Via ArsTecnica
We all knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time. A lawsuit has been filed against Apple over what the plaintiff is referring to as the “Defective iPhone 3G,” which she hopes will become a class-action complaint. Alabama resident Jessica Alena Smith filed the complaint yesterday against the iPhone maker, alleging that the new iPhone’s 3G performance and reliability has been subpar, despite the claims made by Apple’s aggressive marketing campaign. Considering that a true fix has yet to be issued for users’ 3G problems, this could just be the tip of the iPhone lawsuit iceberg.
Smith purchased her new iPhone 3G sometime after it went on sale on July 11, after being bombarded with ads on TV, radio, and print about the device. “One could barely turn on the television without hearing that the new iPhone 3G was ‘twice as fast for half the price,'” reads the complaint. Immediately after the purchase, however, Smith noticed that the iPhone’s data connection, e-mail, SMS, and other communications were slower than expected, and that the device only appeared to connect to AT&T’s 3G network less than 25 percent of the time. She also experienced an “inordinate amount of dropped calls,” according to the lawsuit.
This was despite the fact that the area where Smith lives and works—Birmingham, Alabama—has excellent 3G coverage from AT&T. If you’re getting a tinge of déjà vu from reading this, you won’t be the only one. There have been numerous complaints across the ‘Net about the new iPhone 3G’s capabilities (or the lack thereof, in some cases). iPhone 3G customers on AT&T have reported extremely spotty coverage, even in major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, not to mention a smattering of smaller cities.