This is Gizmodo's liveblog for the Apple Surprise iPhone Event on 7/16. Here are some other quality liveblogs: gdgt, Ars Technica, Wired, NYT, and Apple Insider. Check Gizmodo.com for more news after the liveblog's complete.
Jason Chen:
Good morning!
7:59 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Unlike normal Apple events, where people are eagerly excited and waiting to see what's coming next, this one involves a product that in people's hands. In short, iPhone 4 users are going to be refreshing liveblogs like mad to see what the announcement is.
7:59 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
As always, head over here to leave your comments.
8:04 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
OH! I didn't mention that we also have Liveblog Lotto, where one lucky reader can win a free pizza. You have to send in your three guesses before the show starts, so you have about an hour and fifty minutes left.
8:09 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
And here's the Lotto.
8:10 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Oh, and did anyone catch Futurama last night? They're really getting back into form, and yesterday's was just about as good as the best episodes in their original run.
8:24 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Courtesy Core77:
8:33 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Not Apple related at all, but Penny Arcade‘s take on the new, more Gears Of War-like Harry Potter game is pretty fantastic:
8:41 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Oh, and how much of an act of showmanship would it be if Apple already had the Verizon deal planned, but held it in their back pocket for such a time as this when they needed good press?
8:42 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
You remember that Batman motorcycle leathers thing? There are pictures on their Facebook page now of guys actually wearing it: [Facebook]
I probably shouldn't criticize since part of me thinks that looks awesome. (And I fall off motorcycles all the time.)
8:45 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
Yeah, Jason, I was wondering about that. The Verizon thing, that is. I would be ecstatic, actually. I refused to upgrade to iPhone 4 because I'm done with AT&T. (Verizon is evil in their own ways, but at least they make the phones ring on time.)
8:47 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Joel: And it would solve the antenna issue too, because we all know Verizon phones' reception is powered by magic. And magic is unperturbed by hands.
8:52 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
Inhatko's got his predictions about the press conference coming. As per usual, it's long but fun.
I especially love this part: "Apple will say that they're always interested in improving their products just as a general rule. They will point out that every product they've released has been followed up by a firmware update a few days, weeks, or months later, and perhaps even a Revision B hardware after they've collect data from millions and millions of user experiences over many months. Not because the original model was defective, but just to make a perfect device even perfect-er." I bet he's right.
8:54 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Long but fun is how I hear most people describe Inhatko.
8:55 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Now, THIS iPhone by Deviantart artist enriquemorgan should have no problems whatsoever.
9:01 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Oh man, I want these Nerf guns so very badly.
9:04 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Speaking of providers, what do you think of the Sprint/T-Mobile merger rumor? I'm kinda for it, since I've always been a fan of T-Mobile's low rates, and Sprint's generous "unlimited" offerings. Combining those two and making a generous, low-rate provider that worked on LTE 4G would be a prime target for good phones.
9:10 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
Man, who knows? I'm not plugged into the business scene enough to have an informed opinion. I will say that from my experience with Sprint, both as a former employee (but who isn't in Kansas City?) and a once cheerleader, there's no opportunity that Sprint can't find a way to bone.
Actually, I'd rather T-Mobile just ramp up their 4G/LTE plans. Sprint's leadership teams are just too flakey.
9:16 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Quick informal poll that iPhone 4 users can answer here: How many times have you used FaceTime? Me, about 5.
9:21 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Nobody's been let inside yet, and we're actively watching gdgt, Ars Technica and Apple Insider.
9:23 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
How amazing would it be if everyone was asked, once they got inside, to put down their laptops so there was no Wi-Fi interference issues?
9:26 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
I can't imagine that this event is going to go on longer than an hour…right? If it's just about the iPhone 4 stuff, I see maybe an hour if they go slowly and methodically, like a boring college lecture. But if they have something new to announce, that'll be something different entirely. (And by new, I mean a new product.)
9:31 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
One neat thing: if you want your portrait drawn by super artist David Lanham, check this out. He's doing FaceTime portraits for $50 a pop, but he's getting swamped by requests. (Sorry Dave, probably just double-swamped you with requests now!)
9:37 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
And because I've done this a few liveblogs in a row now, enjoy:
9:40 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Oh and if you would be so kind as to spare a Digg: Digg. Thanks!
9:41 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
I just grabbed a last quick smoke and thumbed through the "Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams" book we'll be excerpting soon. His designs just make my head explode with ideas. I'll never be 1/100th of the designer he is, but it's crazy to me how simple collections of rectangles and circles can remain to timeless. (Jesus! You have to get a copy of this book.)
