Mobile phone reviews – Rated Mobiles

Apple Calls for Conference After Stock Values Drop

According to a recent new article, Apple’s stock value has taken a dive after a magazine article wrote a scathing review about how Apple failed to fix the antenna issue that plagues the iPhone 4 and how they simply chose to ignore the hardware problem and simply release a small graphical update to the signal strength meter in order to distract the public from the real issue.

However, the antenna problem is all too real and far too prevalent to ignore. While it was easy to just shrug off the big yellow blobs that were on the new iPhone handsets (caused by the screen adhesive not drying properly) since the problem would actually fix itself after several days of using the handset, the antenna’s bad design still remains.

It is a commonly accepted fact that if a mobile phone is held in a certain way, it can be made to lose a couple or so bars of signal. This could mean having to hold the entire back of a device, holding it upside down, cupping the top and bottom with both palms and many other bizarre ways of holding a mobile phone. This however, is the very first instance that a handset would lose signal simply because the user is using the left hand –according to reports, holding up the device with the left hand to take a call is likely to place a finger on that part of the antenna that is exposed.

It was not surprising to know that Apple’s stock shares dropped after all of these were brought to public light. What was even worse was the fact that Apple refused to admit: that the only real solution to the problem is to initiate a recall of all handsets. Apple may have been proud of their extremely high sales, but a recall works against that: with over 1.7 million units out there, Apple will need to shell out almost a billion pounds to properly recall all the devices.

Apple iPhone 4: Too Costly to Recall

Apple is willing to risk their public reputation by admitting the fault with the iPhone 4, but they are far from taking in a major financial blow just to have all existing devices repaired. Already, there are at least 1.7 million iPhone 4 handsets already out in the market. And that number does not include the devices that are still in shipping or are currently in stock across retailers and online stores all over the world.

However, a major design flaw in the device exists: the antenna was not designed properly. According to many owners of the iPhone 4, there is a strong possibility for calls to be dropped if the user accidentally touches a portion of the metallic band around the edge of the device during a call. Touching this specific spot will cause the handset to lose all reception.

While there are various solutions that other users are offering, Apple is staying neutral about the whole thing refusing to offer anything more than a software update that would alter the way the handset displays the signal strength meter. As for actually coming out with a fix for the hardware, there is still plenty left to be done.

A recall would cost Apple a total of 980 million Pounds. That is far more than any company would be willing to shell out for recalls –especially on a global scale. This also means that the parts to be repaired would need to be replaced by Apple for free as well.

In the meanwhile, it seems that Apple is losing ground over this matter. In the past couple of days, the stock value of Apple has gone down significantly, a significant development for Apple as the company has been continuously growing over the years. While Apple will not be taking any iPhones back, expect to see other solutions being offered in the days to come.