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Smartphones and Cell Phones

Matthew Miller
Home / News & Blogs / Smartphones and Cell Phones

Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that

By | July 23, 2010, 8:56am PDT

Summary: Apple’s solution to their antenna design flaw is to give people a case rather than fix the problem. They kicked off their free case program today.

Apple’s ridiculous solution to the iPhone 4 antenna design failure is to give buyers a free case. Today, Apple launched this free case program with an application (iTunes link) that you install on your iPhone 4. I understand there are apps for everything, but an application to order your free case, give me a break. How about releasing a phone that has been tested first and doesn’t show reception failure when you hold a phone as expected?

Per the Apple site, these are the steps to order your free case:

1. Download the iPhone 4 Case Program app from the App Store.
2. Launch the app on your iPhone 4 and sign in using your iTunes Store account or Apple ID.
3. Select your Bumper or case.

For iPhone 4 purchases made before July 23, 2010, you must apply no later than August 22, 2010; otherwise, you must apply within 30 days of your iPhone 4 purchase. To qualify for this program, you must purchase your iPhone 4 by September 30, 2010.

If you already bought a bumper case then they have instructions on the site explaining how you can get your refund too.

I never bought the iPhone 4 and that had to do with the AT&T lock-in, Steve Jobs’ overwhelming arrogance, and Apple’s statements about the antenna, proximity sensor, and other issues with the flawed design. I do think it has some great features and functions, but now that a Samsung Gravity S device, the Captivate, is out on AT&T I think AT&T customers finally have another smartphone option that is better than the iPhone 4.

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Topics

Apple iPhone, Apple Inc., Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using a Pilot 1000 in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.

Disclosure

Matthew Miller

Matthew is a professional naval architect by day and a mobile gadget freak at all other times. He purchases his own devices and then sells them on eBay or Craigslist to buy more. Many other devices are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the carrier or manufacturer. If any are provided as “long term loaner units” this will be clearly disclosed in his reviews.

Biography

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using a mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. He is a co-host with GigaOM's Kevin Tofel on the MobileTechRoundup podcast and an author of three Wiley Companion series books. Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned over 125 different devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes an HTC Radar 4G, Dell Venue Pro, Apple iPad 2, HTC Flyer, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nokia N9, Apple iPhone 4S, MacBook Pro, and many more, along with tons of accessories and classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various discussion forums under the user name of "palmsolo".

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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
Pete "athynz" Athens 26th Jul 2010
@redeyesxbl I'm not sure where exactly he's hating on Apple with this article... unless you are referring to this:

I never bought the iPhone 4 and that had to do with the AT&T lock-in, Steve Jobs? overwhelming arrogance, and Apple?s statements about the antenna, proximity sensor, and other issues with the flawed design.

So he does not like AT&T and Steve Job's arrogance. I don't particularly like Steve Jobs myself - he comes off as an arrogant self-centered prick but he is an effective CEO. And yes Apple did admit to the antenna issues - which IMHO were way overblown but they are present. But show me where Matthew Miller hates Apple.
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
redeyesxbl 23rd Jul 2010
One might wonder why ZD would have an obvious apple-hater write up their iphone 4 case notification story.
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Contributr
Yeah, an Apple hater with an iPad, MacBook Pro, iPhone 3GS, etc.
palmsolo (aka Matthew Miller) 23rd Jul 2010
@redeyesxbl You obviously haven't been reading my writing here on ZDNet if you think I am an Apple hater. I own and enjoy using several Apple products. The facts and experiences, and even Apple themselves, show that the iPhone 4 is a product with several flaws. Try not to gloss over everything related to Apple with the RDF please.
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
Pete "athynz" Athens 26th Jul 2010
@redeyesxbl I'm not sure where exactly he's hating on Apple with this article... unless you are referring to this:

I never bought the iPhone 4 and that had to do with the AT&T lock-in, Steve Jobs? overwhelming arrogance, and Apple?s statements about the antenna, proximity sensor, and other issues with the flawed design.

So he does not like AT&T and Steve Job's arrogance. I don't particularly like Steve Jobs myself - he comes off as an arrogant self-centered prick but he is an effective CEO. And yes Apple did admit to the antenna issues - which IMHO were way overblown but they are present. But show me where Matthew Miller hates Apple.
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
nim chimpsky Updated - 23rd Jul 2010
Flawed design? Unlike the blowhard who wrote this blog, I've actually owned an iphone 4 since launch day. IOS4 is awesome. Battery life is great. Screen is gorgeous. No antenna issues or call drops. Kudos to Apple.

