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By Rob Garretson
Research In Motion and HTC have fired back at Apple CEO Steve Jobs after he used their devices to support his contention that all smartphones suffer the type of reception problems that have created a media firestorm around the hot-selling iPhone 4.
While conceding at a press conference Friday that reception on Apple’s new iPhone 4 can be degraded by the way a user holds the device -- which has its antenna embedded in a band around the outer edge of the phone -- and that the phone drops more calls than the previous model, Jobs insisted that all smartphones suffer the same problem when used in areas with relatively weak cellular coverage. During the press conference, Jobs offered videos purportedly showing similar antenna issues affecting RIM's BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC's Droid Eris and Samsung’s Omnia II.
"Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable," RIM's co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsille said in a statement. "Apple's claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation."
Samsung also issued a statement refuting the contention. “The reception problems are certainly not common among smartphones," HTC CFO Hui-Meng Cheng told the Wall Street Journal. Apple “apparently didn't give operators enough time to test the phone.”
Apple has been plagued with reports of the reception problem since the iPhone 4’s June 24 launch, culminating last week when Consumer Reports magazine said it could not recommend the phone. “We can't recommend the just-released iPhone 4 until Apple comes up with a permanent -- and free -- fix for the antenna problem we confirmed during testing,” the consumer watchdog said.
At his press conference, Jobs reportedly said he was "stunned and upset” by the Consumer Reports stance on the iPhone 4, and he said the uproar over the antenna had been blown out of proportion by the media. Yet he apologized to customers who have experienced reception issues and said Apple will provide a free case to iPhone 4 customers to help fix the problem. The rubber cases, which were previously $30, prevent a user’s hand from touching of the spot on the edge of the device that causes sudden signal loss. Consumer Reports also offered a workaround of duct tape on the sensitive spot.
Neither the free cases nor the indignant responses by competitors are likely to put the iPhone antenna issue to rest completely. Consumer Reports called the case giveaway just a first step, echoing a JP Morgan research note to clients that said the press conference was a “solid first step.” The issue is not likely to go away any time soon, the investment firm added, and Apple still must work to repair its image, as it prepares to report its quarterly earnings Tuesday.
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