This isn't about bumpers or freebies - it's about Apple and its Customers

[samcraig]

I'm cynical but will wait to hear what they have to say.

My expectations are low and that they will stay the course with their stance. They will tout sales #s and how everyone is loving their iPhones. How facetime is changing the way people communicate. How many glowing reviews they got. And how unfortunate it is that a small percentage of people are having issues - but they extended their return policy so that they can make their own decision. And that they have released a new update to the OS which solves the issue of signal strength and how it's reported. In other words - they will continue the smokescreen and divert attention away from the actual issue.

They might also, like I suggested in another thread, debunk the various reports and Consumer Reports as not being relevant. That Apple has the means and manpower to do extensive research and their results came up inconclusive. That the new antenna design was carefully designed and implemented.

I am expecting the above because that would be a very calculated and dare I say "cold" way to perpetuate their dogma that it's not an issue.

Yes - they would piss some people / a lot of people off. But to be honest - they are and will continue to sell millions of these things.

The second they speak of recalls, bumpers, compensation, etc - they have to admit that they failed in their research and development of their newest and greatest achievement. And I'm not so sure they will want to do that. The "cost" there is GREAT.

But like I said - I am looking forward to Friday. I am also looking forward to the next iPhone keynote and whether or not there is a) a design change or b) any mention whether on stage of from the q&a referencing the issues from the 4

 

[mgamber]

I'm expecting pretty much the same thing. Apple and/or Jobs will say anything because talk is cheap. I don't think there's any real value in extending the return policy because restocking fees still seem to be a problem from store to store and between Apple and AT&T, nor does AT&T have to play ball and cancel your contract at that point. In fact, if I was running AT&T, I think I'd have both middle fingers fully extended toward Cupertino 24/7 at this point. Instead, I suspect something will be mentioned that, as always, if you're part of the very small minority who have a problem with your phone (keeping everything very nebulous, maybe mentioning stuck pixels or something as an example of a problem), you're free to bring it to Apple for repair or replacement until you're satisfied with your purchase.

Speaking of AT&T, it's kind of a shame that they've been so quiet this whole time since they seem to get blamed for everything, including the antenna problem by some. If they released a statement that if you want to exchange a faulty iPhone 4 and they can't replace it with one that works properly, you're free to exchange it for a comparable smartphone like the Captivate, I might actually be inclined to take them up on the offer. I haven't bothered taking my phones to Apple because what's the point? They're going to give me exactly what I already have, possibly even worse since I don't seem to be plagued by the problems with the proximity detector.

Tomorrow will tell. If Apple has any common sense left, and that is in question, Jobs is already gagged and locked in a closet with no computer closer than 150 feet away.

 

[samcraig]

I don't think ATT needs to respond. I could be wrong. The antenna issue will manifest all over the world - not just on their network. And that will be obvious soon enough...

 

[mgamber]

I don't think ATT needs to respond. I could be wrong. The antenna issue will manifest all over the world - not just on their network. And that will be obvious soon enough...

I don't think they need to either, but if I ran the company, I think I would have had just about enough of being the punching bag of Apple and it's more vocal "blame anything but Apple" jihadists.

Actually, now that I think about it, didn't AT&T release something a few days ago about how they were going to "move heaven and earth" to improve their network? Yeah, it's just more of the same from AT&T but the timing seemed to suggest "Apple is over there, this is AT&T over here. Don't confuse us, we're on your side".

BTW, it's hard not to be cynical by now. Here's what I have: I bought a Macbook Pro that is renowned for having a bad video subsystem. Apple denies there's a problem but, at the same time, they'll fix or replace the unit for that very problem under warranty but only if you bring it in. They absolutely will not issue a recall despite it's being a widespread problem that was admitted by the video manufacturer itself. I also bought two Macbooks, both of which have had hard drive problems and you know, I would swear Apple buys all their hard drives at garage sales and factory reject sales. Every time I turn around, if it's not a drive in one of my computers failing, it's a drive in the computer of someone I know. Just for reference, I haven't had a drive in any PC in my house fail in well over two years and, as best I can recall, one has failed in the past 5 years out of 7 in continuous use and another half dozen or so external backup drives, not to mention the stack of drives that were retired before they ever failed. 9 months ago I bought a brand new, mid range iMac and that was a total and utter disaster. There's no firewire port, the bluetooth hardware fails once or twice a week, acting as if there's no bluetooth hardware at all and requiring a PRAM reset, the wifi hardware absolutely cannot maintain a connection for even one full day, it's actually slower than the MBP and it ran Snow Leopard so poorly that I eventually had to ditch it and put back Leopard. The external monitor port is intentionally so limited that I can actually attach more monitors with better resolution to either Macbook or the Macbook Pro. Oh, and the DVD drive, out of the box, sounded like there was sand in it and was so slow you could almost count the bits as they transferred across the data buss. Apple won't fix it because they've run diagnostics on it and claim there's nothing to fix so it sits behind me on the floor where it's been for the past 6 months. Previous iPhones had asinine restrictions and omissions that had been parts of other phones for years, such as cut/copy/paste, MMS, GPS voice guidance and so on and Apple has tried over and over to make jailbreaking an actual arrestable crime. All told, I've dropped about $10000 on Apple products over the past couple of years and I can't recall a single thing that worked as expected out of the box, including system software.

