Frustrated iPhone users are coming to hear the news today that Apple will give away free cases to iPhone 4 purchasers between the original launch date and September 30th.  That means if you have already purchased a case from Apple you can receive a refund.  Apple reports there will be a place on the Apple.com site toward the end of next week to request a refund or a free bumper if you have yet to purchase one.

And while Apple announced the press event several days ago, one has to wonder if they were at all influenced by Washington, DC politicians carefully looking into the issue, and a growing eye towards Cupertino by the Federal Trade Commission as I documented in today’s research post.

Yesterday Senator Charles Schumer (NY-D) sent an open letter for Apple and Steve Jobs recommending swift action in resolving the “burdensome” problem for iPhone purchasers. (Credit to CBS for the full text of the letter.)

July 15, 2010

Dear Mr. Jobs,

I write to express concern regarding the reception problem with the Apple iPhone 4. While I commend Apple’s innovative approach to mobile technology and appreciate its service to millions of iPhone users nationwide, I believe it is incumbent upon Apple to address this flaw in a transparent manner. According to Consumer Reports’ review, released Monday on its website, the iPhone 4′s signal-strength problem is a hardwire glitch triggered by gripping the device in a particular manner. This finding, according to Consumer Reports, “call[s] into question” Apple’s recent claim that the problem is “largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software.” Consumer Reports declined to recommend the iPhone 4 because of this hardware design flaw.

Given the discrepancy between Consumer Reports’ explanation of the reception problem and the explanation provided by Apple in its July 2 letter to customers, I am concerned that the nearly two million purchasers of the iPhone 4 may not have complete information about the quality of the product they have purchased. The burden for consumers caused by this glitch, combined with the confusion over its cause and how it will be fixed, has the potential to undermine the many benefits of this innovative device. To address this concern, I ask that Apple provide iPhone 4 customers with a clearly written explanation of the cause of the reception problem and make a public commitment to remedy it free-of-charge. The solutions offered to date by Apple for dealing with the so-called “death grip” malfunction-such as holding the device differently, or buying a cover for it-seem to be insufficient. These proposed solutions would unfairly place the burden on consumers for resolving a problem they were not aware of when they purchased their phones.

I also encourage Apple to keep its promise to provide free software updates so that bars displayed accurately reflect signal strength; I further urge Apple to issue a written explanation of the formula it uses to calculate bar strength, so that consumers can once again trust the product that they have invested in.

I look forward to Apple’s swift action on this matter, and once again laud Apple for its innovative efforts and service to millions of Americans.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

The likelihood that DC politicians had any effect on the decision of Apple providing free covers for its iPhone buyers is probably slim considering the timing.  Todays Apple press conference was scheduled before the release of the open letter.  There is a possibility phone calls or some type of pressure was occurring behind closed doors.

But the one thing that is clear is that Apple is no longer the cute and cuddly untouchable hardware builder.  And it appears that in the same way Google’s lovable nature died away and they were forced to open policy headquarters in DC roughly 5 years ago, Apple may be headed in the direction of taking the DC game more seriously very soon.