While Apple Dithers New Android Phones Hit Market
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Was Jobs making this up? Does he perhaps hold press
conferences in one of those multigazillion dollar anechoic chambers? Or did he
find out that you can attenuate a radio signal if you stand in just the right
place on the stage? Who knows?
The fact is that Apple is the only smartphone company that
has designed a device that requires the user to make electrical contact with
the antenna for it to be used. The company has now found out that this poses
usability problems, as has been previously revealed here by eWEEK. Instead of
taking responsibility for overruling its engineers in its never-ending quest
for coolness, it blames the users, the carrier, other phone companies, and of
course, the press.
And of course, he cast aspersions on Consumer Reports,
the magazine that had the nerve to actually run scientifically sound tests that
could be repeated, and found the device wanting. And while I have some sympathy
for Consumer Reports, I also remember what has happened in the past when
companies have challenged their testing ability. History is littered with the
carcasses of the cars that flip over, the appliances that burst into flames
and the smartphones that don't work when you put your finger, well, here.
So in response to all of this, Apple has been forced to
do exactly what Consumer Reports said they must do. That is to fix the problem,
and to do it for free. To quiet the masses, Jobs announced that anyone who has
bought a case for their iPhone 4 can get reimbursed. He also said that the
company would offer free cases to anyone buying an iPhone 4 until Sept. 30.
But, of course, if you bought the case from anyone besides Apple, all bets are
off. You're stuck with the cost.
So now Apple is probably feeling just swell. His Imperial
Highness has once again vanquished the naysayers; the investors have been kept
at bay; the accessory makers are once again dumped on; and all is well with the
world. Kind of.
While the Cupertino Crowd was scheming and figuring how
many bumpers it would have to write off, the Android world was releasing a
series of devices that are facing the iPhone 4 with faster operation, bigger
screens, actual wireless networks that function and customer-focused policies.
Right now, only Apple's most passionate fans think this is an excellent
product. Sure, it really is pretty good, once you get past those little
problems. But so are the Droid X and the Evo. And they don't have antenna
problems. And they don't have arrogance as a marketing technique.
Wayne Rash is a Senior Analyst for eWEEK Labs and runs the magazineÃÃÃs Washington Bureau. Prior to joining eWEEK as a Senior Writer on wireless technology, he was a Senior Contributing Editor and previously a Senior Analyst in the InfoWorld Test Center. He was also a reviewer for Federal Computer Week and Information Security Magazine. Previously, he ran the reviews and events departments at CMP's InternetWeek.He is a retired naval officer, a former principal at American Management Systems and a long-time columnist for Byte Magazine. He is a regular contributor to Plane & Pilot Magazine and The Washington Post.
