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User Suing Apple For iPhone 3G Flakiness

Submitted by Edward Kirk on August 20, 2008 - 10:41pm.
in

Some users have been experiencing some problems with the 3G on their iPhone 3G, and one new owner has decided to try to get her money's worth. A women in Alabama by the name of Jessica Alena Smith has filed a lawsuit against Apple for selling her a device that didn't meet all the hype in the advertisements.

Smith purchased the device in response to Apple's very convincing advertising. "One could barely turn on the television without hearing that the new iPhone 3G was 'twice as fast for half the price,'" reads the complaint. However, from day one her device's data connection, e-mail, SMS, and other communications were slower than she had expected them to be. This is particularly unusual given that her home area of Birmingham, Alabama has comparatively excellent 3G coverage compared to other locations in the US.

Of course, she's far from alone in her frustration. As you might remember, several users have been reporting issues with 3G coverage, and still others are reporting issues with the latest software update.

She knows she's not alone, too. That's why she is asking that her case be approved as a class-action case, and request that Apple be ordered to repair all of the "defective" devices, as well as pay unspecified damages, pre- and post-judgment interest on monetary relief, and attorney's fees.

[via Ars Technica]

Where do I sign up to join?

Submitted by BZATWORK on August 20, 2008 - 10:51pm.
I'd like to sign up for this lawsuit. My 3g connection is inconsistent.

Submitted by Beast on August 20, 2008 - 11:11pm.
My sisters and brother-in-law all got a new 3G and have been so frustrated with dropped calls, missed calls, and overall poor reception. Hopefully this is fixed soon (either by lawsuit or by software update).

Really?!

Submitted by Dttah214 (not verified) on August 20, 2008 - 11:17pm.
So, there's a 30 day return policy and a one year warrenty. She's got zero grounds for a lawsuit. Wow...good ol' Alabama. Keeps on crankin' out real winners.

Submitted by Catasphere on August 20, 2008 - 11:41pm.
I'm totally for it. I feel like destroying my iPhone sometimes, and hopefully this will show Apple not to rush their products.

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 12:31am.
Its about time someone stood up to Apple! Claiming a phone is half the price, when it is in reality more expensive is false marketing. Not to mention the crappy 2.0+ software that is so buggy I almost threw my 3G out of a window today. I hope she wins.

Submitted by ghp2006 on August 21, 2008 - 1:30am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Its about time someone stood up to Apple! Claiming a phone is half the price, when it is in reality more expensive is false marketing. Not to mention the crappy 2.0+ software that is so buggy I almost threw my 3G out of a window today. I hope she wins.
It is half the price of the original.
As for this frivolous suit - it has no legs because no attempt was made to obtain a replacement phone. But there is always a lawyer looking for headlines and a quick buck.

If I had my way, any lawyer presenting such crap before a court should be severely fined and face disbarment.

ajm

I'm in

Submitted by jdha2875 on August 21, 2008 - 5:47am.
Where do i sign? I am a little disappointed not to just the network issue but the battery life, the freezing and the application downloading always saying to retry or that it will be available to download from the apple store when you connect.

Submitted by jdha2875 on August 21, 2008 - 5:51am.
You are right about the warranty and the return, but the point is that return it for another piece of crap or false advertised item. Her point is to get it fixed sell what you advertise and stand behind it and follow threw, although I am not the brightest bulb myself but thats how I understand it. And as an iPhone user i want it to work, the way it supose to .

Serously

Submitted by tknice (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 5:53am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghp2006 View Post
It is half the price of the original.
As for this frivolous suit - it has no legs because no attempt was made to obtain a replacement phone. But there is always a lawyer looking for headlines and a quick buck.

If I had my way, any lawyer presenting such crap before a court should be severely fined and face disbarment.

ajm
I have a 3G and it's by far the best phone I've ever owned by a long shot. I'm not seeing any of the problems you people are crying about in some of these threads. WTF. I live in Maryland and have not had a single dropped call or time where a call didn't go through in the month I've owned the phone!

Besides that, we are all holding one of the most innovative devices in recent years, one that has craploads of free apps that pummels any other phone out there, and a very good internet experience in our pocket---all for $199.

I just don't get it.

I cant even make a call on 3G now!!

Submitted by Noah (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 6:36am.
Latest upgrade killed my 3G connection completely, so now what. The only workaround i could find is to move back to Edge which is not why I purchased the new one. I would love to get in on this law suit.

Submitted by exbusfish on August 21, 2008 - 6:44am.
Do you guys realize that to sue you must prove DAMAGES? Have you had more dropped calls than on any other phone on other services? Even better, for those of you who are complaining, did you call AT&T or go to the Apple Store? Have you done a restore down to the 2.0.0 software version? If not, SHUT UP!