9:43 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Getting close to starting! Only 15 minutes left!
9:44 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Ars says: "So just to recap, Apple has explicitly told Bloomberg there will be no recall, and we know that this event is only about the iPhone 4."
9:45 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
While we're waiting, everyone NEEDS to watch this Vuvuzela video.
9:49 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
From what I hear, Apple's been limiting the amount of people per outlet on most outlets to 1, meaning there will be fewer photos today than usual.
9:52 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
While I think Apple's response to the antenna issue has been insultingly dismissive, I do feel sort of bad for them. I don't think they like seeing their flagship product be anything less than perfect. It's why I find rumors that they knew it was an issue but ignored it to be…not "dubious", I guess, but "incomplete".
Then again it's Apple, so maybe arrogance or confidence finally got the better of their commitment to quality. Confusing!
9:53 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
People are being let in now.
9:54 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Joel: It's also very interesting that in just 3 years the iPhone has become Apple's flagship product. Makes it all the more important that they address issues, or even perception of issues, quickly and decisively.
9:55 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
Whoopi (is she still a T-Mobile spokesperson?) "murders" her iPhone. I think it's a bit ridiculous, but this is the sort of thing that indicates that the reception problems have to be nipped in the bud right now.
9:56 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
To be fair, Whoopi is on more than a fair amount of medication, and she's been Paula Abdul-ing her way through The View for a while now. Smashing her phone is probably the least crazy thing she did this week.
9:58 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Ars says: "We hear jazz is playing in the hall, not unlike the WWDC keynote." Most likely to calm everyone down before the actual talking starts. [Ars Technica]
9:59 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Gdgt says this is the smallest Apple event they've ever seen. [gdgt]
10:00 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
(Also, she defended Mel Gibson. Thanks to everyone who pointed that out.)
10:00 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
According to the WSJ's blogger, there is a reporter from Consumer Reports at the press conference.
10:00 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Ars says: "A lot of rumors outside in the press crowd… a recall, free bumpers, and apology, a new product to distract people from the problems." [Ars Technica]
10:03 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
It's starting. [gdgt]
10:04 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
They're playing the antenna song, and Ars says it's basically a "slam on the media" and that "it's a media fantasy." [Ars Technica]
10:05 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
If this is setting the tone of the event, I think we know what we're in for today. (Not a recall, obviously.)
10:06 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs is on stage. [Ars Technica]
10:06 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Oh and the video mentions us, apparently.
10:06 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
There's going to be 15 minutes of presentation followed by Q&A. [gdgt]
10:07 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs is conceding that Apple isn't perfect and neither are its cell phones, yet the company is committed to making its customers happy. [Apple Insider]
10:08 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
"We're not perfect. Phones aren't perfect. We know that, you know that. But we want to make all our users happy. If you don't know that, you don't know Apple. We're going to talk about how we're going to do that." Jobs, via GDGT
10:08 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs says the iPhone 4 is the best product they've ever made, and has sold 3 million in 3 weeks. [Ars Technica]
10:08 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"It's been 22 days. Apple is an engineering-driven company. The way we work, we want to find what the real problem is before we come up with a solution. We wanted to find out what the real issues are, and we want to share what we've learned. So let's go to the data." [gdgt]
10:10 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
So by that logic, Apple didn't know about this problem before it was launched. Meaning? Not enough testing was done? Unclear at this point.
10:10 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
So it's clear that they're going to try to make a case for why it's not such a big deal and how it can be fixed without a recall. Otherwise Jobs wouldn't be starting out so defensively.
10:10 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Now they're showing videos of people gripping OTHER phones, like BlackBerries, lowering the reception.
10:11 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Most of Apple's top execs are sitting in the front row: tim cook, bertrand serlet, bob mansfield, and phil schiller [MacRumors]
10:12 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Now, the a video showing the HTC Droid Eris doing the same thing.
10:12 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Now the Samsung Omnia, showing bar droppage. [Ars Technica]
10:13 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
So again, with the presentation (even if it's short) starting off this defensively, it's pretty clear that the message is a bit disjointed. Is there a problem? Apple seems to say yes, but why show these videos if the problem isn't unique to them?
10:14 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"This is life in the smartphone world. Phones aren't perfect." [gdgt]
10:15 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Liveblogger X:
The crowd was oddly quiet, reaction-less really, when they played the iPhone antenna song.
