back to article Apple slips Antennagate victims $15 each. The lawyers get $16m

Apple has sent out $15 cheques to fanbois whose iPhones suffered from dicky phone reception. The Cupertino idiot-tax operation agreed to dish out the small payments after punters lodged a class-action lawsuit over the iPhone 4 "Antennagate" flaw. When the smartmobe went on sale in 2010, its users complained about poor mobile …

COMMENTS

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  1. g e
    Holmes

    So. Jobs was wrong.

    Punters weren't holding it the wrong way after all.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So. Jobs was wrong.

      I doubt there was any 'wrong way'. It was a load of nonsense. Whatever I did I couldn't get my old 4 to suffer any problems - it worked 100% perfectly during the 2 years I had it.

      1. Observer1959

        Re: So. Jobs was wrong.

        My 4 worked fine also the whole time I used it until upgrading to a 5. My wife is still using her 4 and I gave my 4 to my grandson as an "iPod" wannabe with the SIM pulled.

      2. JeffyPooh
        Pint

        Re: So. Jobs was wrong.

        "load of nonsense"

        So basic Antenna Physics 101 is wrong then? Having the high impedance end of monopole antennas uninsulated and the open end located right where some people may touch them isn't a basic design flaw? Gee, there may be a Nobel Prize for Physics up for grabs if you can write a paper explaining how this would work...

        Of course there are many variables, including the relative signal strength at locations you frequent.

        There are multiple solutions to this design flaw, from simply feeding the other end, to internally top loading the monopoles to bring the high impedance end inside where it's safe and cozy.

        Anyone that knows anything about how antennas actually work would have pointed this out at the preliminary design review stage, if not before.

    2. Alan W. Rateliff, II
      Paris Hilton

      Re: So. Jobs was wrong.

      I don't necessarily care, though I have seen demonstrations which lead me to believe it does exist. That and the fact the infallible Jobs admitted to it and apologized. But then I also know people who absolutely refuse to admit it ever existed simply because THEY didn't experience it.

      Paris, not certain she exists since I've never experienced her.

      1. Nick Ryan Silver badge

        Re: So. Jobs was wrong.

        From what I know from discussions with real designers of products like it, the exposed antenna was a pretty bad design in the first place. While there's always a need to not shield an antenna by casing it in metal, exposing it was a way round this however this meant that it could be grounded by contact with the user's hands. The models that didn't suffer from reception problems appeared to have a good quality coating that covers and insulates the antenna, the models that didn't either didn't have this coating or it was poorly or patchily applied.

      2. Observer1959

        Re: So. Jobs was wrong.

        I think it existed but that it had to do with the strength of the network it is trying to use. I could watch the bars on my ATT version go up and down while holding and not holding our two iPhone 4 but it never seemed to cause any issues for us.

  2. JDX Gold badge
    Flame

    Great objective reporting...

    1. Annihilator
      Alert

      "The Cupertino idiot-tax operation" does seem like a next leap forward in fanboi-baiting.

      1. Rukario
        Mushroom

        > "The Cupertino idiot-tax operation" does seem like a next leap forward in fanboi-baiting."

        And they will take the bait. [takes a quick glance down] Oh look, they've already started.

        <- looks like a bucket of popcorn if you squint hard enough

      2. DerekCurrie
        FAIL

        The Microsoft Tax

        "The Cupertino idiot-tax operation" is a lame, knee-jerk reaction to the long well known and infamous "Microsoft Tax". Which one of the two concepts makes sense? You decide. But check your facts before you decide. Knowing what you're talking about is consistently useful.

        1. JDX Gold badge

          Re: The Microsoft Tax

          I think they're both equally asinine.

    2. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Trollface

      Great "Objective: MOH MONEY" reporting, more like.

  3. Shasta McNasty
    FAIL

    Hmmm

    Those who progressed with the lawsuit were only after money and I feel that $15 was even too much.

    If you wanted to make a point to Apple, they should have returned the phones stating they didn't work and leave Apple with a large amount of refunds/replacements and a shedload of iphones they can't sell.

    Sadly, I feel a lot of people were blinded by the "Its a shiny new apple product" viewpoint and had to have one, even if they weren't designed/built properly.

    1. g e

      Re: Hmmm

      Wasn't that why the bumpers were given out to pre-empt people sending a shitload of faulty devices back to them?

  4. Annihilator
    Pint

    Personal touch

    "Very truly yours, Apple iPhone 4 Settlement Claims Administrator"

    Got to love the personal touch!

  5. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    Wow - a Class Action lawsuit with a DOUBLE-DIGIT payout!!!

    $15 each. Wow.

    This sets the new benchmark, putting to shame the previous high water mark of $4.76 each.

    1. Darryl
      Happy

      Re: Wow - a Class Action lawsuit with a DOUBLE-DIGIT payout!!!

      Don't forget to report it on your income taxes

  6. ratfox
    Happy

    Wonder if I'll get it

    I did buy two iPhones 4, got the free bumper thingies, but moved to another continent since…

    I like the new "Cupertino idiot-tax operation" myself!

  7. Lord Elpuss Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Corrections

    Jasper,

    A slight correction in your article. "The Cupertino idiot-tax operation..." should read "The Cupertino operation", or preferably just "Apple".

    It's a small but important correction, and has the immediate added effect of not making the writer sound like a 12 year old. Unless you are actually 12, in which case good luck; puberty's gonna be a bitch.

    1. Raz
      Happy

      Re: Corrections @Lord Elpuss

      You forgot on what site you are. I would stop reading The Reg (the pure facts you can get in many places) if not for the "personal touch" in their articles and for the great community.

  8. ecofeco Silver badge
    Pirate

    Lucky they even got money

    Most class actions are settled with coupons or discounts on your next purchase, in this country.

    No joke.

    That they received cash is amazing.

    < cause aren't they?

  9. ukpm

    Value of the cheque

    That cheque, or check as it's a U.S. court settlement, would be worth a lot more than $15 if kept, un-cashed, for future Apple collectors.

    1. Rukario
      Thumb Down

      Re: Value of the cheque

      Sadly, Tim Cook is no Don Knuth.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Rubbish

    Steve Jobs was never human!

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