Apple Inc. (AAPL): Faulty iPhone 4 Antenna Will Cost The Company $15 A Pop

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has become a more generous company since Tim Cook took over for Steve Jobs as CEO 18 months ago. When Jobs returned to the company in 1997, he shut down the charitable foundation that was set u which took some Apple profits and gave them to various non-profits. Since Jobs left for good in late 2011, Cook reinstated the charitable giving.

Should this Concern Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc (GOOG)?While Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) isn’t exactly freely giving of its funds this time around, it is determining the value of a faulty iPhone 4 antenna to be about $15, and checks are in the mail. This recent giving of windfall came as a result of the infamous “Antennagate” lawsuit involving the iPhone 4.

Apple did admit (finally, after initially saying the problem was industry-wide) that there was a problem with the antenna on that model of iPhone, where a hand that got near the antenna – holding the phone a certain way – would severely disrupt reception and any times result in dropped calls.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) tried to rectify the situation by offering a bumper case that would keep the hand away from the antenna, but many customers opted to file a class-action lawsuit against the company.

The result was a settlement of $53 million, which after the attorneys took their cut, came to about $15 for each iPhone 4 user who filed their claim in the class. At least, those who filed a claim and did not receive one of the $15-valued bumper cases that were made available free of charge.

All told, there were more than 2 million claimants in this class, which was reduced to one class from 18 separate lawsuits.  Since then, of course, Apple inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and other smartphone makers are paying more attention to the antenna to ensure these problems don’t persist in more recent versions of the phones, knowing that everyone tends to hold their phones differently.

Does this $15 check put everything to rest for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)? Was it worth the trouble for those class members to go through the lawsuit? Let us know your thoughts about this case in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.