Lawsuit filed over iPhone 4 antenna issue
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After just a week of availability, Apple’s iPhone 4 is the subject of a class-action lawsuit.
Citing the iPhone 4’s antenna problems, which requires users to hold the smart phone in a particular way to avoid connection problems, law office Mason LLP has filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It claims to be speaking on behalf of ‘hundreds of thousands’ of iPhone 4 owners.
The focus of the lawsuit is to highlight what the plaintiffs say is a defective antenna. They are requesting that the court require Apple to offer a case at no charge to iPhone 4 buyers. The suit also asks for monetary damages related to the alleged ‘diminished value of the phone.’
Unlike the iPhones that came before it, the iPhone 4’s antenna is a steel frame that wraps around its outside. If users cover the antenna on the sides of the iPhone, they can interfere with the phone’s reception.
Apple said this week that the problem is common among mobile phones and that it can be resolved by holding the device differently or using a protective case.
Apple currently sells a case, called Bumper, for $29.
Requiring the purchase of a case, according to Gary E. Mason, the plaintiffs’ attorney, is unacceptable.
‘Apple is not delivering the phone it promised to customers,’ Mason said in a statement. ‘Customers who paid hundreds of dollars for the phone now have to spend an extra $30 on a cellphone case just to ensure their phone works as expected.’
-- Don Reisinger