Apple Knew of iPhone Issue

[ari-free]

Apple Knew of iPhone Antenna Risks - WSJ.com

"Engineers Aware of Antenna Risks Before Release, but CEO Jobs Liked Design


Apple Inc. released its newest iPhone despite internal concerns about its antenna reception, and gave wireless carriers far less time to test the phone than is typical, according to people familiar with the matter.

Since its release June 24, Apple's iPhone 4 has been dogged by reports of reception problems, yet demand for the smartphone has outstripped Apple's ability to keep it in stores.
The Cupertino, Calif., company has called a news conference at its headquarters to discuss the issue Friday. Apple doesn't plan to recall the phone, a person familiar with the matter said.
Apple engineers were aware of the risks associated with the new antenna design as early as a year ago, but Chief Executive Steve Jobs liked the design so much that Apple went ahead with its development, said another person familiar with the matter.
The electronics giant kept such a shroud of secrecy over the iPhone 4's development that the device didn't get the kind of real-world testing that would have exposed such problems in phones by other manufacturers, said people familiar with the matter.
The iPhones Apple sends to its carrier partners for testing are "stealth" phones that disguise a new device's shape and some of its functions, people familiar with the matter said. Those test phones are specifically designed so the phone can't be touched, which made it hard to catch the iPhone 4's antenna problem...."


More at link above. It's one thing to make a mistake but it intolerable to come up with a flawed design on purpose just because it looks shiny.

 

[ddoolin]

Since its release June 24, Apple's iPhone 4 has been dogged by reports of reception problems, yet demand for the smartphone has outstripped Apple's ability to keep it in stores.

More at link above. It's one thing to make a mistake but it intolerable to come up with a flawed design on purpose just because it looks shiny.

Bolded the important part to any businessman.

 

[ari-free]

Don't be misled by planned shortages. Everyone does it.

 

[ddoolin]

Don't be misled by planned shortages. Everyone does it.

Even if 3 million phones isn't terrible accurate, even 2 and a half million so far is pretty crazy. Even if they are existing customers, the sales numbers are really...out there. I really wasn't expecting such a response and now I bet a lot of people regret their response.

 

[ari-free]

It actually turns off people. My mother, for example, couldn't understand how people could stand in line like groupies for a phone that nobody tried for themselves. So OK Apple, you created a cult and can make a lot money off them. But what about those who still have their minds intact?

 

[LoyalServant]

I know a lot of people turned off by the fanboyism.
I was with my boss at a local Hardees when approached by an iFan.
I had my Nexus for a grand total of 3 weeks when I got a call and this iFan immediately latched onto me like a heat seeking missile.

After his pretend initial curiosity vanished he challenged my purchase, as every single ifan has done to me for the last 20 years.
'Why did you buy that copy of MS-DOS 6 and Windows 3 instead of just getting a mac?'

Thing is, the iFan came on strong and turned my boss completely off iProducts. He refused to get his daughter an iPod touch for fear of the rabid mentality they have and her safety.
(he really refused to do it! citing the Hardees encounter with me)

Whatever it may be, but back when the Nexus one was released the iFans went absolutely crazy about it.

I have since been approached at that same Hardees several more times.
It has a gas station and it's down the street from work.. so it's good for a lunch stop + getting gas at the same time.. what can I say.

I have made many iFans aware that they hurt more than they help just to be scoffed at and told about how many people they have 'saved' from the clutches of Microsoft.
LOL... trading one tyrant for another.
Some rescue.

 

[ari-free]

This fanboyism didn't just 'happen.' It goes way back and was organized. In 1996, Guy Kawasaki created the EvangeList, a pro-Mac propaganda site that would react to any news that was anti-Apple:

"Henry Norr, a former editor at MacWeek, said that he would get scores of "nasty, hostile" e-mail if he wrote anything critical about the Mac.
He said that while some were polite and thoughtful, in general the experience was like being "besieged by zombies," some of whom were "really unbalanced."
"I'm sure Guy didn't personally endorse the excesses of it," Norr said. "But I'm not sure he appreciated its negative effect. I personally felt this kind of stuff didn't help. It created the aura of a cult."

 

[ddoolin]

I hope I never meet any of those people!

Just ask them why they care and maybe they'll go away.

