Indiana Grain Company, LLC

Posted: 07/15/10

By: tomgrisafi

Speaking truth to power is never easy. But, last year, one intrepid iPhone 4 engineer told Apple chief Steve Jobs that the design of the iPhone 4 was ripe for antenna and reception problems. Shortly before the June 2010 launch of the updated Apple smartphone, executives were warned once again of the device's intermittently fatal reception flaw.

Bloomberg News reported Thursday that Ruben Caballero, a "senior engineer and antenna expert" with Apple, notified his company of the design weaknesses that would produce the widespread call dropping and service interruptions via the "Death Grip" phenomenon. Make no mistake about it, Steve Jobs knew of the problem during the design phase of the iPhone 4. In other words, the complaints that have since leveled the Cupertino tech-giant shouldn't have come as such a surprise.

Apple’s industrial design team, led by Jonathan Ive, submitted several iPhone designs before Jobs and other executives settled on the bezel antenna, said the person familiar with the company’s design. Caballero, the antenna expert, voiced concern in early planning meetings that it might lead to dropped calls and presented a serious engineering challenge, the person said.

Apple's response to the Bloomberg report? As expected, there is no response. And Apple won't let Caballero talk either. Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Apple, refused to "make Caballero available for an interview." Bloomberg also noted that Caballero "didn’t respond to a call and an e-mail seeking comment." When Apple cracks the whip...

In response to the negative rock e'm, sock 'em media attention given to the iPhone 4 this week, Apple will hold a scheduled press conference in Cupertino tomorrow that will focus exclusively on the iPhone 4 and the lingering reception issues. The press conference will begin Friday, July 16th at 10:00 am PST.

Apple declined $3.46 to $249.27 on the Nasdaq Stock Market at 9:39 a.m. New York time. The shares had risen 20 percent this year before today.

Source: Bloomberg