In a rare instance where Apple is on the paying end of a lawsuit, a class-action settlement has forced Apple to pay each owner of an iPhone 4 with a check of $15 or a free case bumper, according to a report by Fox News today.
The courts found Apple guilty for “misrepresenting” the quality or lack thereof, of the mobile phone’s antenna.
Don’t do that
When the iPhone 4 was released in June 2010, owners of their brand new gadgets instantly began posting incidents of poor signal reception even in locations where the signal should have been strong. Others said that this happened only when the device was held a certain way in the palm by users—touching the metal strip surrounding the phone; a normal position used by iPhone 4 users.
When word of these problems arrived at the ears of Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, his solution was simple and laughable; he told iPhone 4 users not to hold it that way to solve the problem.
Lawsuit—Meet Apple
As the incidents of poor antennae performance on the iPhone 4 went viral, so did the class-action lawsuits against Apple. Customers were complaining that Apple knowingly sold them defective products, and they wanted justice.
The courts agreed and stated that Apple was:
“...misrepresenting and concealing material information in the marketing, advertising, sale and servicing of its iPhone 4–particularly as it relates to the quality of the mobile phone antenna and reception and related software.”
The check or bumper is in the mail
The total award of the settlement is $53 million and plaintiffs have the option of receiving a $15 check or protective case bumper from Apple.
Via Fox
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/apple-sends-15-checks-to-iphone-4-users-court-says-it-hid-antenna-issues?cid=roadrunner