I certainly agree that there was a lot of push-back in their attitude and they definitely seemed very bitter towards at least certain portions of the press, but to be fair Steve did offer an apology to all affected users. He only refused to apologize to investors who took a hit due to any stock price drops during what should not be referred to as 'antennagate' – which I think is a perfectly reasonable stance.

The message I got from Apple today was:

"We do not believe the antenna is broken, the problem with lost signal is just more pronounced with the antenna being on the outside of the phone – if you try really, really hard, you can get *any* phone to do the same thing – with varying results. We don't think the concern over our antenna is warranted and there are too few users that have the problem for us to really need to worry about it. However, we feel the media has blown this out of proportion and to appease our customers and to get the media to stop giving us a bad rep, we're going to do something we said we wouldn't do – give away free cases. Now shut up, take your free case, quit printing lies and leave us alone. No we don't owe anyone an apology."

Given the amount of video and first-hand testing evidence, including numerous examples where data connectivity is also lost completely (e.g stopping Safari page loads in their tracks) I'm going to go with it's not just a bunch of people who love griping about problems.

The post was never meant as any kind of stab at a fellow blogger. It is a stab at HIS TAKE on this issue, not at Dan personally, not at 'a fellow blogger' – just a simple disagreement on the issue itself. Can we grow up a little here? Why does this need to get down to 'go get an Android' level? I disagree with Dan's opinion, and I wrote about why I do. My impression has always been that this is one of the fun parts of blogging. It's not all about agreeing with everyone all the time, not even those (like Dan) whose writing I always enjoy, and who writes for one of my favorite sites.

Saying that you believed there was no issue was based on the quote at the top of the post – where you talked about a media circus with no grounding in reality. If I misinterpreted then apologies and my bad.

While we're on misinterpreting though, you may want to note that I've never bought into the comparisons with Windows Vista, or anything close. I've stated clearly above that I would've agreed with you if you left it at 'it affects a small percentage of users' or even that it is not severe for many affected users. I've always said that the biggest problem was Apple's approach to things, prior to today.

I've certainly never come anywhere near saying that this is a reason not to use the iPhone 4.

As for your questions:

A) I think Jobs / Apple did pretty well overall today, as I said in the post. For my own taste, there should have been a little more humble tone, but it was mostly a good response. It's what preceded it that left the very bad taste in my mouth I guess.

B) Again, I said in the post that they did pretty well. I've never said I think they owe anyone a recall or any other 'bigger' measure – I'd just like to have heard a little more apologetic tone and a little less of the 'it's really no big deal' and the bashing of 'the media'. Even during the Q&A Jobs was pretty stroppy with Engadget over a perfectly fair question.

C) No. I've never said anything about being dissatisfied with the iPhone 4. I've stated many times that I can recreate the disappearing bars issue, but never to the point of dropped or failed calls. You're getting a little close to earning the fanboy tag there if you're starting to argue 'if you don't like it, go get an Android phone'. I happen to like the iPhone 4 tons, think it's a great device, never said I didn't – but I can also point out what I feel is a genuine issue with it, one that affects tens of thousands of users, without suddenly being someone who needs to switch to Android.

Fair enough on agreeing to disagree. I would agree it's been a carnival too. I don't agree on the 30 days issue though. There might well be people who didn't want to return their phone because they like everything about it except the antenna problem. Many may have been awaiting Apple's help and response as well, rather than opting for an immediate return. Some may have believed it was just a software issue, fixable via an update – given that that's what was stated by Apple. I can think of a number of reasons why people may not have returned their phones within the first 22 days. After today, hopefully most will know a lot more about the issue and will be able to make more informed decisions.

So honestly, I dont think at all that its a hardware issue but just an issue of service areas, a persons chemical type and skin as well as the issue that ALL phones create the problem if you try.

Or, im just lucky that I got a phone that works great… But remember, I have a coworker that can make my phone drop bars. Others have tried dropping them on my phone too (PS I work for broadcast news so everyone grabs my phone and tries it) Only 1 person was able to make the bars drop….

So call it what you all will. Also, bring your phone back and get a Droid X if you have a problem. I sure dont!

I won't disagree that Apple did a fair bit to bring this on themselves. In fact I agree fully. Jobs responding to an email with "You're holding it wrong" was just plain dumb and sending out a letter that addressed the software issue and the software issue only did nothing but throw gas on a simmering fire. There's no question that this is a good case where Apple's silence made things exponentially worse to the point that they had to do damage control. That's what we saw this afternoon.

My use of the phrase "this whole episode" was probably misguided but in my mind I was referring to the fact that Jobs was on point when he said that based on what you are seeing in the media one would think that 50% of people (or even 100% of people) are having issues and hate their phones. That simply isn't the case.

"This whole episode" referred to the runaway train that had people equating the iPhone 4 to Windows Vista and it just isn't the same thing. It was not, however, meant to suggest that there is NO ISSUE at all with the antenna but that the reaction, the hysteria, the "omg the world is falling apart" has been way out of whack.

