Apple → [iPhone] Disgruntled iPhone 3G owner sues Apple over download sp

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A customer sued Apple Inc. over its iPhone 3G, saying it doesn't download Web pages and music at twice the rate of its predecessor, as the company advertises.

The 3G, which relies on a new high-speed worldwide standard to download data, connects to the network "less than 25 percent of the time," according to a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Birmingham, Ala. Plaintiff Jessica Smith seeks class-action, or group, status on behalf of other consumers.

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»www.boston.com/business/ ··· d_speed/

Smith "noticed that her Internet connection, receipt and sending of e-mail, text messages, and other data transfers through the device were slower than expected and advertised," and she experienced "an inordinate amount of dropped calls," according to her complaint.

Maybe her expectations were too high.

Moderator Action
The post that was here (and all 4 followups to it), has been removed.

Or maybe her expectations were to have a working phone as advertised. You can't deny that there are MANY complaints out there regarding the 3g service, disconnects, and other problems all related to the iPhone's capacity to work or it's inability to do so.

Lawyers get rich, everyone else loses. That is how class actions work.

If she wasn't happy with her service, she could have returned the phone within the first 30 days and then sued for the restocking fee if they even bothered to charge it (a friend of mine returned his after a week and they didn't charge a restocking fee).

This just smells like lawyers looking to get rich.

Isn't that always the case.

In this particular case, I don't believe a class action is at all warranted (yet, anyway!), but the broad brush stroke of labeling all class actions as frivolous and/or only filed to enrich the lawyers is unfortunate. There are times when such actions are warranted. I never cared much for the black/white approach to every issue; but that's just me ...
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This isnt exploding Ford engines. It's a fucking iPhone. We're not exactly talking about lives in danger. This class action lawsuit is all about green for the lawyers.

I'm with the Dv8or on this one. What a waste of time this suit will be!

I wrote above: "In this particular case, I don't believe a class action is at all warranted (yet, anyway!), but the broad brush stroke of labeling all class actions as frivolous and/or only filed to enrich the lawyers is unfortunate."

What part of this are you having the most trouble with? I'd be glad to help you understand the words "I don't believe" and "a class action is at all" and, of course, "warranted" if you like. You appear to be dancing on the fringe of reason Toss in the Troll lock thread's 'B word' and I dunno ...
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What a wasteoid.

Anyone who understands ANYTHING about cellular technology knows that it's just radio signals. At the end of the day, they can be as reliable as the weather - that's to say, not at all.

It's the nature of the beast. End of transmission.

IMO, those times were class actions are warranted are extremely rare. But this broad brush is not much different that the one being used by some to call the 3G a POS or the MobileMe deployment for example a disaster.

Yeah, some people are having trouble with their 3G iPhones but certainly not everyone. As such, there is no well defined class. It certainly can't be said that everyone who bought an iPhone is affected yet everyone will automatically be opted in.

Class actions should be by default opt out and people should have to affirmatively be added to the class instead of affirm that they want out. But that's where the money tree is for these blood sucking lawyers.

Actually in Apple's case: Lawyers get rich, Apple finally admits to design flaws, recalls the iPhone... customers happy ..Apple sad... :-(

$299 + etf fee, hardly worth a lawyer's time.

well, it's obvious the phone is rife with problems.. And certainly the download speed is questionable. Though, I'm sure in the fine print that the speed is dependent upon 3G networks .

I think the problem here, at least on the phone, is that a considerable number of people want it both ways (example in a moment) and others see it one way or the other.

For example, Apple relies on the media for super-hyped product launches and the media obliges. To posit that the Apple isn't setting itself up for the perfect storm by creating this mega-marketing hype is at the least a gross understatement. They, Apple, are also rolling the dice on what can be - and usually is - financial successes from these types of launches.

Any negative blow-back would be in direct proportion to the hype level. In this case, if even 5% of iPhone customers are having trouble post-launch, then you're bound to hear the sound of unhappy customers and countless stories on a national level. There's no way around it. Add to this the perception, real or not, of Apple product superiority, and they've doubled up the bet on roll out. Toss in secrecy all the way around the product's subsequent problems and what do people expect?

