Apple Pulls Bumper Cases From Stores
In an obvious attempt at stockpiling them, Apple has stripped its $30 iPhone 4 bumper cases from its online store. Apple said last Friday in its press conference to discuss the iPhone 4 "death grip" issue, that it would be providing free cases to customers, at least through Sept. 30th.
Right now, the cases are priced at $0, but are also marked as "currently unavailable." Apple announced that a program which will allow an iPhone 4 buyers to request a free case would go live later this week. They added, however, that they could not supply enough bumper cases for all, so they would provide a "choice" to consumers.
It is unclear if that means that cheap knock-offs will be an option, or official Apple bumper cases and quality third party cases, as well. Apple also said those that bought bumper cases (and bumper cases only) prior to last Friday's announcement will receive a refund.
Despite this, Consumer Reports still does not recommend the iPhone 4. Although ranking it highest among its tested models, it refrained from adding the "Recommended" tag to the iPhone 4 because of the reception issues. Hours after last Friday's press conference, Consumer Reports said the following in a blog post:
Right now, the cases are priced at $0, but are also marked as "currently unavailable." Apple announced that a program which will allow an iPhone 4 buyers to request a free case would go live later this week. They added, however, that they could not supply enough bumper cases for all, so they would provide a "choice" to consumers.
It is unclear if that means that cheap knock-offs will be an option, or official Apple bumper cases and quality third party cases, as well. Apple also said those that bought bumper cases (and bumper cases only) prior to last Friday's announcement will receive a refund.
Despite this, Consumer Reports still does not recommend the iPhone 4. Although ranking it highest among its tested models, it refrained from adding the "Recommended" tag to the iPhone 4 because of the reception issues. Hours after last Friday's press conference, Consumer Reports said the following in a blog post:
"Apple has indicated that this is not a long-term solution, it has guaranteed the offer only through September 30th, and has not extended it unequivocally to customers who bought cases from third-party vendors. We look forward to a long-term fix from Apple. As things currently stand, the iPhone 4 is still not one of our Recommended models."
