Apple To Hold News Conference On iPhone 4 Problems

NEW YORK (CBS) ― It's the fastest selling mobile handset in history. But now, there's anger over Apple's iPhone 4.

Apple officials are due to hold a news conference Friday, where they will most likely face two tough questions:

What will they do about the problem of dropped phone calls?

And – did they know about the malfunction before the phone went on sale?

No one is predicting the new iPhone's 4 so-called "death grip" will lead to the death of Apple. But it is safe to say the company has a serious problem on its hands. The Wall Street Journal is reporting Steve Jobs knew about the possible design flaw – which leads users to a complete loss of signal – a year before the phone's release.

But Jobs reportedly liked the phone so much, he sent it to market anyway.

So what exactly is the problem? Hold the phone as you would expect to – from the bottom left corner – and your phone call drops instantly.

"It's worthless," said Elsie Silva, an iPhone 4 owner. "Worthless."

A famously devoted customer base waited on line for hours when the new phone first went on sale. Now, they're speaking out in anger.

"I want to speak to my husband, and every time I'm on the phone with him, the phone constantly drops," said Silva.

Paul Astakahov, soon to be a former iPhone owner, said he plans to sell his iPhone 4 and get a new device. "It's not gonna be Apple iPhone," he said. "It's too much trouble."

Despite a soaring features review, Consumer Reports dealt Apple a serious blow when it announced for the first time ever that it could not recommend the iPhone because of the signal problem.

According to testers, the cause is a fundamental design flaw.

"We purchased three phones from three separate retailers," said Mike Gikas, Senior Editor of Consumer Reports. "All three iPhone 4s dropped when you touched them that way."

So what could happen Friday?

Apple could say that its going to issue bands that you put around the phone to cover the antenna, which analysts say alleviates signal problems. Additionally, they could hand out cases or tell people to bring phones into stores where they could fix the problem.

Analysts say the recall is unlikely. It could cost the company more than a billion dollars.

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