UPDATE 1-Apple offers free iPhone 4 cases to appease users

* To provide free cases, full refund if needed

* Job: Apple "not perfect," industry shares problem

* Shares rise 1.3 pct

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 16 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will give iPhone 4 users a free phone case to address growing complaints about reception problems that have hurt the company's shares and image.

Chief Executive Steve Jobs announced the news at a rare media conference on Friday, when he admitted that Apple and the phone were "not perfect."

But he defiantly asserted that smartphone reception issues were a problem shared by the entire wireless industry, including devices by Apple competitors such as Research in Motion (RIM.TO) and HTC Corp (2498.TW).

Shares of Apple, which had fallen about 1 percent in the morning, climbed 1.3 percent after Jobs' comments.

"This has been blown so out of proportion, it's incredible," Jobs told an auditorium at Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters.

Jobs said that if iPhone 4 users were still not satisfied, Apple will offer a full refund within a month. Apple has sold well over 3 million units of the iPhone 4 in the three weeks since its launch, he added. (Reporting by Gabriel Madway and Poornima Gupta; Writing by Edwin Chan; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Richard Chang) (gabriel.madway@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415 677 2536; Reuters Messaging: gabriel.madway.reuters.com@reuters.net)