There is no question that there is an issue with the antenna- Jobs even addressed the fact that there is an antenna issue (and way too many people are missing that fact) but it is far smaller an issue than the hype would lead one to believe. Moreover it is an issue that DOES exist in other phones. Is it easier to see it happen with the iPhone 4? Yes… for some people. But the circus would lead one to believe that it is so severe the phone is unusable. It is not.

CR showed the antenna issue. True. (They also sent out direct releases two days in a row to build the hype. Smart of them.) But if Jobs and Co. can show the issue taking place in other phones how is it that CR didn't try to replicate the issue in other phones and share that fact before starting their media tour?

My mistake the other day was to take CR's report as gospel. (In part because I grew up in one of those homes in which their ratings were considered gospel.) When I posted on CR's findings I mistakenly bought into the hype the were consciously stirring up. My mistake. Moreover, at that point I was getting more and more frustrated by Apple's silence on the matter… what I referred to as their "denial game". That game ended today, to my mind, when Steve was direct in his response.

Patrick, you wrote… "Dan seems to think there really is no issue, there never has been one," and then later "… to say there has never been an issue here…"

in response to my having written…

"Finally Jobs said that while there is a truly small minority of individuals who are having a problem Apple still wants to address the issue for those few individuals who have had the problem."

Now you are being sensationalist. I didn't say there WAS NO ISSUE. I said that A SMALL MINORITY RUN INTO IT. Big difference.
And yes, I do believe now that this HAS been way overblown.

Is there an antenna issue? Yes… for some… in some cases… and especially when you are looking for it.

Is it reason not to use the iPhone 4? Not for me… and not for the vast majority of people who have bought the phone and love it. And not even for the people who are still pissed at Apple- but not because of the antenna issue but because their iPhone 4 still hasn't shipped.

And as far as this already being Day 22 of 30. If someone bought an iPhone 4 on Day 1 and they don't yet know if they want to keep it or not- don't yet know if it works for them or not… there's nothing anyone can say or do to make them happy.

So here's my question for you… a few actually.

A. What should Jobs have said today that would have made you happy?

B. What should Apple have done today to have made you happy?

C. So if the phone is flawed… you returning it and going back to the 3GS? Or maybe something Android? Hey– Just Another Android Blog… nice ring to it. 😉

Hi Sebastien
here in Mumbai India, still not touched the iPhone 4. But have been watching the debate from just a logical perspective.

There are somethings which most analysis misses out.
1. This whole reception/antenna thing is a damn fuzzy issue. We are trying to analyze it categorically- flawed or not flawed.
2. There will be I am sure advantages to the open antenna design and also advantages of a covered one. And disadvantages of both too. That there is no one solution that works for all situations is the best way to understand what goes on with antenna designers be it Apple or anyone else. That I think Steve Jobs did well to communicate that there is no perfect solution.
3. Looking at the practical aspect, iPhone users have a choice to use an open design or encased- whether or not Apple gave the bumper free. Then according to situation one can use it either way.
4. I would really appreciate if you can (with your resources) point out all the advantages of a bare iPhone (maybe wifi, maybe when downloading when placed on a desk, in weak signal areas?)…
Then tabulate all the advantages of the encased iPhone (accidental touching etc, avoiding sweaty hands).
5. When we can put advantages of both then I guess we will have a better idea of what Apple is trying to address and has offered. As Apple users, we know they think out their product scope a lot deeper than most others do.

So the best way forward again is to avoid categorical comparisions or statments about something that has many more variables than most of us can imagine. There are way too many gray areas here and to just dismiss the iPhone as flawed will not do it, neither stating that it is a non-issue will.

Saumilzx

Why would they need to extend the 30 day return policy? If you bought an iPhone 4 on launch day and happen to be in small percentage of users who can even replicate the antenna "issue", why would you have already waited three weeks and until an official statement came from Apple before returning your phone to the store? That's ridiculous. At that point, you're making Apple responsible for every individuals' indecisiveness and that's unfair no matter how much you like or dislike big corporations.

Oh, and by the way, Consumer Reports said they couldn't recommend the iPhone 4, but that didn't stop them from rating it the best smartphone on the market: http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100712/consu…

Which one of those items got the most play again? Circus, maybe not…but you have to admit it's been one freaking huge carnival.

Sure you can replicate this on a Blackberry if you wrap your 2 hands around it. Sure you can do this as well on any phone. However, it just takes on finger on the iPhone 4. The fact that other devices drop signal is not an excuse and should definitely not be a benchmark for Apple.

It is a flawed device and Apple didn't have the nerves to admit it. Like I predicted, Apple didn't fix or even acknowledge the problem. All they're doing is appeasing people with cases.

I sure hope the "evil medias" won't be blinded by this BS.

@SebastienPage