Apple: Every Phone Has Reception Issues, Have a Free Bumper!

The bottom line from Apple’s emergency iPhone 4 antennagate press conference today is this: all phones have this problem, not just the iPhone 4, and very few Apple customers told us they’re experiencing it. But, just to make iPhone 4 owners happy, the company is providing everyone with a free bumper case and giving refunds to those who already bought one.

The press conference itself reminded me more of good theater than anything else. Jobs tried to show that the company has a sense of humor by playing the iPhone 4 antenna song from YouTube, though that didn’t appear to lighten the mood any. He then tried for some humility by admitting that Apple isn’t perfect. The effect of that was mitigated somewhat by trotting out a bunch of other phones that supposedly have the same problem to show that the iPhone 4 isn’t alone. That came off as a bit defensive, but all the time Jobs did emphasize that Apple loves its customers and wants to make them happy.

Even though less than 1% of customers have called AppleCare about the issue and returns are less than a third of iPhone 3GS returns, the iPhone 4 does drop slightly more calls than the 3GS (1 per 100). And Apple is trying to make things right by offering free bumper cases for every iPhone 4 purchased through September 30th. (Just in case you’re wondering, the bumpers are available in white, black, blue, green, orange, or pink.)

You can also return the iPhone 4 within 30 days for a full refund and no restocking fee if this whole death grip issue is a huge problem for you.

iPhone 4 owners, are you feeling the love on this one?

Image Credit: Engadget