Apple likes to outride on message when it summons the press to unveil a new raft of products . So when Steve Jobs acquire the stage Wednesday forApple ’s fall music event , await the focus to shine squarely on music — that is , iPods and the concourse of content you may eat on them . Apple might also verbalise about some related areas — a unexampled version of iTunes here , a revamp of Apple TV there — but by and large , the company has an agenda Wednesday , and it ’s going to stick to it .
Which is fine . I surely would n’t want anything to get in the way of Apple ’s yearly effort to goose its holiday time of year sales . But the company also some bare business related to its iPhone vent from this summertime .
I ’m not peach about the kerfuffle involving the iPhone 4 and its unfortunate tendency to misplace signal strength when some user held the phone a sure way . That question was asked and eventually answered by Apple at aJuly 16 printing press eventin the variety offree iPhone 4 caseswhich are proven to reduce the relative incidence of dropped calls and signal exit . All that ’s left there is for the the great unwashed who bought Apple ’s spin that the iPhone 4 antenna job were a fuck up - out - of - proportion medium creation to shout at the untamed - eyed , page - view - snap up learned person who froth that theiPhone needed to be echo , like , five minute of arc ago . ( Those of us who conclude , quite sensibly , that the feeler trouble was a illustrious - if - not - necessary - far-flung issue that Apple misconduct into a PR crisis on the face of it need to shout louder to get heard over the din . )
No , the problems I ’m talking about are lingering iPhone issues that Apple has , in some eccentric , in short know before shifting its attending to other things . The most notable problem is one with thelatest Phone ’s proximity sensor . The law of proximity detector detects when your iPhone gets close-fitting to your face — as it does when you make a headphone call — so that it can bend off the phone ’s showing so that your cheek does n’t inadvertently brush up against on - filmdom clitoris , establish other applications or ending the call . Some iPhone 4 users report problems with the proximity sensor in their telephone — either it does n’t turn off the showing when they take a call or it fails to turn the display back on when the call is over .
Unlike with the feeler issue , this is n’t something you’re able to fix by slap an Apple Bumper on your phone . You ’re at the mercy of Apple for a fix , and mercifulness is n’t always something that run in abundance out of Cupertino . At Apple ’s July 16 press conference , Steve Jobs secernate reporters that the ship’s company was influence on a fix that would be useable in a succeeding software update . That ’s been the company ’s last public word on the subject ( unless you desire to count thisreport cite an Apple Australia spokeswomanthat acknowledge the problem has n’t been gear up ) .
Another outstanding issue is the iOS 4 update — specifically how it runs on older models like the iPhone 3G. Or , even more specifically , howpoorlyit runs on 3 G models . Depending on who you talk to , a 3 G running iOS 4 runs like a two - multitude - a - daytime smoker after climbing a few flights of stair , drains battery biography , and heats up your smartphone after normal use . As an iPhone 3 G proprietor who did n’t exercise his usual amount of caution when it came to install upgrades , I can confirm that my iOS 4 - run phone heats up fairly oft since I instal the update . Apps are less reactive , prone to freeze , and crash with greater absolute frequency in my experience . My iPhone is definitely less pleasant to apply and less dependable since the iOS 4 update .
Apple was reportedlylooking into iOS 4 - related problemsat the end of July . And if you believereports of Steve Jobs ’s alleged Es - mails , an iOS 4 pickle for iPhone 3 G drug user may be on the path . Otherwise , there ’s been no official news from Apple , leaving iPhone 3 G owner like myself to matter the merits of undertake the not - at - all simple appendage of downgrade to iPhone o 3.1.3 .
So when Apple is in the thick of speak up its latest iPods or occupy another knife thrust at the Apple boob tube or usher in whatever other raw products it has waiting in the wings , I go for the ship’s company take a moment to recall the iPhone owners who have been wait patiently for a reparation for their problem . iPhone 4 owners with misbehaving proximity sensors and iPhone 3 K substance abuser stuck with a clink iOS 4 update are n’t do unreasonable requirement on the company — rather , they ’re just folks who paid good money for a production and would like for it to wreak as advertised .