I have had almost every type of phone available and I have to say that it is the most innovative and pleasant smart phone experience I have ever had! Also, the possibilities are ENDLESS with the app store, GPS, Wifi, and the 3G connection.

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 7:45am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by exbusfish View Post
Do you guys realize that to sue you must prove DAMAGES? Have you had more dropped calls than on any other phone on other services? Even better, for those of you who are complaining, did you call AT&T or go to the Apple Store? Have you done a restore down to the 2.0.0 software version? If not, SHUT UP!

I have had almost every type of phone available and I have to say that it is the most innovative and pleasant smart phone experience I have ever had! Also, the possibilities are ENDLESS with the app store, GPS, Wifi, and the 3G connection.
So, you're saying, the Apple is allowed to lie as long as you are happy? And, of course, the service is MUCh better than when we had to yell out of our cave entrances so it must be that we're all just expecting too much?

Or could it be that you just had to say something in order to keep the keyboard clicking, the sound of silence was too loud for you?

And you know what a winner looks like because?

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 9:27am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dttah214 View Post
So, there's a 30 day return policy and a one year warrenty. She's got zero grounds for a lawsuit. Wow...good ol' Alabama. Keeps on crankin' out real winners.
Your just mad because you didn't have the guts to face Apple yourself. OH, and you spelled warranty wrong.

Gun point at Wrong Assailant

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 9:38am.
Where the lawsuit should point, is at AT&T who is providing such poor 3G coverage and support, even where coverage does exist it's poor and we are paying $15/mo extra for the same level of service we had with the original iPhone. With Apple it's a supposed deception in advertising, with AT&T it's pure THEFT by taking money for services you can't provide. It's not as is Apple didn't inform AT&T that they were going to be introducing 3G with their new iPhones in July.

Apple has taken a beating with each iPhone with STUPID frivolous lawsuits from customers suing for outrageous Roaming bills when out of country to suits when the price dropped $200.

Where are the Ambulance chasers when they are really needed?

It's not Apple's fault!!

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 9:48am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Its about time someone stood up to Apple! Claiming a phone is half the price, when it is in reality more expensive is false marketing. Not to mention the crappy 2.0+ software that is so buggy I almost threw my 3G out of a window today. I hope she wins.
As a previous respondent said look at the real "Thief" AT&T they set the prices for service Apple just has exclusivity of iPhone advertising in the US and advertises with what it is dealt. AT&T is the one charging $15/mo more when 85% of the US geographically cannot take advantage of that 3G service. As has been seen in blogs past AT&T is not providing 3G coverage even where their coverage maps say it should exist.

Wow...

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 9:58am.
What I'm shocked over, is that no one is blaming AT&T. The phone is advertised to be half the price. It's $199. I paid $600 for my first gen iPhone. That's more then half the price. It's also advertised to SUPPORT 3G. Does it support 3G? Yes it does. Are the 3G specs twice as fast as Edge? Yes they are. So if the device supports 3G, witch is twice the speed of edge, then it is twice as fast just like they advertise. There dropped calls, slow and bad connection to 3G, has nothing to do with Apple or it's iPhone. It is AT&T not providing a good service to it's customers. If she wants to sue, sue AT&T. I love my iPhone. But I hate AT&T. I used to get a signal at my house when it was Cingular. Since AT&T took over, I can get a clear signal at my house. Bastards.....

Submitted by Beast on August 21, 2008 - 10:03am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Its about time someone stood up to Apple! Claiming a phone is half the price, when it is in reality more expensive is false marketing. Not to mention the crappy 2.0+ software that is so buggy I almost threw my 3G out of a window today. I hope she wins.
It's not more expensive. The data plan ultimately is more expensive and that's not on Apple's end, that would be At&t. At&t never claimed anything about their plan being cheaper.

Also, I agree with some of the others here. She has no legs to stand on in this case. From a legal perspective, no matter how right someone may be, she has to have proof and legitimacy to win the case. Also, if you haven't learned from the past, in a lawsuit, it is generally the person with the most money who wins. It's the American way.

Hmmmm

Submitted by jdha2875 on August 21, 2008 - 10:34am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
you guys are idiots.
it's people like you that make america suck.
America Doesn't suck, however it is people that bring change when change is needed. It is not our fault Apple and At&t are not providing the equipment or service they claim. It is like anything else think back to when you were disappointed in a purchase or agreement, maybe a piece of electronics or a car etc. Did you do something about it or thought I don't want to make America suck.

