Apple has twice now delayed the release of the white iPhone 4. And according to a new report, the groundhog may see his shadow before consumers glimpse a white iPhone 4.
Apple fans holding out for a white version of the iPhone 4 will have to wait until next spring.
The bad news, for anyone with holiday visions of a snowy-white
iPhone 4, comes via Reuters, which reported Oct. 26 that Apple won't be
releasing the devices until early next year.
"We're sorry to disappoint customers waiting for the white iPhone again," Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said, according to
Reuters.
While a black version of the iPhone 4 was released in June, the
white model was delayed until July, then pushed to the end of year, and
now again to early next year. Muller offered no explanation for the
current delay, according to Reuters, though in a July press statement
on the matter Apple explained that the white models have been "more
challenging to manufacture than we originally expected."
Industry rumors suggest that Apple is having a hard time matching
the colors of the iPhone 4's plastic shell and the Home button, since
they come from different suppliers. And certainly,
as has been pointed out, delays tend to point to design flaws.
Though, certainly, design flaws can also arrive perfectly on time.
Following the iPhone 4's launch, complaints began to emerge regarding
its new antenna design, which reportedly led to calls to be dropped
when the smartphone's bottom corner was covered by the user's hand. The
issue - dubbed "antennagate" by Apple CEO Jobs, in a press conference
held to address the matter - prompted multiple lawsuits against Apple,
and even led New York State Senator Chuck Schumer to send Jobs a letter
on consumers' behalf.
Jobs eventually put an end to the matter by offering rubber cases,
or "bumpers," to iPhone 4 owners, after the cases were shown to prevent
interference. Although, soon afterward the offer was rescinded, with
Apple saying in a note on its site that the "antenna attenuation issue"
was truly a problem for even fewer handsets than it had originally
thought, and that after Sept. 30, anyone wanting a bumper would again
have to pay $29.
Antenna attenuation or not, Apple has had no trouble selling the
0.37-inch-thin, black iPhone 4. Within three days of its launch, Apple
had sold more than 1.7 million of them. And during the company's Oct.
18 earnings call, executives shared that Apple sold 14.1 million
iPhones over the quarter, which represented a year-over-year increase
of 91 percent.
Still, if a thin, white device is your bag, perhaps you may consider the
BlackBerry Bold 9780, with the BlackBerry 6 OS: T-Mobile will begin offering it Nov. 17.
However, if you're feeling white-iPhone 4-or-nothing, take heart.
It's been reported that the elusive white iPhone 4, whether with
matching white bits or not, does in fact exist, and that some have been
trusted to members of the Apple staff. The time may be right for visiting Cupertino-area
beer gardens...
Email
Print
