A Case Study: Gaurav Vij

Rise & Fall Of iPhone4
Antennagate
A Case Study
By : GAURAV VIJ
ABOUT APPLE
Apple Inc is an American multinational , designing and
marketing consumer electronics computer software and
persosal computers .
Apple Inc previously Apple Computer Inc was established on

april 1 , 1976 and incorporated on January 3 , 1977 .
Apple Inc has its headquaters in Cupertino , California .
As of september , 2009 Apple had an annual sales of $ 42.9

billion .
Apple Inc has a workforce of 34,500 employees with 284 retail
outlets in over 10 different countries .
The company is headed by Mr Steve Jobs who is the chairman

as well as the co- founder of the company .
Some famous products of Apple are :-

IPAD
IPHONE
IPOD
APPLE TV
Early generations of the IPHONE
Apple launched the first iphone on june 29 , 2007 and it was
a huge success with the american customers and the rest
of the world.
It was launched in two variants ie an 8 gb version and 16 gb

version .
Apple sold 6.1 million handsets of the orignal iphone in over

five quarters .
At present this model is being sold at $99 and is very cheap

as compared to the orignal cost of $599 .
The next generation of the Iphone was Iphone 3GS .
It was launched in july 2009 in US , canada and major
european countries .
The GS model ws much advanced than its earlier edition .
APPLE iPhone 3GS is available in both the colors and storage

capacities .
IPHONE 4
IPHONE 4 is the third generation of iphone after iphone 3g
and iphone 3gs .
It is considered as the sleekest and the most advanced

mobile handset ever produced by any company .
The success of the Iphone 4 can be judged from the fact that
the company has sold 3 million handsets in just 3 weeks .
This edition of Iphone is altogether different from its earlier

generation siblings in terms of looks as well as software .
Some of the features of the new Iphone 4 are
3.5 inch display
960 * 640 pixels ( 4x more )
326 pixels per inch
800 : 1 contrast ratio ( 4x better )
IP technology for superb colour and wide viewing angle
Incredibly sharp images
Retina display
And many more …….
IPHONE is available in the USA priced at $199 and $299 in contract
with AT&T .
Problems faced by Iphone 4 users
Iphone 4 users have complained of the signals going weak
when the lower left side of the handset comes in contact
of the users hand .
Most of the complaints have come from left handed users .
Holding the phone in strong five bar signal has no effects on

it but in weaker signal area it results in call drop .
As a matter of fact 50 % of the calls get dropped .

Complains surfaced within hours of the launch.
Experts have suggested that the antenna is losing signals

because the direct contact with the users hand alters the
way the antenna behaves .
Achievement
It took the original iPhone, which first went on sale three

years ago after a six-month lead time, 74 days to pass the
one-million mark.
“iPhone 4 did it in 3 days”

The Problem
“The signal can significantly degrade enough to

cause you to lose your connection altogether if
you're in an area with a weak signal once your
palm touches lower left side of the iPhone 4”
- iPhone Fan Blog

1st Strike
Apple already knew about Signal loss problem.
Customers voices were left unheard.
Apple shrugged and declared iPhone 4 as the most perfect

phone ever.
Till June end, apple never accepted that iPhone 4 was

flawed.
Apple made a mockery of Customer`s Response.

Strike 2
Blame game was played by Mr. Jobs.
Faulty software was blamed for Call Drop and Signal loss.
Still hardware was not tested for errors.
A Software Fix, was announced for apple iPhone4`s

operating system iOS4.
Apple denied any complaints from masses.

Apple`s Say
“Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation

of its antenna performance, with certain places being
worse than others depending on the placement of the
antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If
you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid
gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers
both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply
use one of many available cases.”
Strike 3 ( The Press Conference )
Delayed Strategic Move.
Apple accepted their Handsets ( iPhone4 ) was flawed and

defective.
New external antenna was Blamed.
Other Market Leader were targeted to hide iPhone4`s

defects.
Late resolute were provided to the Consumers.

“It doesn't seem like a good thing if
you can touch your phone in a certain
way and it loses signal. It turns out,
it's not unique to the iPhone 4”.
Steve Jobs ( July 16 )

CEO (Apple Inc. )
Cheap Shot
“Apple may have calmed some of the Antennagate ruckus
with his spirited defense of the iPhone 4 on Friday, but
he also stirred up a hornet's nest of response from other
phone manufacturers, including RIM, Samsung,
Motorola, Nokia, and HTC”.
- Consumer Forum
Conclusion
This entire fiasco has dented the image of apple a great deal .
Apple was always known for the perfection they had in their products .
The confidence about the product quality that the apple customers had
will get dropped and it will show its negative impact on the sales of
iphone 4 and future products of apple .
The accusations between Apple , AT&T and the other mobile companies
will continue for a long time but its on Apple now to formulate new
statergies to bounce back and regain the lost ground .
Experts say that the entire fault in this Antennagate issue is of apple as
they dint test the product well in the practical environment before
launching it .
Future steps by Apple
Steve Jobs should focus entirely on improving the next lot of

handsets of Iphone 4 .
Already over 3 million faulty handsets have been sold in the

market .
Other than providing bumper and case Apple should be

providing special offers to their existing customers so that
they are still able to retain their confidence and trust .
Steve Jobs should learn from this incident that a product

should never be pushed in the market in a hurry .

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Rise & Fall Of iPhone4

Apple Inc previously Apple Computer Inc was established on

Apple Inc has its headquaters in Cupertino , California .

As of september , 2009 Apple had an annual sales of $ 42.9

The company is headed by Mr Steve Jobs who is the chairman

Some famous products of Apple are :-

It was launched in two variants ie an 8 gb version and 16 gb

Apple sold 6.1 million handsets of the orignal iphone in over

At present this model is being sold at $99 and is very cheap

The GS model ws much advanced than its earlier edition .

APPLE iPhone 3GS is available in both the colors and storage

It is considered as the sleekest and the most advanced

This edition of Iphone is altogether different from its earlier

Most of the complaints have come from left handed users .

Holding the phone in strong five bar signal has no effects on

As a matter of fact 50 % of the calls get dropped .

Experts have suggested that the antenna is losing signals

It took the original iPhone, which first went on sale three

“iPhone 4 did it in 3 days”

“The signal can significantly degrade enough to

- iPhone Fan Blog

Customers voices were left unheard.

Apple shrugged and declared iPhone 4 as the most perfect

Till June end, apple never accepted that iPhone 4 was

Apple made a mockery of Customer`s Response.

Still hardware was not tested for errors.

A Software Fix, was announced for apple iPhone4`s

Apple denied any complaints from masses.

“Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation

Apple accepted their Handsets ( iPhone4 ) was flawed and

New external antenna was Blamed.

Other Market Leader were targeted to hide iPhone4`s

Late resolute were provided to the Consumers.

Steve Jobs ( July 16 )

Steve Jobs should focus entirely on improving the next lot of

Already over 3 million faulty handsets have been sold in the

Other than providing bumper and case Apple should be

Steve Jobs should learn from this incident that a product

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