Submitted by jwlussow on August 21, 2008 - 11:29am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghp2006 View Post
It is half the price of the original.
As for this frivolous suit - it has no legs because no attempt was made to obtain a replacement phone. But there is always a lawyer looking for headlines and a quick buck.

If I had my way, any lawyer presenting such crap before a court should be severely fined and face disbarment.

ajm
Thank you.... First, the phone is half the price. You can't consider the service as part of the cost. A car needs fuel but I've never seen a car dealer talk about the "true" cost of the car, just the car itself.

Second, people that file frivolous suits should be liable for their attorney's fees, court costs and the attorney's fees of the person they sue. That should include any time off required for the defendants. If their case is good then they have the right. If it is bad they deserve to pay ALL costs. Maybe that will free up the courts to get to the real cases, which this is not one of them.

Half Price

Submitted by RSX3266 (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 3:59pm.
For you saying no better phone umm my wife has a tilt lets see the GPS is turn by turn not like me that on my iphone that i am on 82nd street and it says im on 76th street has video iphone does not has push to talk iphone does not as far as ipod player just stick in a memory chip the tilt also has copy and past which the iphone does not again so please explain to me how this is the best phone out there and two other points we use are phones the same my iphone is dead by 6:00pm she can use hers and it does not die till the next morning and i get about one drop call out of 10 she gets one dropped call out of 50 so please do not tell me that apple did not rush the phone and did not make a piece of crap phone t?ank

Submitted by Pepper on August 21, 2008 - 4:38pm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RSX3266 View Post
For you saying no better phone umm my wife has a tilt lets see the GPS is turn by turn not like me that on my iphone that i am on 82nd street and it says im on 76th street has video iphone does not has push to talk iphone does not as far as ipod player just stick in a memory chip the tilt also has copy and past which the iphone does not again so please explain to me how this is the best phone out there and two other points we use are phones the same my iphone is dead by 6:00pm she can use hers and it does not die till the next morning and i get about one drop call out of 10 she gets one dropped call out of 50 so please do not tell me that apple did not rush the phone and did not make a piece of crap phone t?ank
Grammar is excellent. A few periods here and there would have been nice

Submitted by frannyc28 on August 21, 2008 - 8:03pm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Where the lawsuit should point, is at AT&T who is providing such poor 3G coverage and support, even where coverage does exist it's poor and we are paying $15/mo extra for the same level of service we had with the original iPhone. With Apple it's a supposed deception in advertising, with AT&T it's pure THEFT by taking money for services you can't provide. It's not as is Apple didn't inform AT&T that they were going to be introducing 3G with their new iPhones in July.

Apple has taken a beating with each iPhone with STUPID frivolous lawsuits from customers suing for outrageous Roaming bills when out of country to suits when the price dropped $200.

Where are the Ambulance chasers when they are really needed?
I have had the funniest experience with this problem. Since the get go I have had problems with the 3G network and with their poor service. Therefore I have asked since I got the phone to AT&T to credit back on my account the iPhone service and they have so far. Although this month when I called to ask for the credit and even when I have an open case with them about this issue they gave me a hard time. What was the excuse they've used to try not to credit the price of the plan that is not working? The fact that I have been able to use SOMETIMES the 3G network and the service. When I asked how many times the rep. told me you were able to use the network 4 times... when I asked her if she thinks that 4 times in a month was worth it she offered me to change my service to the EDGE service. When I asked her if she thinks that I bought a 3G device to use it with a shitty service she told me that AT&T CAN'T WARRANTY the service to work all the time. WELL, I can understand that they can't warranty that but I thought that 4 times was not even close to provide the service SOMETIMES.

I got the fee credited back to my account and all of us should do that.

On top of that SINCE NEITHER APPLE NOR AT&T can't tell us what is going on both companies should pay. AT&T by not charging their costumers and Apple by getting sued for misleading.

Where do I have to sign?

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 8:52pm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tknice View Post
I have a 3G and it's by far the best phone I've ever owned by a long shot. I'm not seeing any of the problems you people are crying about in some of these threads. WTF. I live in Maryland and have not had a single dropped call or time where a call didn't go through in the month I've owned the phone!

Besides that, we are all holding one of the most innovative devices in recent years, one that has craploads of free apps that pummels any other phone out there, and a very good internet experience in our pocket---all for $199.

I just don't get it.
Would you be whinning to Apple if you could only get 3G connection less than 25% of the time in an area that supposedly has great 3G reception?

Would you be whinning to AT&T about having to pay $30.00 for a 3G data plan that you cannot benefit because 3G signals do not hold?

Who is to say she hasn't gone back and gotten a replacement iPhone. I don't know.

