I don't believe Steve Jobs

Every since I bought my first iPhone a couple of years ago, I've ended my habit of endlessly chasing the latest new mobile phones. Saved me a lot of money and more sanity. The iPhone is a great phone overall. It just works. Yes, yes, yes, I'm well aware of its reception shortcomings and penchant for dropping calls. I'm not sure how much of this is the phone and how much is the network. I choose to believe that it's mostly AT&T's lousy and overwhelmed network.

Steve Jobs announces iPhone 4g

Probably the greatest thing about Apple is its customer support DNA. It so far exceeds anything else I've experienced that I never question the higher price Apple often asks for its products. Problem with the MacBook? Set up a Genius Bar appointment and get it solved fast and easy. With no corporate IT department behind me anymore, the local Apple Store is my lifeline -- and a dandy one at that. Ditto Apple's telephone support. And most amazingly, they actually care enough to want to know how you solved a problem so they can help others with a similar problem.

So,  not long ago,  my 4-month-old iPhone 4g quit vibrating. I took it to the AT&T store and they said all the settings were correct. Next stop, the Apple Store. After examining it, they asked it they could re-image the device. Fine. This didn't solve the problem, so they said they were just giving me a new phone. Great.

Since I got the new iPhone many of my problems with the original phone have gone away. Fewer dropped calls, especially in my house, faster and even better battery life. THERE IS A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE. I asked the people at the Apple Store if the phone had been improved and was told no, it was identical to my original 4g. So, I stopped in at the AT&T store and there I was told that yes, Apple had made tweaks after the reception flap and that this was not the same phone I bought back in June. So, while Apple did not recall and replace my iPhone, I got the same result.

I'm convinced that Apple did make changes to the original iPhone 4g despite repeated denials by Steve Jobs. What company doesn't slip stream tweaks and changes into a product when it will make a difference during its lifecycle? I'm one of the lucky ones because I found a reason to get a new phone.