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Comment by jonknee | Hacker News Reader

Releasing a beautiful product that needs a plastic cover to function properly (without this being made known at launch) is no way to restore brand image. That's actually a great way to become a laughing stock and make the early adopters feel like chumps. I think that woud actually be worse than doing nothing--it admits fault.

Apple has never hosted a press conference like this, I doubt it will be for something as simple as a free bumper.

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Nah, doing nothing is the ultimate slap in the face. It's like buying a watch only to find out it stops when it contacts your wrist. The guy that sells it says "It's just a watch and look it still shows correct time twice a day. Just wear it differently." Recall is most likely, but I can see the option of a recall or a case being a smart business decision. Many people would take the free case option reducing the actual cost of the recall.

It's very similar to Nintendo's position with the Wii a year or two ago. When people started throwing their Wii remotes through their TVs, Nintendo promptly apologized and started shelling out for rubberized grips, and made it very well known that there was a flaw and the grips will mitigate it. That said, I know many people never used the grips. They are big and ugly and do subtract from the sleek design of the controllers, but at least they knew Nintendo tried to do something about it. That's important.

The difference being very few (if any) people bought the Wii for the remote looks. Changing its appearance was immaterial to the product. The iPhone is a stylish luxury good very much marketed based on its high-end industrial design and you can't get away with changing its looks after the fact and saving face.

You have a point, but what really matters to iPhone and Wii users is how they look/how they'll feel when using said product. If the Wii was essentially a $150 xbox I don't think it would have appealed to its intended audience nearly as well. I agree that aesthetics aren't as important to the Wii as the iPhone, but the solution to the iPhone issue (at least, the case; not the duct tape) is less ugly/cumbersome.

Absolutely agree. Admitting that the iPhone 4 requires a bumper would be disastrous.

I expect them to offer a thirty day money back guarantee. That admits nothing but instills lots of confidence.

I'm not sure exactly what you meant, but a 30 day return window is already the refund policy for the iPhone:

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/salespolicies.html#...

Additionally, in California, there's a legal requirement of a 30-day return window. (http://www.consumercal.org/article.php?id=224)

Critics have always and easily posited that Apple makes shiny devices that are easily scratched up in your pocket or through day to day use. Critics have always pointed out the need for a case to "properly use" an Apple product...going as far back as the original 5GB Firewire only, Mac only iPod.

I disagree. I've had my iPhone 3G for 2 years and always carried it in my pocket. I keep keys and coins (and anything else scratchy) in a different pocket. The phone is completely unscratched (apart from tiny and unimportant scratches on the plastic back from being placed on hard surfaces).

Every iPhone case I've seen has looked ugly and clumsy to me. The 'bumpers' are better than most, but there's no way I'd be prepared to use one, even if it were free.

Totally disagree with you here. As of (at least) the 3G (and 3GS), Apple has delivered very scratch resistant products. I totally abuse my iPhones, carry them in the same pocket as my keys and coins, and I've yet to put a visible scratch on them. I've got a tiny little chip on the side of my 3GS, but that was from dropping it onto a concrete sidewalk from a height of about three feet.

If I had an iPhone4, I'd get something like this: http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/apple-iphone-4-cases-scr...

I don't know if it'd help the antenna issue, but they work great for protecting your devices from scratching without covering up their good looks. I've got a similar skin for my Nexus One and have been very pleased so far.

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