From tech blogs to politicians and many iPhone 4 users have voiced their opinions about the ‘death-grip’ recepetion issue of Apple’s new iDevice all while Steve and co. admantly believe it to be a non-issue.
All of that became undone as Apple held a press conference this morning. It’s kind of ironic that if Apple believes it not to be an issue then why hold a press conference? No longer can Apple blame AT&T for all its reception problems and this time Apple has been caught with its pants down. Apple know’s its a hardware issue and there isn’t any permanent fix short of redesigning the phone itself. So they offer free Bumper cases to all iPhone 4 buyers, but they still don’t admit there are any problems with reception. In fact Steve-o goes on to point out other phones from other manufacturers to have similar issues. I have a phone that Steve mentions and it doesn’t lose reception when I hold it in any way nor do my friends who have the same phone. I don’t know where he got that info from. Nonetheless, that’s some excellent PR right there. It’s like BP telling everyone in the Gulf Coast “that oil spills like this happen all over the world, nobody’s perfect.”
There are two things Steve Jobs is brilliant at; product marketing and consumer manipulation. He may be Apple’s savior and and considered a genius in the tech industry, but he may one day be Apple’s undoing. As consumers become more educated with technology Steve’s Jim Jones-hold on the average consumer and fanboy will diminish. They’ll realize there’s nothing magical about Apple’s overpriced products and that they’re stuck in a walled garden controlled by Apple. Yeah, they have great looking hardware, but it’s not much better than current offerings from HTC and Motorola. Their iOS 4 is still outdated compared to even Android OS 2.1. And don’t get me started on iTunes.
A decade ago, Steve Jobs was the guy everyone rooted for to topple Microsoft, which they now have and Apple is now a powerhouse to be reckoned with. There is major competition in the years ahead. Companies like HP, RIM, HTC, Google, and (when they stop resting on its laurels) Microsoft will push Apple out of their comfort zone, and today they got a taste of it.