 

[sakmaster]

Of course they knew about it, Apple is bound have a couple people that aren't marketers out of those ~20k employees. One or two are probably engineers. The first thing any one would do when testing this "revolutionary" design would be to test the obvious: does touching it mess it up?

This is how it went down. Apple marketers provided the engineers with design constraints including a thickness, and engineers then had to build the phone around that. The issue was defiantly brought up to higher management where any doubt was shot down because it was still the only way to meet the design constraints.

Apple definitely tested other phones and found the same flaw on the Droid Eris, Omia II, and the Bold 9700. All of these phones were available late 2009. Apple decided to take the risk and hope the issue would slide like it did on these three other phones.

The problem that Apple made, was not realizing the the Droid Eris and Omia II are both lower end smartphones for budget-minded consumers. The BlackBerry 9700 is also mostly sold through enterprise where an issue like this likely isn't seen by many consumers. The iPhone is priced at the high end and much more popular than these phones and they should of realized such an issue would be overblown.

The iPhone has always sold because of the idea that Apple's all in one solution "just works" better. Apple stating that users should let the issue slide because its present on three other phones isn't going to sit well. People pay top dollar for the iPhone, and expect it to actually work better than cheaper phones. Apple can't excuse themselves by saying the problem is seen on a bunch of last gen budget phones, so its Ok that the iphone, the most expensive phone on the market, has the same problem.

The damage is done. It won't affect sales in the short turn as the iPhone 4 is competitive feature wise. But in the next months, consumers are going to find it hard to justify spending more and getting less without the idea that Apple provides a prefect experience. Apple took the risk and loss, and this tiny defect turns into an overblown pr nightmare for Apple, the more they compare the iPhone to other phones, the worse it gets.

Consumers know Apple couldn't replicate the same problem on competition phones. Apparently the industry wide problem only occurs on 5 phones, 2 by Apple, including a $50 win mo no name and a discontinued Droid Eris.

 

[ari-free]

Apple will be just another OEM that has to compete on specs and price. There has to be an end to this magical hopeychangey cult nonsense.

 

[ddoolin]

I'm interested to see the sales rollout next July or so whenever the new version comes out. I definitely think you'll see the numbers dwindle from this years numbers, but people will line up outside as always.

People are going to be cautiously optimistic from now on, which is probably a good thing. Apple's going to be on their toes as well...their next update is probably going to provide a lot, who knows.

 

[G.Armour]

I doubt that the sales will drop that much. And if Verizon ever brings out the iPhone, you can bet that their sales will sky rocket.

 

[ddoolin]

I doubt that the sales will drop that much. And if Verizon ever brings out the iPhone, you can bet that their sales will sky rocket.

Lawd. That's just the ego boost SJ needs right now.

 

[byteware]

I don't know. Android is moving in a direction that Apple can't or won't. It's a direction that makes the iPhone's current capabilities look like nothing special at all.

 

[woofermazing]

I know a lot of people turned off by the fanboyism.
I was with my boss at a local Hardees when approached by an iFan.
I had my Nexus for a grand total of 3 weeks when I got a call and this iFan immediately latched onto me like a heat seeking missile.

After his pretend initial curiosity vanished he challenged my purchase, as every single ifan has done to me for the last 20 years.
'Why did you buy that copy of MS-DOS 6 and Windows 3 instead of just getting a mac?'

Thing is, the iFan came on strong and turned my boss completely off iProducts. He refused to get his daughter an iPod touch for fear of the rabid mentality they have and her safety.
(he really refused to do it! citing the Hardees encounter with me)

Whatever it may be, but back when the Nexus one was released the iFans went absolutely crazy about it.

I have since been approached at that same Hardees several more times.
It has a gas station and it's down the street from work.. so it's good for a lunch stop + getting gas at the same time.. what can I say.

I have made many iFans aware that they hurt more than they help just to be scoffed at and told about how many people they have 'saved' from the clutches of Microsoft.
LOL... trading one tyrant for another.
Some rescue.

Ugh, I get this all the time. Usually involves a ton of Google bashing.

 

[lunatic59]

Apple learned a long time ago that a happy sheep produces better wool. In the end all they are concerned about is fleecing you and when they are done you're lamb chops.