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Second lawsuit hits over iPhone 3G performance

updated 09:45 am EDT, Wed September 3, 2008

Second iPhone 3G lawsuit


A second lawsuit has been filed over the network performance of the iPhone 3G, documents show. Both Apple and AT&T have been sued by William Gillis, a customer who complains that the companies have recklessly oversold the iPhone 3G, knowing that neither the device nor AT&T's 3G network can support fast access for the current influx of users. Gillis notes that although the latter company has claimed that the iPhone is "performing great" on 3G, speeds are not up to advertised levels, and people are being kicked down to EDGE in areas that should support 3G.

Apple is being taken to task for excessive power demands on the part of the iPhone, which may be triggering the drops to EDGE. Although Apple is believed to be working on a fix for the problem due this month, Gillis charges that the present iPhone packaging should warn shoppers that network performance may fall below par.

Ideally, he says, Apple would "simply disclose complete and accurate information about the product," and Gillis is looking to make the suit a class action case, which would allow all AT&T subscribers affected by 3G problems to earn compensation. The suit seeks restitution and punitive damages, and an injunction against false 3G marketing claims used by Apple and AT&T.


by MacNN Staff

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TAGS :

 iPhone, troubleshooting, AT&T, networking, lawsuits, iPhone 3G, Apple

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Comments

  1. dynsight

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2005

    +3
    09/03, 09:56am | report spam | Reply |

    Valid Lawsuit

    Hate saying this, but this is completely valid.

    I love apple, and generally, ATT has been good. However, they are still advertising 1.4 Mbps. Using a speed test, I have been logging my speeds. In the last three weeks, I have been averaging about 200-300kbps, often only reaching 56kbps.

    I am in the middle of Philadelphia, which is supposed to have excellent 3G coverage.

    I have requested a refund from ATT for the additional data costs, and they are considering my request.

    They said they would most likely honor it, which would of course mean I would not sue (why should I).

    Hopefully someone at ATT gets fired because of this.

  1. horvatic

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2002

    +3
    09/03, 09:58am | report spam | (1 reply) Reply |

    Bla, bla, bla...WHINERS!

    Bunch of WHINERS! Another one looking for a fast buck, doesn't care less about the performance of the iPhone. This is about trying to make a fast buck through the court system.
    IT WON'T WORK!!!! Apple is moving fast to correct 3G performance issues, and will easily prove that they are doing so. People think that this stuff can be fixed overnight or something, well it doesn't work that way in real life. But WHINERS like this don't have a clue.

  1. Roehlstation

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +3
    09/03, 10:53am | report spam | (1 reply) Reply |

    Performance

    I've been getting well OVER the advertised 3G speed, should I complain too?

  1. zooachtiv

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 2004

    +1
    09/03, 11:01am | report spam | Reply |

    its ATT

    While I agree that there are many problems, the real issue is with ATT.

    I have a client who has a 3G connect card. That thing sucks! And it sucked waaay before the iPhone came out.

    The issue is the network, not the iPhone. It works great everywhere but here in the US.

    One thing that hasn't been discussed very much is the whole issue of usage. I dont think that anyone from ATT had a clue as to how much strain iPhone users would tax the network.

    I have a first gen iPhone, My phone doesnt ring, voicemails show up hours late. Its part of progress people. If you dont like it, go get a Verizon/Sprint phone or better yet a 3G card. Theirs works wonders. In many areas im over 2Mb all the time while the ATT card is not working at all on 3G.

  1. tmedia1

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Dec 2007

    -2
    09/03, 11:08am | report spam | Reply |

    Pray for a CDMA iPhone

    Its my sincere hope that Apple will produce a CDMA version of the iPhone some day and make it available on Verizon and Sprint. They both actually have good 3G coverage and bandwidth. As long as the iPhone is tied to AT&T, it work in a sub-par environment.

  1. Johnny Niles

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2007

    +8
    09/03, 11:13am | report spam | Reply |

    Why be reasonable

    when you can sue instead? The US is the "nation of litigation". Don't like something? Sue!

    The pair of independent tests using 2 iPhones with "known reception issues", 1 iPhone acting normally and 2 phones from other manufacturers proved that the iPhone is not the problem. Apple advertises a certain speed on the iPhone because that's what AT&T promised them.

    I agree that it sucks, I don't agree that it's Apple's fault. And I certainly don't agree that it rates getting punitive damages from Apple because you're unhappy with AT&T's coverage and/or network performance. That's even dumber than the usual idiot lawsuits aimed at Apple.

  1. dynsight

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2005

    +5
    09/03, 11:26am | report spam | Reply |

    ATT poor quality

    Again, the lawsuit against ATT seems valid. When I had my phone in Toronto, it performed wonderfully.

    Visiting Niagra falls, it was awful.

    In Philadelphia, it is generally slow. I have had absolutely no connection at all (no network access) most of today.

    It is not simply being whiners, nor is there this desire to sue for damages. I just want to be refunded for services paid for, but not delivered.

    I don't fault Apple (other than their decision to go with ATT). Tests show that SOME iPhones do not have reception issues (the sample was not statistically significant to come to any definitive conclusions...they only tested a handful of phones).

    There are issues with ATT.

  1. lklarson

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +1
    09/03, 12:04pm | report spam | Reply |

    Apple saved me a fortune

    by going with AT&T exclusively. If the iPhone had been a CDMA device, I would have had to buy 5 of them to replace the Verizon phones on my account here in Montana, where AT&T has NO native service, only very poor roaming, complete with wrong clock settings.

  1. Guest

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 1999

    +3
    09/03, 12:15pm | report spam | Reply |

    re: covg on cell phones

    to zooachtv and others. The issue of your cell phone not registering an incoming call and not displaying a voice message until hours after it was sent is a common issue for all carriers and cell phones. I have had AT&T, Sprint and now Verizon and they are all crappy for providing ontime service. This issue has been reported and discussed within consumer groups etc., and the the carriers all say they are working to improve service, but the current cell phone capabilities are all lacking on reliability at times.

  1. Kainzow

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2007

    -2
    09/03, 12:15pm | report spam | Reply |

    Regardless

    Regardless of where the fault actually lies, Apple is ultimately responsible for the performance of this product - product being handset and service. They make the speed claims and they need to get the problem fixed or there will only be more litigation and bad press.

    I detest lawsuits as much as anybody, but sometimes it's a last resort that simply has to be taken. Especially when the company offering a problematic product does absolutely nothing to acknowledge or placate the affected users.

    Apple should have done their homework and made sure that carrier networks could support the number of phones they projected to sell in each market. There is simply no excuse for this entire debacle.


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