On Wednesday, an Alabama woman filed suit against Apple. Her claims sound similar to what's been reported widely in the media: receptivity issues, slow connections to AT&T 's 3G network, and dropped calls.

The plaintiff, Jessica Smith, is seeking class-action status that could let thousands of others join the fight. Smith wants Apple to repair or replace the new phone. She is also seeking unspecified damages.

Misleading Marketing Claims

The Birmingham resident is charging Apple with breach of express and implied warranty for what she has labeled the "Defective iPhone 3G."

"Defendant intended for customers to believe its statements and representations about the Defective iPhone 3Gs, and to trust that the device was 'twice as fast at half the price,'" the lawsuit claims, suggesting that Apple's "Twice as Fast. Half the Price" slogan mislead consumer expectations.

"Immediately after purchase, Plaintiff soon noticed that her Internet connection, receipt and sending of e-mail, text messages and other data transfers were slower than expected and advertised," the lawsuit explained.

"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," the lawsuit continued.

Apple Scrambles To Find a Fix

Apple released a software fix Monday that was reportedly related to a chip inside Apple's music-playing cell phone. But applications are still crashing. In fact, the update created new issues for some iPhone users even as others are wrestling with MobileMe foul-ups that make receiving e-mail on the handset sketchy.

It seems as though Smith isn't willing to wait for another promised fix in September.

"Defendant expressly warranted that the Defective iPhone 3G would be 'twice as fast' and would otherwise perform adequately on the 3G standard or protocol," the suit said. "The Defective iPhone 3Gs do not conform to these express representations because they fail to connect and/or adequately maintain a connection to the 3G standard and/or protocol."

Apple's Glitchy History

Tim Deal, a wireless analyst at Pike & Fischer, is not surprised a lawsuit is arising out of the hype. Apple, he said, has a tendency to release products with plenty of fanfare, but these products aren't always ready for prime time.

"This is not the first time Apple has released a product that had issues," Deal said, pointing to battery issues in earlier generations of the iPod as an example. "Apple tends to create a new product, put the full weight of its marketing machine behind it, and create high expectations. In this case, and in other cases, it has turned out that there were glitches the company had yet to work out."

Apple may have been between a rock and a hard place with the iPhone 3G. Apple has been criticized in the past for failing to meet its product-release schedule and may have rushed to meet the deadline with the iPhone 3G and its MobileMe counterpart. Both products have met with harsh criticism from consumers in the wake of glitches.

"In many ways, the iPhone is revolutionary product," Deal said. "There's been so much press about it and so much spotlight on it. Apple can't afford not to get a slam dunk. There was very little room for error here."

Apple was not immediately available for comment.