10:15 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"It's a challenge for the whole industry, and we're doing the best we can. But every phone has week spots. Now, we're not perfect: we made it very visible (with a little help from some of our friends from certain websites)." [gdgt]
10:15 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
There are basically no images coming out, but Gruber snapped this one of execs sitting on the front row.
10:16 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs says that their option is to put in the correct algorithm to calculate bars, which they've fixed with 4.0.1.
10:17 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"The LA Times reporter sitting next to me has a Verizon Air Card. No Bars!" - Markoff
10:17 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Apple says they tested it in their 100 million dollar antenna lab, with 18 PhD scientists working on this problem, and they didn't think it would be a big problem since "every smartphone has this issue," they claim. [Ars Technica]
10:18 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
Man, this is all so pedantic.
10:18 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
Engadget‘s liveblog has some great photos.
10:19 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"The iPhone 4 was tested in the chamber and Apple was aware that gripping the handset on the left hand side would decrease the number of signal bars, but never did they anticipate it causing such a problem for consumers." [Apple Insider]
10:19 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs says only 1 half of 1 percent has called Applecare for this problem. That's 0.5%. [Ars Technica]
10:20 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Now, they're going to compare the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 3GS. "The best selling smartphone in history. The gold standard." [gdgt]
10:21 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
The numbers about returns and complaints aren't really germane. If it's a problem it's a problem, no matter how many people complain directly to Apple. I also suspect that lots of people have been waiting to see if Apple provides a fix.
10:22 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Comparing return rates, the 3GS return rates were 6%, now they're 1.7% for the iPhone 4. [Ars Technica]
10:22 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"Those numbers don't add up to all the mounting concerns waged by the media, Jobs remarks. He's about to give some info on AT&T and Apple return rates…" [Apple Insider]
10:22 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Apple is really, really in full defensive posture now.
10:23 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs says AT&T logs dropped calls, and although they can't release the absolute number because it's "confidential and proprietary", they can talk about the difference between iPhone 4 and 3GS. [Ars Technica]
10:24 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"I can tell you that since we're being totally transparent, even though we believe the iPhone's antenna is superior, the data says the iPhone 4 drops more calls than the 3GS. But how many more calls per hundred does it drop?" [gdgt]
10:24 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs says it drops less than one call per hundred less than the 3GS. (It's a bit unclear what Jobs means by this, everyone is confused.) I think he means that it drops less than 1 per 100 calls, and that's less than the 3GS.
10:26 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"Yes, that's correct, the call drop is less than 1% different" [Ars Technica]
10:27 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs attributes this difference to the fact that there were a lot of cases for the 3GS when that was released, and there aren't many for the iPhone 4 now.
10:27 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Meaning, they're sticking to the theory that people need to use a case for the phone to prevent dropped calls.
10:27 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"Jobs has gotten over 5K emails from users telling him that the iPhone 4 works perfectly," and thus doesn't know what the fuss is all about. [Ars Technica]
10:28 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"Steve's reviewing his points from before - really hammering this stuff home. But still, none of this explains the single-finger data blocking phenomena." [gdgt]
10:29 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs maintains that the problem has been "blown out out of proportion", but they "won't stop until every user is happy." [Apple Insider]
10:29 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
How cool is this? It's a behind-the-scenes snap from the production facility behind the town hall. [@mrvideobba]
10:29 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
So what is Apple going to do? They've released 4.0.1, which fixes the antenna.
10:29 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Everyone gets a free case. If you bought one, you get a full refund. [Ars Technica]
10:30 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Apple is doing this for every iPhone 4 through September 30. They will send you a free case. [gdgt]
10:30 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
They can't make enough bumpers, but they will provide other free cases as well. Pick a case and they'll send it. [Ars Technica]
10:31 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
You can apply on the website starting late next week.
10:31 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
You get a case! And you get a case! And you get a…CALL FAILED
10:31 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
If you're still unhappy, bring the iPhone 4 back for a full refund for 30 days. (Unclear when the 30 days starts.)
10:31 AM ON JUL 16 2010
ccmascari:
Free Bumpers: Apple's iPhone 4 Antenna Problem Solution – READ NOW
10:32 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
10:32 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
They will waive the restocking fee. [Apple Insider]
10:32 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
White iPhone still ships end of July, and they're bringing the phone to 17 more countries, except South Korea. [Ars Technica]
10:33 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"iPhone 4′s have also exhibited issues with the proximity sensor behaving out of wack, so Apple's been tracking this problem as well and is currently working on a solution which it hopes to deliver in the next iOS 4 software update." [Apple Insider]
10:33 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"We love our users. We try very hard to surprise and delight them. We work our asses off. And it's great, and we have a blast doing it. And we make some pretty interesting products for them - Macs, iPhones, iPads, iPods, the Apple TV… we make some pretty great products." [gdgt]
10:34 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
So in short, they're saying "This isn't a problem. All phones have issues. But we'll do you a favor and give you a case."
