Yes, another Iphone 4 post...

First post for the unit, I'll be talking about something which everyone is talking about. The iphone 4. In the past few weeks the media have brought to the attention of design flaws of the iphone 4's antenna which if covered in a certain area will cause signal loss which subsequently drops out calls. This has been a major PR disaster for Apple, especially during the launch period, as it has been the only thing dominating iphone news. Despite Consumer Report's testing of the iphone, many (and of course Apple) say that it has been blown way out of proportion and the number of actual dropouts related to the number of calls is a very minute number. Nevertheless it has made a significant impact to Apple management, forcing a conference to be held to try and help resolve this problem. Just a couple of weeks ago Apple announced a free bumper for every iphone 4 sold which has been proven to counteract the problem of signal loss.

What I find interesting throughout the course of these events is the way Apple and its Chief Executive, Steve Jobs is dealing with the immense uproar and blowup of the situation by the public and the media. Apple's brand image is now not only being tested but scrutinised to the finest detail.

Apple began blaming these problems on the consumer - apparently they were holding the phone wrong. Um ok - unless i'm lying on the floor, legs curled up behind my head with my phone between my asscrack, I don't think there IS a wrong way to hold a mobile phone. Then Apple began to preach about software glitches apparent in older iphone models which display a misleading amount of bars depending on its actual signal strength - obviously another poor excuse. Regardless of the display, the signal strength shouldn't be so low as to drop a call? Another fail whale attempt to divert the problem to a similar sounding problem which has nothing to do with core problem. Finally when tests were conducted which showed a hardware fault, Apple decided to admit to a hardware fault being present - but not without mentioning other brands having the same issues *rolls eyes*. Currently the free bandaid, i mean bumper is the only solution for the signal loss.





To me Apple and CEO Steve Jobs dealt with the situation horribly, not only underestimating the intellegence of today's consumer, but foolishly undermining it. Apple's arrogant approach does nothing but harm its brand image and takes away the perceived finer qualities and attributes of the brand, such as its superior innovative and design features. With that said, it's those finer qualities which is currently saving Apple's sorry ass. Not only are many consumers not phased by these findings, they are still lining up in huge masses in order to purchase one of them.

The only way Apple can make this situation right is by addressing the root of the problem and completely fixing the hardware and releasing a new version of the updated phone quicksmart. For apple to continuously maintain its strong brand image and dominant market share, they need to rid themselves of ANY flaws and continue to produce and market products of a superior quality perceived by the end users. Apple was lucky to have such a strong following but this has deteriated slightly due to these current events and the only way to safeguard its brand from suffering anymore is to make sure they address future issues more carefully.