Rotten hardware core in Apple's iPhone 3G

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 14 August 2008 03:54

Business IT - Technology

My Teknik suggests the probable cause is poor antenna alignment, and that this could have been missed during random production checks as the iPhone does not have an external antenna socket that could be used to directly connect test equipment.

The article quotes a spokesperson from carrier Telia Sonera as saying that only a small number of iPhone customers have reported issues and that "we have received no information to suggest that it would be a problem."

Whenever someone complains about poor 3G reception on an iPhone, someone else always seems to chime in that they have no such problems. That would seem consistent with the idea that there is not a fundamental problem with the design of the iPhone 3G or its components, but that the issue is one that arises in production.

The point is that a mobile phone that does not conform to the relevant standards is clearly not fit for its purpose, and so (depending on the jurisdiction) consumer protection laws may entitle owners of faulty units to their choice of a replacement phone or a full refund. Exactly what the position would be regarding the cancellation of any related mobile contract is an interesting point.

If it did turn out that the issue could not be corrected with firmware and that either a chip replacement or some form of hardware adjustment, it could prove expensive for Apple, which has already sold 3 or 4 million iPhone 3Gs, depending on which analysts you believe.

Exactly how expensive would depend on the nature of the fault and the percentage of affected units. But with the iPhone 3G due to go on sale in dozens of additional countries from August 22 - only eight days away -and a total of 50 additional countries by the end of the year, Apple would do well to put the issue to bed as quickly as possible.