That said I've been playing w/ my co-workers Droid X for a couple of days. Very competent machine.... Screen is big but it doesn't quite measure up to the iphone. Lots of network features that the iphone wishes it had. Lots of apps, but the battery life is just terrible. 3 hours & its down to 10%. Which is a good thing in the winter, because it will double as a handwarmer. This thing gets hotter than hell....anybody notice this?

Almost forgot...free case program is appreciated but certainly not needed. I wound up getting the bumper & I'll probably sell it on ebay.
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
jerseyjake Updated - 23rd Jul 2010
@the author
"How about releasing a phone that has been tested first ..." Please man. Everyone and their mothers' heard about the antenna fiasco. It's over and done with and everyone, including Apple, is trying to move on. You're pounding your fist into the ground where the horse is buried. It's dead dude. I came in here wondering about the case program. I don't want to read through you're unoriginal "take" on how you want Apple to turn back the hands of time to fix this. What's the big deal? We get a free case that almost everyone was going to go spend money on anyway. Either Apple didn't know, or they just couldn't simply fix it without a major rebuild of the design. Obviously they would have if they did. I'm sure Steve Jobs isn't giggling his turtle-necked ass off about this issue, as you seem to think. No wonder I don't remember the last time I was on ZDNet!
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
peon56 23rd Jul 2010
Matthew Miller succumbs to FUD. I bet he worries about 12/21/2012 also. But he's entitled to his own opinions however limited it is...
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
junior6969 Updated - 23rd Jul 2010
@peon56Agreed! What I hate the most is people who don't own an iPhone 4 and comment on them without having any experience using it. All they do is spread more FUD from the media to fuel this. C'mon Martin, with all your contacts at ZDnet, get one and really use it. You might be more credible with his article! Stop spreading FUD!
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
d4rk 23rd Jul 2010
To the responses bashing this article, let me first start off by saying that it seems no matter where I go, there are iSheep everywhere complaining when someone writes an article with their own view on it. If you don't like it, you can leave. If you don't like an article on another site, you leave that site and continue your internet venture.

What amazes me is that there are a lot of reports about the HARDWARE DESIGN FLAW in Apple's iPhone 4. Apple admits to it. Their own CEO stood in front of the press and said the problem exists. He said numerous times that if you "touch...grip the phone that way," you will lose reception. It is a known fact. By Steve Jobs standing in front of everyone and saying, "blah blah blah, we spent $100 million on our facilities, we have 18 PhD scientists and engineers, blah blah blah, give us your money anyways," is pointless. Who cares what they spent money on? It obviously didn't work.

So, the CEO admitted to the design flaw in their own product. It's done with, right? No. We still have Apple supporters somehow saying that it's common in the industry. How common is it? Not common at all. But of course, there are always the iSheep that must defend a company, (admitting to a problem this time!) especially when it has one of the biggest flaws in any mobile product in history.

Solution: Give out free bumpers. So, if the problem affected only a few number of people, why give out cases to every iPhone owner? Well, maybe because it is a design flaw. Maybe the week in between the press beating Apple and the Steve-O press conference, the Apple engineers were astounded that this product didn't work and could offer no real solution. Ironic how Apple started hiring antenna engineers after this whole thing. Guess their current 18 PhD scientists and engineers aren't up to the task.

I have used, WinMo, WebOS, iOS, Symbian, Maemo, and Android extensively. The only thing that keeps most iPhone owners with Apple is brand loyalty. Statistics show that 9/10 people would go back to Apple. Obviously, 90% of people that own iPhones can't think for themselves.
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
nim chimpsky 23rd Jul 2010
@dork

Actually nobody bashed the article ... just the author. Now we can start bashing you too happy
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
Atlant 23rd Jul 2010
@d4rk

"Obviously, 90% of people that own iPhones can't think for themselves."

Do you usually win arguments by telling the folks you're arguing with that they are stupid or "can't think for themselves"?

As far as I can see, there's very little wrong with the iPhone 4's antenna. My wife has had one since launch day and she routinely gets radio performance that's as good or better than either my iPhone 3G or any of the several Nokia smartphones I've carried. (I'm very familiar with where AT&T's coverage falls off near my neighborhood.) And as soon as the white iPhones are shipping, I'll be upgrading as well.
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
d4rk 23rd Jul 2010
@nim chimpsky

Funny how iGnorant Apple supporters have to find articles with very little comments to ridicule. Why not try out an Apple supported site like Engadget? Probably because they would tear you to shreds, and your comment would be buried under free-thinking people.

