Apple's public relations woes over its iPhone 4 - the latest hit came from Consumer Reports, which said it won't recommend the device - is conjuring up memories of a previously flawed product launch. Article here:
Apple has spectacularly botched the response to complaints about the iPhone 4 antenna problem.
The simple solution to the problem was to fess up that yes, there's a slight problem with the hardware design of the phone, but it only affects a few people. Then slash the price of iPhone cases that solve the problem.
Instead, Apple tried to spin the flaw as a meaningless software display problem, which Consumer Reports and others say is bogus.
Now, even Apple's most ardent supporters, are admitting Apple has blown it. Article here:
It's no surprise that people are having a field day at Apple's expense over the supposed iPhone 4 antenna problem.
The bigger and more successful Apple gets, the easier it becomes to poke holes in the company. And the more fun people have beating up on Apple, and the more notoriety they get, etc.
Seriously, when's the last time you thought of Consumer Reports before this week?
But like every other tech PR calamity -- Facebook redesigns, Google privacy, etc. -- this will be news for a few more days and then life will go on.
The iPhone 4 antenna situation is a non-issue, and it's going to blow over without a massive product recall.
Why? Because it's just not that big of a problem.
Simply, the iPhone 4 works better than pretty much any other phone you can buy, and even Consumer Reports says so, calling it the best smartphone on the market.
You can make calls, use the Internet, and do everything else you should be able to do on the iPhone 4 all of the time, or almost all of the time. And that's why you're buying it, right?
I've owned the iPhone 4 from the first day it went on sale, and even though it still has the same crappy AT&T service and dropped calls that my last iPhone had, I still would never ever think of returning it. There's so much more to the iPhone 4 than a supposed antenna problem -- if you carefully put your finger in a specific position -- and iPhone owners and buyers know this. Article here:
Why all the hate on AT&T? I haven't had a dropped call since the early 1990s (Cellular One) and also never with Cingular and AT&T Wireless. Note that I'm in Silicon Valley, and AT&T reception and performance is great.
Seems to me all the complaints originate from San Francisco and New York City. FWIW, broadcast TV doesn't function well in those two cities, either, due to all the tall buildings.