Emails between an angry iPhone 4 customer and, purportedly, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reveal that Apple may have finally recognized a problem with signal reception on the iPhone 4.
The customer, who went by "Tom," was the first person of many to post videos on YouTube showing how the signal nearly disappeared when holding the phone in the left hand.
In an earlier email to another customer from Jobs's email account, they were told to "avoid holding it that way" or to by the company's Bumper iPhone 4 case for $29.99 at the Apple Store to fix the problem.
In the ensuing exchange between Tom and Jobs published by Boy Genius Report, an irate Tom accused the Apple co-founder and CEO of talking down to him when Jobs accused him of being "all worked up over a few days of rumors" and "most likely in an area with very low signal strength."
After saying that he was "done" with the issue, Jobs replied "You may be working from bad data. Not your fault. Stay tuned. We are working on it."
Tom, clearly realizing that all the hype about Apple's products being "magical" is just that -- hype -- signed off with "Retire, relax, enjoy your family. It is just a phone. Not worth it."
Tom isn't alone in his frustration. Apple now faces three lawsuits over the problems with the antenna in what could become a class action.
Meanwhile, two jobs listings on Craigslist reportedly from Apple were spotted advertising openings for antenna engineers. The posts were dated the day before the launch of the new iPhone.
The "we're working on it" statement from Jobs might be an indication that the company may recognize the existence of the problem.
Update: Apple denies through an anonymous source that CEO Jobs had anything to do with this alleged email exchange, according to Fortune.
Jackson West seems to gather that as a phone, the iPhone is kind of crappy, but everything else it does is pretty neat, at least when you can get a data connection.
