Apple offers free case to iPhone 4 users

SAN FRANCISCO  -- Apple Inc on Friday said it will give iPhone 4 users free protective cases to address the smartphone's signal problem.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs made the announcement at a press conference held at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

"Every iPhone user is going to get a case. There will be refunds to people that already got a bumper," he said.

After iPhone 4 went on sale on June 24, consumers have been complaining of a drop in reception when they hold the phone in a certain manner.

At Friday's press conference, Jobs said that one reason the new phone has had more problems is that fewer people have cases in the new model, and old cases don't fit.

In addition to the free case, Apple already released an update to its iPhone operating system on Thursday.

Apple earlier blamed the reception problem on a wrong method to calculate signal strength, and promised to fix the glitch with software updates.

Jobs said that if customers are still not happy, they can bring their iPhone 4 back within 30 days. "Phones aren't perfect," The CEO said. "It is a challenge for the phone industry, and we are all doing the best that we can."