One of the foremost characteristics that the Apple’s Unlocked iPhone4 proudly presents, the reason of envy for competitors and one of admiration for customers, was its sleek design. The model did away with an external antenna. The slim steel band that ran along the side of the phone, giving it structure and a creative design also doubled up as an inbuilt antenna. The radios were taken out from the inside of the device resulting in the sleek and slim look. This new innovative design was publicized as not only a step forward in bettering the aesthetic appearance of the phone and making it easier to carry around but also a leap in the technology of iPhones. However, this unique and novel idea didn’t prove to fool proof.

Even on the very first day of launch-introduction of the iPhone4 unlocked handset, there were scattered reports of ‘death grip’. Customers reported that holding the iPhone at certain angles resulted in a major amount of signal loss and may result in even drop calls. Initially, these reports were dismissed under the assumption of the problem being a minor one, with high probability of it being a result of mishandling by the customers. However, with the constant flow of complaints, the problem was identified as an intrinsic and fundamental design flaw. The difficulty in catching signals was attributed to the new technological innovation of the thin metal band antenna. There was also a long-running software issue of the iPhone which displayed wrong estimation of the signal being received.

The flippant solution offered by Apple, suggesting to the customers to hold the phone differently didn’t help matters and now the organization is faced with the dilemma of what it can do to improve the situation. A complete recall of the models would cost up to $1.5 billion while offering all impacted users a free bumper case worth $30 would not solve the problem but would definitely be cheaper than the complete recall. A quickly put together press conference is scheduled this Friday to address this issue.