10:35 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
I love this quote: "We love our users so much we've built 300 apple retail stores for them." -Jobs [Ars Technica]
10:35 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs is saying that when there are problems, they take it personally. "Maybe we should have a wall of PR people to insulate us, but we don't - when our users have a problem, we have a problem."
10:36 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
Yeah, those Apple Stores that generate a tremendous profit were built solely out of love for their customers. They also love customers' money so much they built an exciting new money bin.
10:37 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Stock price went from 253.69 before the bumper announcement to 254.67 now, and it's still going up. Google
10:37 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs continues the party line that there is no problem: "But the data supports the fact that the iPhone 4 is the best smartphone in the world, and that there is no antennagate." [Ars Technica]
10:38 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q&A time, Tim Cook and Bob Mansfield are coming on stage. Someone asked about Steve Jobs's health.
10:38 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs says he's fine, but he interrupted his vacation in Hawaii for this. (Look what you jerks have done.) [Ars Technica]
10:39 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Someone asked if they were going to change the antenna design, and Jobs says they're very happy with it and it's better than the 3GS in every way. [Ars Technica]
10:40 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"I don't know what our next antenna design will be - maybe our wizards in the antenna lab will come up with something better. But looking at the data, we don't think we have a problem." [gdgt]
10:41 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Sounds like a way to say that they will change it, but not admitting that the current one has any problems of any kind.
10:41 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Someone asked: "Your demo shows a vise grip on the phone to make the bars drop, but online we've seen that you can touch with a single finger." [Ars Technica]
10:42 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Engineering guy answers that any phone will be worse when gripped than in free space, if you deeply grip the phone you attenuate the signal by a large amount. (Ars says this wasn't an answer to the question.) [Ars Technica]
10:43 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q: Did anyone warn you about this?
A Steve: I assume you're referring to the Bloomberg article? Yeah, it's a crock. … what's portrayed in that article never came across my consciousness, and I talked to Ruben and he agrees it's total bullshit. [gdgt]
10:45 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
When asked whether he's going to make an apology to Apple investors, he says no, he has no apology.
10:47 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q: Is Apple a company that makes users have to choose between form and function
A: We're a company that likes to do both. [Ars Technica]
10:47 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Apple Insider says the question about owing customers an apology was dodged. [Apple Insider]
10:47 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
I think Jobs & Apple realize that there's no corrective remedy other than the market, which gives them the luxury of ignoring problems in a way only a company with the perceived "best" product can do. Which is great until it bites them in the ass. Winer may be right. This may really be the point where Apple's own confidence ends up undermining every last arrogant thing they say.
10:47 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs is going through reasons why the iPhone 4 is great: Retina screen, thinnest smartphone, and says he wants to have his cake and eat it too, trying to have great design and performance. [Ars Technica]
10:48 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
AT&T will give full refunds for any plans tied to an iPhone 4 contract. [Apple Insider]
10:50 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
This means that if you re-upped for a 2 year contract, AT&T will put you back to where you started.
10:50 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q: Is there anything you could have said in the launch keynote to lower expectations?
Steve: I've thought about that a LOT. We didn't fully understand if there were problems at that point. We might have set the expectation that smartphones have weak spots… but the fact is, most smartphones seem to have the same characteristic as the iPhone 4. If you grip them in a certain way they lose signal strength dramatically, especially in a low signal strength area. And one of the things we've learned is that as a leader in the smartphone world now, we need to educate. So what we need was data. And now we've got some and we're sharing it now. [gdgt]
10:51 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"Apple doesnt believe its possible at this point to create a smartphone that doesn't have weak spots unless you make it so large that it wont fit in your pocket or your hand." [Apple Insider]
10:52 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Apple Insider says Q&A is hitting a wall and it's getting repetitive.
10:53 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q: After September 30th, is it because after then you expect people to buy a free case?
Steve: It's so we can reevaluate this in September, I have no idea what solutions may come up. [gdgt]
10:54 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs says they will not refund purchases of third-party cases.
10:54 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"People are still asking the same crap, some guy is rambling about how hard it is for his daughter to get a case" [Ars Technica]
10:54 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Basically Apple is saying they might find "another solution" by Sept. 30 that might not require using a case.
