What will Apple say about the iPhone 4?

Computerworld - By now, the entire civilized world knows that Apple Inc. has called a press conference for tomorrow, presumably to address the antenna and reception problems experienced by some iPhone 4 users.

There is speculation that Apple could announce a program to give away a $29 Apple-branded iPhone 4 Bumper case that would fix the wireless signal reduction problem. The disruption occurs when a user holds the lower left side of the phone and covers the gap in the antenna that encircles the exterior edge of the phone.

Consumer Reports recommended that Apple give a plastic-and-rubber bumper or some other type of case to iPhone 4 owners, since its testing showed that a bumper would help prevent the reduction in the wireless signal.

Consumer Reports had issued an earlier finding that it could not recommend the iPhone 4 because of the reception problem. Even putting duct tape over the gap on the lower left side can help, as can holding the phone differently, the magazine said, but it noted that those solutions put the burden for a fix on the user.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

Since Consumer Reports is a respected, independent testing authority, its recommendation to give away a bumper has considerable weight, as several financial analysts have noted. Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, for example, pointed out that an Apple-branded iPhone 4 Bumper costs the company $1 or less, so a giveaway would be "financially immaterial" and would cost much less than a full recall.

While a bumper giveaway might sound like a logical move, several analysts today said Apple still could appear at the Friday event and obfuscate the issue and then give away nothing. Some have even suggested that Apple might just use the event to announce the release of an update to the iPhone operating system -- indeed Macrumors has said that iOS 4.0.1 will ship today with a new signal strength indicator for the phone. Apple first described the need for the update in a July 2 letter on its Web site.

Successful as it is, Apple can be stubborn for many reasons, analysts said, and it might avoid a hardware fix, a recall or a bumper giveaway because it wouldn't want to admit that it made a mistake in the design or testing of the iPhone 4 before it went on sale.

"They need to acknowledge there is a problem, which they probably won't do very effectively," said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J.Gold Associates LLC. "They should say they've heard their customers and take the complaints very seriously, even if just a small minority of customers are experiencing problems. I suspect they will downplay this and say how many happy and loyal customer they have."