IS APPLE INC. trying to deflect criticism of its new iPhone 4 antenna design by claiming that all smart phones suffer reception problems? Executives at BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) seem to think so.
RIM’s co-chief executives issued a statement late Friday defending the BlackBerry’s design, and calling Apple’s approach to dealing with the iPhone 4’s antenna issue “unacceptable”.
“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable”, reads the statement from Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie. “Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation."
According to a report from Reuters, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told a press conference on Friday that there were no problems with the iPhone 4’s wraparound antenna design, despite numerous consumer complaints of reduced signal strength leading to dropped calls, when the touch-screen phone was held a certain way.
"This is life in the smart phone world”, Jobs said. “Phones aren’t perfect. Most every smart phone we tested behaved like this", citing Research in Motion, Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp. by name.
But RIM took exception to being singled out, and said that it has intentionally “avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage.”
“Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple”, the statement continued.
Apple launched the iPhone 4 on June 24 in the United States, the U.K., Japan, France and Germany. The company confirmed that it still plans to release the iPhone 4 to another 17 countries, including Canada, on July 30.
