Apple hit with class action suit over 'defective' iPhone 3G

Claiming that the iPhone 3G doesn't really perform "twice as fast for half the price," a user in Alabama has filed a class action suit against Apple, charging that the phone is "defective" and that it has failed to live up to its hype.

The disgruntled customer, Jessica Alena Smith, issued the complaint against Apple in the US District Court in southern Alabama on behalf of herself "and all others similarly situated," a number estimated in the court filing at "thousands and perhaps tens of thousands" of other people.

"In or around the Summer of 2008, Apple began marketing and put out for consumption the Defective iPhone 3G," according to a copy of the complaint obtained by BetaNews. "The release for consumption of the Defective iPhone 3G was preceded and followed by an aggressive marketing campaign, which included radio, television, and paper advertisements. One could barely turn on the television without hearing that the new iPhone 3G was 'twice as fast for half the price.'"

However, after buying the iPhone 3G, Smith "soon noticed that her Internet connection, receipt and sending of e-mail, text messages, and other data transfers through the device were slower than expected and advertised," the complaint charges.

"Plaintiff was familiar with the speeds at which the previous [iPhone] operated. The Defective iPhone 3G appeared to connect to the 3G standard and protocol less than 25% of the time. Additionally, Plaintiff experienced an inordinate amount of dropped calls."

The "said failure to connect to said 3G standard and protocol occurred in the metropolitan area of Birmingham, Alabama, where plaintiff works, plays, and lives."

Smith is asking the court to decide whether Apple has breached any "express and/or implied warranties" with the "Defective iPhone 3G" -- and, if so, the appropriate damages, restitutition, and other relief to be awarded to herself and other "members of the class."