As for class action, I don't want to take this too OT other than to say that I agree for the most part because defendants need only move the case to federal court (where they'll usually win) and the lawyers collect their money and walk away. However, occasionally suits have merit and do make a positive difference.

But there's also a troubling trend in this country to individualize and privatize as a means of defending every facet of corporate (and government) responsibility and transparency there is. We can easily see how well this trend has worked here and overseas. We now so often toss baby with bath water that soon they'll be no recourse for real problems. And that's exactly how someone in power would want it to be. I'm no fan of ambulance-chasing lawyers, trust me, but I'm no baby tosser either.

This doesn't rise to the level of class action in my opinion, but that's now for a local or federal court to decide, and it's a right that, even though abused, we shouldn't throw away because some parties (lawyers) abuse that right.
That's exactly what every corporation would love for people to demand. My fear is that far too many people now think that thinking for themselves, when in fact someone else is deftly thinking for them by creating an illusion of the empowered individual, simply contributes to our ultimate deterioration.
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What pisses me off is Apple hasn't even made one meep other than an unverified steve jobs email to some random internet guy.

I'd love to see this much scrutiney put on something like the Pantech Duo. Or how about the popular Sony who's keys broke off for several months after release?

Apple boasts so we hold them to higher expectations.

Me three.
Also, don't these morons bother to read the disclaimer.
There is a * next to the claim and this is the disclaimer -
*Comparisons between iPhone 3G (8GB) and first-generation iPhone (8GB) running on EDGE. Actual speeds vary by site conditions.
I guess she can now claim her disabled sticker for being blind and stupid!

And that's fine if it was advertised as "up to 2x faster" with a butt load of disclaimers.

But it wasn't.. it was advertised as "2x" faster. Regardless of the circumstance, it wasn't.

IMO, if a product doesn't perform as advertised, it's open game.. Be it a $.99 pen or a $120,000 automobile; I'm ok with the concept of "truth in advertising"

Considering it frivolous is giving up the right to complain if a product of any sort doesn't live up to advertised expectations. I don't think I'm ready to do that, even if it is Apple.

So, if Apple sold a iToaster and it burned all the toast regardless of any toasting selection, it wouldn't be a case either? By the way, leave the filthy language elsewhere.

Apple is getting what it deserves. They should admit problems, recall them, and fix them. Instead, they are getting sued.

I mentioned this days ago, anyone can sue in smalls claim court if all else fails, your evidence- take your phone with you.
Its hardly "a small cost" involved here with the expensive contract, better get rid of this "lemon" ASAP and either wait for a good one or get the original unlocked/jailbroken I-Phone used on ebay as I suggested a month ago.
I strongly feel that even if you have one working perfectly now it is liable to malfunction later, Do not let AT&T replace the phone or sell you another brand!
It also has not yet been tested independently regarding heat issues on the battery/phone with extremely high 3G usage.
I could cry that Apple is determined to make their loyal fans pay the price for their negligence with this delaying "damage control" attitude- in my opinion the man at the top is not thinking rationally!
The correct response would be- "we don't know how many phones are having these issues BUT we will replace any phone with a new one when it comes out!
How much money would be lost? Very little, I am sure many would want (and pay for) the lemon even if the GPS and 3G did not work. No, the top thinking dept. at Apple is clearly broken. How much is their huge fan base worth, not just for phones?

Well, Steve Jobs was boasting about 3G being closer to Wi-Fi and how his new iPhone was downloading faster on the 3G than on the edge network in his presentation of the new iPhone, so this lady felt cheated. The Class Action suit threats are supposed to keep advertising from lying and from people performing bad services to others.

I would NOT buy an iPhone until the gadget is unshackled from AT&T

Must you follow me everywhere I go?

Class actions SUITS should be other than what they are... a way for law firms to make a ton of cash. Law firms LOOOOOVE class action suits.

Shouldn't she be suing AT&T? The speed is dependent on the network and of course there's always that "UP TO" clause.

Well normally yes but apple took full blame for this one and wants people to wait a month to fix a issue they claim is with the chip.

They say they did one fix earlier this week which made thigs worse for some.

This discussion is almost better than a long volley in a tennis match.