Will iPhone 4 'Death Grip' Debacle Tarnish Apple's Image?

July 15, 2010— -- Apple's Midas touch has delivered a steady stream of computer and gadget hits over the years, but a day ahead of a news conference to address the iPhone 4 "death grip" debacle, the company finds itself in the unfamiliar position of defending a new product and its reputation for flawless PR and innovation.

After weeks of getting pummeled in the press over an apparent antenna issue with the iPhone 4, the company announced the Friday event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters late Wednesday afternoon but disclosed few details, other than saying it will address the iPhone 4.

Analysts and industry watchers say they doubt there is much truth to Internet rumors of a recall, but many say Apple faces an "unprecedented" PR crisis and must offer customers some kind of remedy to emerge from the situation untarnished.

"It definitely is new ground. It's a pretty Teflon-coated company," said Leander Kahney, editor of the blog Cult of Mac. "They've never had to deal with anything like this. This is by far the worst press they have ever received."

In the first three days of its international launch last month, the iPhone 4 found its way into more than 1.7 million hands around the world. The company has called the release of the device, touted by CEO Steve Jobs as the "biggest leap" yet from the original iPhone, the most successful launch in Apple's history.

But the impressive early sales and the buzz that surrounded the launch have been marred by customer complaints that holding the phone in a certain way blocks the external antenna, leading to dropped calls and reception issues.

According to tech reviewers and iPhone users, call reception apparently drops when the user's palm covers the bottom left corner of the phone.

A Bloomberg report today said a senior antenna expert at Apple warned CEO Steve Jobs early on that the iPhone 4's design could lead to dropped calls.

The antenna issue -- dubbed the "death grip" by many bloggers -- has led to several lawsuits seeking class action status and a storm of bad press that escalated over the past few weeks.

The backlash reached its peak on Monday, when Consumer Reports said it would not recommend the iPhone 4 (though it still ranked it among the top smartphones on the market). Even David Letterman joined the fray this week with a top 10 list featuring the iPhone's problems.

But Kahney said it's likely that the company will do more explaining than recalling on Friday.

"I think what they're going to do is try to explain it away and say this is the best antenna ever and it works brilliantly under most circumstances unless you're in an area with sketchy reception and you're holding the phone the wrong way," he said.