Who is to say that she has 30 days to return a product, where, in reality, she wants the product, she also wants the product to perform as advertised, at least more then less than 25% of the time.

Would you be looking for recourse?

Of course we all know that there are no guarantees when it comes to iPhone working properly, except when on stage with Steve Jobs at his Keynote speeches about iPhone.

Submitted by imagine engine on August 21, 2008 - 9:44pm.
The coverage for HSPA/EDGE and the network speeds for data is related to the carrier, not the manufacturer who supplies the hardware that uses the network. AT&T is to blame for poor coverage and slow data speeds. Why is it Canadians don't experience dropped calls and are getting an average speed 2.3 Mbps over HSPA on the iPhone 3G? The reason is the network offered by Rogers was built long ago for HSPA and still offers backwards compatibility for EDGE. The Americans are lucky if they get 1 Mbps over HSPA download even though AT&T claims on GSM World they offer 3.6 Mbps HSPA download. Wired has already posted a global iPhone 3G speed test which shows Canadians HSPA/EDGE speeds are far better than the USA. I believe AT&T poor HSPA coverage and HSPA/EDGE speeds are only coming to the attention of the media right now due to the strong demand consumers have for the iPhone 3G compared to other HSPA Smartphones. Though instead of consumers looking at all possible causes for their dropped calls and poor HSPA/EDGE speeds they focus solely on Apple instead of also looking at how the network carrier may be responsible for their issues.

Reference: http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/0...ne-global.html and http://hspa.gsmworld.com/networks/default.asp

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 21, 2008 - 10:45pm.
Give me a break. The phone is great and they will take care of any issues, what's the problem.
Be happy that we can get such an innovative piece of hardware.

Thats A good Point

Submitted by jdha2875 on August 22, 2008 - 6:46am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by imagine engine View Post
The coverage for HSPA/EDGE and the network speeds for data is related to the carrier, not the manufacturer who supplies the hardware that uses the network. AT&T is to blame for poor coverage and slow data speeds. Why is it Canadians don't experience dropped calls and are getting an average speed 2.3 Mbps over HSPA on the iPhone 3G? The reason is the network offered by Rogers was built long ago for HSPA and still offers backwards compatibility for EDGE. The Americans are lucky if they get 1 Mbps over HSPA download even though AT&T claims on GSM World they offer 3.6 Mbps HSPA download. Wired has already posted a global iPhone 3G speed test which shows Canadians HSPA/EDGE speeds are far better than the USA. I believe AT&T poor HSPA coverage and HSPA/EDGE speeds are only coming to the attention of the media right now due to the strong demand consumers have for the iPhone 3G compared to other HSPA Smartphones. Though instead of consumers looking at all possible causes for their dropped calls and poor HSPA/EDGE speeds they focus solely on Apple instead of also looking at how the network carrier may be responsible for their issues.

Reference: http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/0...ne-global.html and http://hspa.gsmworld.com/networks/default.asp

That is a good point let sue both lol, I just have hop that it doesn't come down to this perhaps they AT&T and Apple will just kick it up a notch and get behind this and work it out.

Don't believe the hype!

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 30, 2008 - 6:11pm.
I purchased my iphone 3g in response to all the advertisements as well. Now I'd rather have my old samsung flip phone back! I 've experienced dropped calls, app. that load slowly (such sms), among many other things. I am looking to exchange my phone for something else!

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 30, 2008 - 6:21pm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Your just mad because you didn't have the guts to face Apple yourself. OH, and you spelled warranty wrong.
I'm with you. We shouldn't have to keep spending hrs. in line at the At&t store or on the phone with At&t...only to receive another crappy iphone (I'm sure we've all done our share of waiting for the iphone already). I think w/ all the complaints there has to be a problem with the phone....NOT the customers! BTW...to the guy who posted the comment about Alabama residents...I reside in Alabama as well!

Submitted by mikg02 on August 30, 2008 - 8:42pm.
And like Lynyrd Skynyrd says..."a Southern man don't want him around, anyhow".
Mike Giambra, formerly of:

SR Butler HS (1970)
Huntsville, Alabama.

money wins

Submitted by rarebear on September 2, 2008 - 3:16am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beast View Post
It's not more expensive. The data plan ultimately is more expensive and that's not on Apple's end, that would be At&t. At&t never claimed anything about their plan being cheaper.

Also, I agree with some of the others here. She has no legs to stand on in this case. From a legal perspective, no matter how right someone may be, she has to have proof and legitimacy to win the case. Also, if you haven't learned from the past, in a lawsuit, it is generally the person with the most money who wins. It's the American way.

see the OJ Simpson case, they let a killer loose because he paid million dollars to cr**k lawyers