Oh...I forgot the iPad 3G and it's wifi that reconnects every few minutes, making the watching of video or doing anything that involves streaming data a chore. The 3G works fine. The wifi is junk. Still no sign of any update for that until iOS4 is hopefully released for it one day.

Cynical? No, really?

I've tried really hard to like Apple and Apple products over the past couple of years and, in fact, I still like the IDEA of Apple products but I simply can't stomach Apple itself anymore. If they can't come clean about a fairly easily proven flaw in something as meager as a phone, there's no way I'm throwing any more money their way for anything. There are too many alternatives to everything they make that are not only viable, they're actually better and for considerably less money. The iMac, for example, was replaced by a quad core 2.something GHz Intel CPU, 8 GB of RAM running Windows 7 Professional x64, a 1 TB hard drive, dual head DVI out video card, 6 USB and 2 firewire ports, 10/100/1000 ethernet card and N class wifi card AND a 25 inch widescreen monitor from, of all places, CostCo. And the thing SCREAMS! The price? $1000. Less than half the price of the iMac. I paid another $15 for a bluetooth USB dongle that has yet to disappear even once and the thing runs Leopard in a window using VM software better than Leopard runs on the iMac itself. In fact, Windows 7 ran better than Leopard on that iMac and it also eliminated the wifi problem, as I recall.

 

[jimsowden]

Apple knows how to pull press. They wouldn't hold a PC if they were just going to give out free bumpers. The country is looking for a recall and announcement of some redesigning to alleviate the issue, and that's the only thing Apple can deliver here.

 

[samcraig]

I pretty much called every move in the press conference. It's a shame though - because everything I called was HUGE spin without truly getting to the heart of the matter.

In short - Apple didn't take TRUE responsibility - they just genericized the problem (and with shoddy data) and decided to "gift" bumpers to shut people up.

 

[BernardSG]

I pretty much called every move in the press conference. It's a shame though - because everything I called was HUGE spin without truly getting to the heart of the matter.

In short - Apple didn't take TRUE responsibility - they just genericized the problem (and with shoddy data) and decided to "gift" bumpers to shut people up.

So what you gonna do now ?

 

[*LTD*]

They will tout sales #s and how everyone is loving their iPhones. How facetime is changing the way people communicate. How many glowing reviews they got. And how unfortunate it is that a small percentage of people are having issues - but they extended their return policy so that they can make their own decision. And that they have released a new update to the OS which solves the issue of signal strength and how it's reported. In other words - they will continue the smokescreen and divert attention away from the actual issue.

Seems there is no pressing issue after all. Your post is an admission that there is much ado about nothing. If everyone is loving their iPhones so much, where's the problem?

So what is the "actual" issue? That most customers love their iPhones, or that the "problem" affects only a small number of users that have options for satisfaction?

?

 

[samcraig]

Seems there is no pressing issue after all. Your post is an admission that there is much ado about nothing. If everyone is loving their iPhones so much, where's the problem?

So what is the "actual" issue? That most customers love their iPhones, or that the "problem" affects only a small number of users that have options for satisfaction?

?

LTD - I'm not responding to your questions or comments - more than anyone else here, you seem to ignore facts and are completely blinded by your love for Apple. I wish you well. I just don't wish to engage in a "conversation" with someone who is so limited in their worldview.

 

[samcraig]

So what you gonna do now ?

As I've said in other threads - I have a case on my iPhone which has worked out so far since my imaging issues (2 bad cameras) were solved. I enjoy the iPhone4 and everything it brings to the table.

I also traded in my 3GS and if I'm going to have an iPhone I believe in having the latest for all the obvious reasons which I'm sure most people don't need me to write out.

From a PR angle - Apple did exactly what I thought they would. By the book - it was "good" PR. Unfortunately - I think many people saw how transparent it was - and know it was SPIN and DAMAGE CONTROL.

While I DO believe Apple wants to do what's right and they do have the best intentions - I also think that in this scenario they have been a bit arrogant and stubborn. The Apple "glow" has been diminished. It's not gone - but it's not the same as it was before the launch.

 

[kbfr08]

I just don't see Apple offering a bumper as a solution. That just leaves them open to the competition. I still think a recall is going to take place.

It took them 3 years to recall fraying magsafe chargers, which pose a fire hazard. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if no recall is issued.

 

[*LTD*]

LTD - I'm not responding to your questions or comments - more than anyone else here, you seem to ignore facts and are completely blinded by your love for Apple. I wish you well. I just don't wish to engage in a "conversation" with someone who is so limited in their worldview.

You just did.

My worldview is limited by products that don't suck ass. That means Apple's up there when it comes to creating things that are actually exciting and desirable. There's really only one. Life is easy this way.