@Atlant

Yes. That is what I am saying. That is how I win arguments with small minds that follow the herd.
As for, "there's very little wrong with the iPhone 4's antenna." So, Steve Jobs was making it all up? Ok.

Let us all hope that the white iPhone also doesn't have problems like the black one. Maybe your wife isn't having problems, because like many, she bought the case before she walked out of the store...?
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More whining from the press...
GoPower 23rd Jul 2010
The truth of the matter:

"That's the key finding in a survey released this week by Yankee Group, which reports that 73% of iPhone users are very satisfied with AT&T's service. That rating compares favorably to how non-iPhone smartphone users feel about AT&T, and even to how non-iPhone users feel about other wireless providers." CNN Money

And I'll bet they like their iPhones even more.
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Here's why I'm suspicious of this app...
seattlemike 23rd Jul 2010
...that it's being REQUIRED tells me Apple wants to get something on your phone to report back post-Bumper Case antenna performance. More here - http://riactant.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/iphone-4-free-bumber-case-app-phoning-home/
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FUD. It's a simple fraud countermeasure
zd-crap Updated - 23rd Jul 2010
@seattlemike



It is the single simplest measure Apple could have taken to defeat fraud--people trying to get cases who returned their phones (or never bought an iphone 4 to begin with). Apple will be able to offer the devices ONLY from legitimate iphone 4s--and they have a database of serials and corresponding IMEIs. Really, it's another remarkably smart move by a smart company. They have a store on the phone, with credit information, billing and shipping info, etc. Why not use it?
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Another ZDNET so-called blogger in search of a clue....
zd-crap 23rd Jul 2010
This site has really fallen by the wayside since its heyday back in the mid 90s.
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
rjpence81 24th Jul 2010
I have an iphone 4, will never buy another one, perhaps an apple product, as well. I live an hour away from an apple store. Got my phone from AT&T (preordered). There were no cases in their store at launch day, so I had to get mine at best buy. So, my options in the case program is get another case or return my iphone. The only reason I don't return it is all the money I sunk in accessories. Factor in the no sim errors I get 15 times a day (already tried all fixes outside of placing tape on my sim tray), and you can see why my next phone won't be an iphone.
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RE: Need to order your free Apple iPhone 4 case? There's an app for that
bpayne@... 24th Jul 2010
Apple just can't win. The free case app fails for some users - myself included. I own a new iPhone 4, and do love it disproportionately, but the first time I downloaded the app to my shiny, if reception-impaired, device, running the app produced an error screen saying my phone didn't qualify for the free bumper, with a "need help" 800 number. After 30 minutes on hold, I was instructed to delete the app and redownload. Really.
It worked, and my free case is on the way, but I'm further humbled by my addiction that in addition to waiting in line for the phone itself for almost 8 hours after preordering, I waited on the phone for an additional 30 minutes for the case...
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Will Apple Come Clean?
galile0 26th Jul 2010
More reported setbacks once again for Apple it will be interesting to see what's next in the news regarding iPhone issues (antenna, manufacturing) and their steps to refund cases won?t make up for the iPhone 4's lack of function over form.

It's a shame to see so many issues with the iPhone 4 after so many people waited for it's release. What's more of a shame is that it seems Apple knew about some of these issues already, such as the problem with reception.

But Apple have created such a loyal following that people may just put up with what issues there are for the sake of owning the latest Apple product.
Personally, I'd be happier with an older iPhone - at least then the issues are all ironed out.

However, it's also interesting to see how much excitement new technologies can bring. New technology and innovation is important for new business, illustrated by entrepreneurship grants and new business competitions like http://www.ukesnc.com.

Guess it's not all bad!
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Apple - Wheres The Faith?
galile0 26th Jul 2010
Another setback once again for Apple it will be interesting to see what's next in the news regarding iPhone issues (antenna, manufacturing) and their steps to refund cases won?t make up for the iPhone 4's lack of function over form.

It's a shame to see so many issues with the iPhone 4 after so many people waited for it's release. What's more of a shame is that it seems Apple knew about some of these issues already, such as the problem with reception.

But Apple have created such a loyal following that people may just put up with what issues there are for the sake of owning the latest Apple product.
Personally, I'd be happier with an older iPhone - at least then the issues are all ironed out.

However, it's also interesting to see how much excitement new technologies can bring. New technology and innovation is important for new business, illustrated by entrepreneurship grants and new business competitions like http://www.ukesnc.com.

Guess it's not all bad!

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