[mladenkovacevic]

I think it's arguable whether this is a true problem that has never been dealt with until Apple tackled it. The author of that article seems to be the only person I've encountered that has had this alarm being muffled issue.

Various devices deal with this in various ways (by putting little ugly feet on the back as someone noticed, by slightly curving the surface on which the speaker is located, or as iPhone does it by placing it on a plane which in most scenarios sits perpendicular to the surface on which the device is resting).

Whether Apple's solution is the most elegant is also arguable but everyone is entitled to an opinion. One thing is for sure, this wasn't some obscure problem that no engineer has ever thought of until Apple decided to save us.

[ugh]

Uhm? I’m confused now. You seem to be reading way too much into that article.