Apple Responds to Antennagate

By: Bill Armstrong (Contributing Editor)

The whole tech world tuned in this past Friday to hear Apple’s official response to the tremendous outcry regarding the recently released iPhone 4. An earlier post of mine covered the major issues that were being reported, most notably, the antennae issue. For those who are unaware of what all the hubbub was about, there is a connectivity issue that is caused when you hold the device in a certain area that leads to signal loss, and in some cases, dropped calls. An interesting problem, to say the least, but even more interesting is how this issue led to a media frenzy that nearly matched that of the huge oil spill in the gulf.

The initial response from Apple and Steve Jobs himself seemed to many to be indifferent, or even contemptuous. The most famous of these responses being to “hold the phone differently.” This did little more than fuel the growing fire. The outcry continued, and gained momentum as celebrities and politicians joined in. The iPhone 4’s antennae issue even made appearances on popular talk shows, including a spot on Letterman’s infamous Top 10 list. Even the almighty Consumer Reports chimed in by refusing the iPhone its recommendation. Perhaps it was US Senator Charles Schumer’s letter to Apple, stating that, “The burden for consumers caused by this glitch, combined with the confusion over its cause and how it will be fixed, has the potential to undermine the many benefits of this innovative device” led to Apple’s decision to address the issue directly. And address it they did.

In a press conference led by Steve Jobs himself, Apple finally conceded that there was indeed a problem with the iPhone 4 antennas. And, in a move that reminded me of my own daughters, Apple began pointing out that many other popular devices have the same issue, Even going so far as to demonstrate on other phones. An interesting approach that made me wish someone would have asked, “Now Steve, if the other phones were jumping off a cliff, would you join them?”  Apple did indeed offer a solution to help remedy the issue. It was determined early after the problem was discovered that it is easily fixed by covering the affected area with some sort of non-conductive material. So Apple is going to give a free case to everyone that has already bought an iPhone 4, and anyone that buys an iPhone 4 up until September. They have even gone so far as to offer refunds for any customers that have already purchased a bumper from Apple for this issue.

While there may be speculation that this solution is not going to satisfy the masses, one thing that is quite clear is that nothing has stopped the success of the iPhone 4. A million phones were sold the first weekend, and in the time since, even with all of the controversy, another 2 million iPhone 4’s were sold. Apple’s response may have been less than apologetic, but maybe that isn’t so undeserved. Apple has stood as an industry leader in both style and innovation. So much so that perhaps people are expecting nothing less than perfection with every product it releases. Forgetting about features that are going to forever change the industry in order to focus on one feature that is not so great is probably not the best way to look at a product. Customer loyalty and confidence is gained by offering a variety of dependable, cutting edge products, and by being there to support the customer and stand behind  its products every step of the way. This is something that Apple has never failed to do, and will continue doing for many devices to  come.