10:55 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
All the Apple guys on stage pulled out their phones to show they weren't using the bumper.
10:57 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"Steve: I use it in my home - and I live in a brick house. And I've gotten reception where I haven't gotten it before, I'm thrilled. That doesn't mean other people don't have problems, but that's been my experience." [gdgt]
10:58 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
When asked what he would do differently at the next launch, Jobs says he doesn't know, and he needs a little distance from things.
10:58 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Ars says Jobs keeps stressing that it's only been 22 days and they just now got the data. [Ars Technica]
10:59 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q: What have you learned here?
Steve: There are some things we know that we did learn here. One thing is how much we love our customers and how we are going to take care of them. We were stunned and upset and embarrassed by the Consumer Reports stuff, and the reason we didn't say more is because we didn't know enough. If we'd have done this event a week and a half ago, we wouldn't have had half the data we have today. [gdgt]
11:00 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Stock is back down to pre-free bumper levels.
11:00 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs is stressing that they're an engineering company and that they think like engineers, which is contrary to what we've heard from actual engineers at the company, who say that they think like industrial designers and engineering falls second.
11:01 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
I don't like the way this was handled at all, but I will admit it's a damned-if-you-do/don't situation: If they did a full recall it'd be a massive hit for the business (and perhaps out of proportion with the issue), but by just putting a literal Band-Aid over the issue it still makes everything seem unresolved.
11:01 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"It's human nature when someone or an organizaiton gets really big, people try to tear it down. Now it's happening to Google..Google is a great company." [Ars Technica]
11:02 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"Apple has been around for 34 years Jobs says… "haven't we earned the credibility and trust from some of the press to give us the benefit of the doubt of our motivations?" [Ars Technica]
11:03 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q: is there a hardware redesign that's possible in this gen of iphone 4 that would get rid of this or fix it, or do you plan to do that?"
Jobs: you can go on the web and look at pictures of nokia phones that ship with stickers on the back that say "don't touch here" [Ars Technica]
11:04 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"We will continue to work on more advanced antenna designs that don't have this problem or put this problem in an out of the way place." [gdgt]
11:06 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
I think Steve Jobs just threatened to secede from the Union.
11:06 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
"Apple engineers have been to people's houses to do tests, take logs from the phone, etc…" [Ars Technica]
11:07 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q: Did you consider a recall?
Steve: When you love your customers, nothing is off the table. But we want to be data driven. We send engineers to people's homes with test equipment and take logs…
Bob: For the record, we told them we were coming.
Steve: And we didn't bash down any doors! [Laughs.] [gdgt]
11:09 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q (Josh, Engadget): NY Times says this might have a software fix, is this something that can be helped with software?
Steve: We just spent the last hour going through how the iPhone 4 drops only 1 more call per hundred than the 3GS. … Go talk to the Times, because you guys talk to yourselves a lot, and they're just making this stuff up [gdgt]
11:13 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Forstall jumped up on stage: "That statement is patently false. Can we continue to tune the way the baseband interacts with the network? Yes, and we do this all the time. But that statement is untrue."
Steve: "One many statements lately that fall into that category." [gdgt]
11:14 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Joel Johnson:
I am literally stunned into silence at this point. I…I just. This is a trainwreck.
11:14 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Q from Markoff: I've used my iPhone on a heavily congested cell in SF. I'd like to know if the handset has any role in congestion management. Does the stack play no role in congestion?
Steve: I'll let Scott answer, but I have something that's a higher-order bit. When AT&T wants to add a cell tower in Texas, it may only take 3 weeks. But in SF, on average, it takes 3 years. No one wants a cell tower in their back yard, but everyone wants perfect reception. [gdgt]
11:19 AM ON JUL 16 2010
ccmascari:
Apple's $100 Million iPhone Test Chamber – READ NOW
11:20 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Ars: "He just sayd that "we're pretty good at making software for the cloud, like the iTunes online music store"" [Ars Technica]
11:21 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Jobs jsut said that he thinks people posting his emails on the web are a little rude. [Ars Technica]
11:24 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Free bumper offer is valid outside the US too. [Ars Technica]
11:25 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
Looks like the event is over. Thanks for reading everyone, make sure to check Gizmodo for more news throughout the day.
11:25 AM ON JUL 16 2010
Jason Chen:
And much thanks to GDGT, Ars and Apple Insider for sharing their updates with us!
11:30 AM ON JUL 16 2010