iPhone 4: journalists get their victory, will they leave it alone now?

Apple took a conciliatory tone toward the tech media today in its iPhone 4 press conference. While making it abundantly clear that there’s nothing wrong or abnormal about the iPhone 4 antenna (and providing everything from user statistics to demonstrations of competing smartphones to prove his point), Steve Jobs handed tech journalists a victory today. While Apple’s data shows that a hundred and ninety-nine out of every two hundred iPhone 4 users has no complaints about reception, Jobs stated that any iPhone 4 user who wants to return their unit for a refund will receive a full one (not likely to be an expensive promise to make, as it’s clear that iPhone 4 users are not interested in returning the product anyway), and in a move apparently aimed at specifically placating the tech journalists who’ve been calling for it from day one, iPhone 4 users who want a “Bumper” case will receive a free one. The move leads to the half-serious question of whether geek tech journalists, who concocted the iPhone 4 antenna controversy basically out of thin air, did so for the express purpose of getting their hands on a free case.

More importantly, now that Apple has intentionally handed tech journalists a public victory by giving them exactly what they had been publicly asking for, will said journalists stop writing the same overblown iPhone 4 antenna stories that they’ve been writing nonstop since they first figured out how to slightly reduce the iPhone 4′s signal by gripping it in an oddly specific way, a trick which works equally as well for every smartphone on the market? Or will geek headline writers feel as if they’ve extracted a sufficient pound of flesh from Apple and go back to covering the aspects of the iPhone 4 that actually matter?

Apple: 99.4% of iPhone 4 users have not reported antenna issues

In his press conference today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed that fewer than one percent of all iPhone 4 users have logged a “problem” with their phone’s antenna according to Apple’s own internal AppleCare records. The statistic stands in sharp contrast with the headlines which have claimed that the iPhone 4 is “defective” or has an “antenna flaw” or other such phrasing. Jobs went on to demonstrate that the “issues” with the iPhone 4 antenna, in which gripping the phone in a particular manner slightly weakens the signal strength, are true of every smartphone on the market.

If iPhone 4 “antenna problem” were real, store returns would be massive

Even as Apple prepares to address the iPhone 4 antenna controversy in a press conference today, one fact stands out above all else: of the millions of iPhone 4 units sold over the past few weeks, there have been no reports of the new iPhone being returned to the store. That leads to the question of why a supposedly “defective” phone, as the tech press have so giddily labeled it, isn’t being returned to the store for a refund in any reportable quantity. Geek tech journalists have concocted terms like “death grip” and made it clear that they love the fact that they’re causing trouble for Apple, a company which is as despised by geek tech journalists as it is loved by the mainstream, so it stands to reason that they’d be more than happy to publish any damaging evidence they could get their hands on. And yet their stories are routinely devoid of any surveys on returns or even anecdotal quotes from iPhone 4 users who returned theirs for a refund – which strongly suggests that no such quotes exist and such surveys would show what we’ve been routinely hearing from our iPhone-using readers: there’s nothing wrong with the iPhone 4′s antenna or reception, and the whole “death grip” thing is something which can be generated if you’re specifically trying to evoke it but does not exist in real world usage.

So when Apple addresses the public today regarding the iPhone 4 antenna controversy, the company’s real challenge will be to get the mainstream public to accept the fact that the “problem” only exists in the minds of the geek tech journalists who concocted it. While easier said than done, the waning influence of geeks on mainstream consumer technology purchases in general over the past few years should work in Apple’s favor.

iPhone 4 press conference on Friday: antenna nonsense to be silenced?

Apple is holding an invite-only press conference on Friday which it says is related to iPhone 4. The move comes after weeks during which Apple has mostly remained quiet (perhaps too quiet) while geek tech journalists have libeled the living the snot out of the iPhone 4 over supposed antenna issues. Apple has not said what the event will consist of beyond the mere fact that it’s about iPhone 4, but one way or another Apple is likely looking to retake control of the dialog regarding the product. Even though the iPhone 4 continues to be the most successful product launch in Apple history according to the sales numbers (dwarfing iPad sales, for instance), an increasing number of potential iPhone 4 buyers have been worked up into a panic over the continual nonsense being published about the iPhone 4 antenna – and it’s now imperative that Apple find a way to drown the lies before they become accepted as the truth.

The choice of Friday for the event is curious, as Apple nearly always holds its press events on Tuesday or Wednesday, widely considered the most ideal days for the maximum amount of exposure. It could be that after the comical-if-it-weren’t-libel actions of Consumer Reports this week, in which the publication simultaneously claimed the iPhone 4 to be their top rated phone and yet completely unrecommendable, Apple feels that it needs to make a statement before this week is over. Thanks to Jim Dalrymple at Look Insight and @JinDenver on Twitter for the heads up.

Slipknot confirms death of Paul Gray, holds Ustream press conference

A day after the reported death of bassist Paul Gray, his Slipknot bandmates confirmed his passing via their official website (quashing the hopes of some fans who had stated that they had hoped the story was inaccurate) and announced plans to hold a live Ustream chat this evening in order to inform the public of what transpired as well as to share their thoughts on his passing. The press conference can be viewed at slipknot1.com or on the band’s official Ustream channel.

Details posted for Bret Michaels press conference

Doctors holding their press conference tomorrow to update the public on the condition and prognosis of hospitalized Poison singer Bret Michaels have posted details for the event:

“Media should enter the hospital through the Marley Lobby, which is located on the northwest corner of Third Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix. Parking is available in the Third Avenue Parking Garage, which is located across the street from this lobby. All media will need to check in at the Marley Lobby doors with a hospital PR staff member. Media will then be escorted to the room in which the news conference will take place. For additional information or clarification, the media can page Carmelle Malkovich at 602-746-9303 on Monday.”

Meanwhile, Bret Michaels remains in the hospital following his brain hemorrhage last month. However, his prognosis has been improving of late and it’s now expected that he could make a full recovery. Micheals himself has expressed his intention to return to the road this summer in support of his new solo album. Doctors will have their say tomorrow.

Bret Michaels official news coming tomorrow

Bret Michaels’ neurosurgeon has already spoken about the singer’s condition in a statement released via his official website, but his doctors are likely to offer more information tomorrow in a press conference being held at the Barrow Neurological Institute where Michaels is being treated. Despite some setbacks along the way, Michaels’ prognosis appears to be good in terms of being able to make a full recovery. Meanwhile, Celebrity Apprentice, the reality show that Micheals had been starring on until his brain hemorrhage landed him in the hospital, continues on NBC. Doctors will be holding their press conference at noon local time tomorrow.

Bret Michaels doctors to hold press conference on Tuesday

The official news from Bret Michaels’ website is that official news will have to wait until Tuesday. Doctors, who have been treating Michaels “under 24 hour supervision” in the ICU since being admitted to the hospital his brain hemorrhage last week will hold a press conference on Tuesday May 4th to explain the singer’s condition and treatment as well as share the details of his prognosis going forward. According to Michaels’ own representatives, the first “7 to 10 days” are the most critical after a rupture like the one Michaels suffered; he was admitted to the hospital on April 22nd, which my imply good news in that he may be past the period of greatest danger. Bret Michaels was the lead singer of iconic eighties rock band Poison and has continued to remain part of the the zeitgeist this past decade with appearances on reality television shows such as Rock Of Love and most recently Celebrity Apprentice. The location and time of Tuesday’s press conference are expected to be announced sometime on Friday.