Class-Action Suit Patch Sadly Absent From iPhone OS 2.0.2 "Bug Fixes"

Apple may soon regret the “twice as fast, half the price” slogan it chose for iPhone 3G. A first lawsuit has been filed against the company over the device’s performance and reliability, and it seeks class-action status. Brought by Birmingham, Ala., resident Jessica Alena Smith, the suit (PDF) alleges that while the iPhone 3G may be half the price of its predecessor, it is almost certainly not twice as fast. Worse, it’s prone to dropping calls. “Immediately after purchase, Plaintiff soon noticed that her Internet connection, receipt and sending of email, text messages and other data transfers were slower than expected and advertised,” the lawsuit reads. “The defective iPhone 3G appeared to connect to the 3G standard and protocol less than 25 percent of the time. Additionally, Plaintiff experienced an inordinate amount of dropped calls.”

Familiar complaints to some iPhone 3G owners, or to anyone who’s spent any time in Apple’s support forums lately. Indeed, Apple recently acknowledged the device’s reception problems. That said, the company’s “twice as fast, half the price” messaging does include the caveat “actual speeds vary by site conditions,” which would seem to absolve it of Smith’s charges of false advertising. And, beyond that, those who are disappointed by the performance of their new iPhone 3Gs had 30 days to return the device without consequence. Which is not to say that iPhone 3G’s performance hasn’t been disappointingly subpar or that it’s unreasonable to demand that Apple (AAPL) fix it. Just that Smith had recourse other than a suit demanding that Apple pay unspecified damages in addition to repairing or replacing all defective iPhones.