Apple to Give Free Cases

"We're not perfect," Steve Jobs said at the news conference called to talk about the iPhone 4 antenna problem. "We know that; you know that."

"And phones are not perfect either." Jobs said. Apple started getting reports about the iPhone 4 antenna
problem almost as soon as the device went on sale. But Apple says less than half of one percent of iPhone 4
buyers called to complain about the antenna. He also said the iPhone 4 is the best product Apple ever has
made. "People seem to like it; users seem to love it," he said. After three weeks, it has the highest evaluations
ever."

"We have been working our butts off for the last 22 days" to fix it, he said. "We haven't had our heads in the
sand."

"We want to find out what the real problem is before we start to come up with a real solution," he said. The
data shows that the antenna signal drop-off is not unique to the iPhone 4, but most people haven't looked at this before."

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 also has the same problem the iPhone 4 has. It is identical to the iPhone 4 in that
regard, he says. The HTC Droid Eris also loses bars when gripped. The signal goes down right away but the
algorithm might delay the signal strength indicator to show the new signal strength. The Samsung Omnia II
likewise has the problem, Jobs said.

These problems affect most smartphones in areas of weak signal strength, Jobs said. "This is life in the smartphone world; phones aren't perfect."

Rates of return for the iPhone 4 in fact are lower than for the iPhone 3GS, Jobs said.