On the Tonight Show Jay Leno quipped that Jobs was staring in the film 'Reception?' an obvious play on the recent hit film 'Inception'
Lets just go back 3 weeks and remember the launch of the iPhone 4. Immediate complaints about signal died ensued. Then there were thousands of tweets that the problem could be solved with sticky tape and nail varnish. Still no word from Apple. Then what happened? Rather than admitting there was a problem, Apple blamed left-handed iPhone 4 users for the signal problems. Apple even claimed that the left-handed “death grip” bar-dropping problem happens on the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris, and Samsung Omnia II, Steve Jobs declared “We’re not perfect” and commented that reception problems were endemic throughout the smartphone industry (this definitely ruffled a few feathers). In the meantime, Apple couldn’t produce enough rubber bumpers to deal with the antenna problem and its share prices dropped by 4%, cutting $9.9bn (£6.5bn) off its $230bn value as a direct result of this situation.
So what can be learned from this fiasco? Well, firstly, Apple should have been open with its customers. Instead of maintaining that icy ‘Apple façade’ and their policy of ‘we know best’, Apple should have admitted the glitches from the very start and no doubt people would have been less angry. According to PR experts, a total recall would have been appropriate too, but this would have been far too costly. Secondly, blaming the problems on the consumer is generally a big no-no. People don’t want to spend money on a phone only to be told its their fault that it doesn’t work properly. Plus, you can’t blame sticking the wrong buttons on the volume controls on the consumer now can you? Luckily, Steve Jobs made a public apology to customers on 16th July during a press conference at Apple’s Headquarters and offered a free case to each iPhone 4 user.
So eventually Apple have done the right thing (sort of) and rumour has it that supplying a plastic case to all three million customers could cost Apple about £118m. This, hopefully, should put an end to the signal problems, and Apple’s woes, although users will have to wait up to 4 weeks to receive their case and must apply by 30th September 2010.
In the words of Paul Miller at Engadget, ‘this will probably satisfy some, infuriate others, and never even blip onto the radar of many of the massive horde of consumers that’s devoured this product in unprecedented numbers.’
