There's no doubt in my mind this iPhone gets the best cellular reception yet, even though measured signal is lower than the 3GS."

And don't pretend that the iPhone is alone in reception problems:
Nexus One: http://gizmodo.com/5445324/the-nexus-ones-3g-problem-pt-ii-the-damning-data

And Apple isn't the only one to advise their users on where not to touch the phone to impact reception: http://support.sprint.com/global/pdf/user_guides/htc/evo/htc_evo_ug.pdf Check page 169

[DRaymond]

05:06 AM on 07/03/2010

The number of bars may be cosmetic in nature, but in practice it represents a marketing claim, in effect that your phone is picking up twice the signal than the phones from other manufacutrers that are correctly showing two bars instead of four. People compare bars in stores when making purchasing decisions and they compare bars with fellow users of the same network.

[fairplaystacy]

10:28 AM on 07/03/2010

ha ha

[The Dude67]

12:27 PM on 07/02/2010

It gets even better... Those bars you are losing, they weren't really there to being with.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/apple-iphone-4-reception-problems-a-software-issue-fix-coming/

[Mydian01]

11:23 AM on 07/03/2010

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2010/07/apple-iphone-4-antenna-problems-dropped-calls-att-signals-bars-os-software-bugs-glitches-os-os4-iphone4-reception-problems-in.html

[The Dude67]

01:04 PM on 07/03/2010

What's your point? If there is no antenna problem, then why is there an antenna problem?

[JEFF N]

11:40 AM on 07/02/2010

I think the biggest problem Apple has right now is Jobs going around denying the problem and blaming us for the way we're holding our phones

[Mydian01]

08:44 PM on 07/02/2010

there is that, but according to consumer reports, the issue is being blown way out of proportion, by the kind of dill-holes that come here and talk shite without ever actually using one.

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2010/07/apple-iphone-4-antenna-problems-dropped-calls-att-signals-bars-os-software-bugs-glitches-os-os4-iphone4-reception-problems-in.html

[fairplaystacy]

10:29 AM on 07/03/2010

exactly

[nowpolitics]

11:05 AM on 07/02/2010

Apple response to this problem is very appalling:
"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. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength."

1. They are admitting that they willfully faked the signal strength to fool the user into thinking that he actually has good reception when in FACT he does not.
2. If the algorithm used to calculate the signal strength gets updated via a software fix, how does that improve reception on the device that is marred by the holding pattern
3. At the launch of the iPhone, Steve Jobs talked about the availability of the 'bumper' to protect the phone. The design of the 'bumper' will also eliminate the antenna issue. Could it be that the real reason it was designed was because Apple knew of the antenna issue ahead of the launch but decided to launch the iPhone anyway?
4. What will it cost Apple to simply hand out free 'bumper' to all iPhone 4 owners? This would have made it harder to attract a lawsuit.

[fairplaystacy]

01:04 PM on 07/02/2010

It's AT&Ts signal algorithm, reading comprehension is a wonderful thing...
"To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display..."

[nowpolitics]

03:13 PM on 07/02/2010

No my dear, AT&T are not the engineers at Apple that develop the signal strength display on iPhone 4. They are going to now adopt AT&T's recommended algorithm which they obviously did not use before now. Who needs a lesson in reading comprehension here?

[proudly-moderate]

10:09 AM on 07/02/2010

July 2, 2010 - Apple, Inc. has issued a letter to the public discussing the "antenna issue".

Go to: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html

[proudly-moderate]

10:29 AM on 07/02/2010

Apparently, some emails passed around "written by Steve Jobs" were fakes...

Go to : http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/07/01/apple-pr-steve-jobs-iphone-4-conversation-is-a-fake/

[Mydian01]

08:46 PM on 07/02/2010

people hate apple that much, even when i hated microsoft with all my soul, i never thought about faking something just to make myself feel better about that hate.. i got over it, and never defamed anybody.. its sad these people are like this.. i pity them sometimes, when im not trying to tell them their hate is irrational and obsessive.

[SickHippie]

04:58 AM on 07/03/2010

The original site posted up screenshots of the emails with full headers - from what I know about DNS and email routings, they look pretty legit. Of course, anything can be faked - just like anything can be denied. Interesting side note, the guy in question uses Google Apps for Domains for his email - so Google actually knows if they're real or not.

[jgeurian21]

10:51 AM on 07/02/2010

Hilarious that the new iPhone actually gets worse signal they it reports. Not quite sure how a software update lowering the signal bars with a new formula is going to fix the antenna issue.

[The Dude67]

12:30 PM on 07/02/2010

It won't, but they hope it will fix the legal issue, which is all they care about.

Remember, Jobs has a long history of saying: no one is forcing people to buy his products.

[fairplaystacy]

01:08 PM on 07/02/2010

clearly you don't know what you're talking about.

There is no antenna problem. There is a software signal algorithm miscalculation problem.

Someone buys an apple from you for a $1, but gives you a $5 bill. You in turn give them $7 back. Is there a problem with you? the apple? or the customer? The problem is with the calculation used to determine how much change to give the customer.

Fix the calculation and you've fixed the problem.

[Abdi S]

09:15 AM on 07/02/2010

I hate people who defend apple or any corperate company that can do more harm to the consumers. I like apple products but I hate dealing with customer service when your computer or iphone is not working, and that piss me off though. I mean the customers have the right to file lawsuit.

[Mydian01]

08:47 PM on 07/02/2010

speaking of consumers and consumer rights.. consumer reports has an article about the iphone 4 and the signal issue.. its an interesting read. and this is consumer reports, the most trusted name in consumer product testing and reporting.

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2010/07/apple-iphone-4-antenna-problems-dropped-calls-att-signals-bars-os-software-bugs-glitches-os-os4-iphone4-reception-problems-in.html