Mexican telco exec: iPhone 4 antenna fix imminent
¡iCaramba!
According to a Mexican telco exec, Apple will release an iPhone 4 with an upgrade to its problematic antenna after its "free case" giveaway ends on September 30.
"A partir del 30 de septiembre estarán disponibles ... los nuevos dispositivos que no tienen el desperfecto de la recepción," Marco Quatorze of Mexican wireless carrier Telcel told the Spanish-language tech website Canal-MX.
Our high school Spanish tells us that Quatorze said that after September 30, there will be new devices available that won't have the reception flaw. "El problema es la antena," he said — and we're confident you won't need Google to translate that straightforward assertion for you.
The Reg rushes to remind you, dear reader, that this is a mere rumor — or, en Español, rumor. Apple, as is its wont, has made no announcement of any updated iPhone 4 being in the works — and it's unlikely to do so at its musical event scheduled for this Wednesday.
But the date is an interesting one. At his "There is no Antennagate" press conference in mid-July, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that free reception-enhancing cases would be made available to any iPhone 4 owner who requested them — but only until September 30.
When asked what would happen after the giveaway ended, Jobs said that the program would be re-evaluated. Perhaps it won't need to be — perhaps the iPhone's problematic antenna will be somehow insulated so that it won't need to be bumperized. Perhaps.
Being Apple-watchers, we're reduced to reading tea leaves to divine what's going on in the minds of One Infinite Loop — and two tiny flakes of lapsang souchong have caught our eye.
One is that the elusive white iPhone 4 was delayed yet again in July, a week or so after the "TinA" press conference. Apple's announcement of that delay gave no specific date for whitey's arrival, saying only that it would appear "later this year."
Perhaps a partir del 30 de septiembre? Perhaps.
Leaf number two is the report that floated across the intertubes right before "TinA" that some users with problematic phones had returned them, only to discover that the replacement phones didn't exhibit "death grip" symptoms.
Perhaps fixed 'Phone 4s have already entered the product stream? Perhaps.
More likely, however, is that Quatorze is simply wrong. As MacRumors rightly points out in its discussion of the MexExec's claims, it strains credulity that a person in Quatorze's relatively low-level position of "Director of Value Added Services" would have insider knowledge of such matters.
Perhaps he simply misinterpreted Jobs' case-supply deadline as meaning that iPhone 4 changes were afoot.
Perhaps. ®
COMMENTS
Well obviously...
On 30th September, Jobs will reveal Apple's new product: 31st September, iDay, the first e-day, a day only available to Apple users. This will be the annual launch day for the Pro versions of Apple kit, or as non-believers call them, the fixed ones.
If you don't have piles of spare cash to flush down the lavvy on overpriced fripperies, don't worry. In a few years time, Microsoft will roll out version 3 of December 32nd. Version 1 will have crashed beyond all recovery at about 11am and version 2 will only be available in brown and puce. But, with version 3, the rest of us will be able to join in.*
*Service patches will be released every 2 hours. For reasons of national security and to protect children, nuns and small furry animals, everything you do on an e-day will be monitored by the government. You may enjoy your e-day to an 'unlimited' extent, which is to say that the limits placed on your enjoyment are available from your e-day vendor, if you can get through to customer service (calls cost £2 per min, average wait, 3hrs, but then it is 4am in Delhi). Enjoyment beyond the limits of fair use will result in castration. You do not own your e-day, despite paying for it, and may not have a birthday upon it. 32nd December will be available for only 4 years, after which time it will be replaced by another day of Microsoft's choosing, with a ridiculous toolbar that ruins breakfast. Continued use of an obsolete e-day will lead to prosecution on copyright grounds. E-days will not be available in some rural areas, although you might get an e-hour if you are lucky. They will however, be available in Birmingham, as the government will abolish whatever scant public services still remain to fund a direct, super-fast, hard-wired e-day provision link for that city. No we don't know why either. Maybe they have a granny who lives there.
T&C's
It does say on the Case Program that "Any iPhone 4 that has been returned is not eligible." I would bet that means they are fixing the returned ones.
Most likely so Jobs could prevent porn
I guess Jobs wanted to confuse iPhans about the Lemon 4 by claiming all was well, whilst giving away FREE plastic covers to keep hands away from the goods AS WELL as providing a ready identifier for Lemon 4 models.
So what, following Job's bent logic, is there to fix? Did he lie/mislead his legions of iPhans?
Now the antenna 'problem' has been fixed, what about the other numerous defects including the Bluetooth?
Did you hear about the heart-beat App that enables Jobs to determine which rates higher for an iPhan based, on heart rate: holding a Lemon or sex?
(Don't forget, iPhans, another Jobs pronouncement today)
Re: engrish please !
No need for that sort of insult, if you don't mind - if you've got a problem with another poster then try not to resort to low blows. Ta.
