My favourite article to date from The enquirer:
The emergency press conference had everyone wondering how Jobs would explain away a fundamental design fault that has been demonstrated hundreds of times. It needed the master of ceremonies to be on top form, and boy did he put on a show.
For those reading on an Iphone 4 we'll cut to the chase before you lose connectivity. As we predicted, Iphone 4 users will be given a free Bumper wrap-around. Rejoice in knowing that the once sleek device you shelled out hundreds of pounds for will be encased in a rubber band. Apple might just as well send out strips of duct tape.
Learning about this act of generosity came at the price of having to endure 90 minutes of Steve Jobs' reality distortion field. The press conference was, for the most part, a patronising lecture, with Jobs repeatedly saying that Apple "loves its users". We think any company would if it could get away with selling its customers faulty gadgets at high prices and repeat that cycle in an infinite loop.
Not surprisingly Apple knew it was under the gun, and it gave access only to friendly journalists. Our application was denied, with our reporter being told that the company was "Limited on space for tomorrow's event and can not accommodate your request." A fair reason, until you notice that there were plenty of empty seats at the event. Maybe Apple had a lot of last-minute cancellations. Sure.
Instead of doing the right thing and admitting Apple's mistakes, Jobs, seemingly living in a state of denial, decided to gracelessly lay the blame on the entire mobile phone industry.
After trying and failing to justify the dismal wireless reception capabilities of the Iphone 4 by holding a Blackberry Bold 9700, HTC's Droid Eris and Samsung's Omnia II, Jobs proclaimed that "phones aren't perfect". Well yes, but for the Iphone 4 perfection is a dot on the horizon. Not content with blaming competing mobile phone manufacturers, Jobs also appealed to science by saying that Apple hadn't found a way "around the laws of physics", as though that could explain his blunder of putting a bare metal antenna on the outer edge of a mobile phone that, by its nature, is designed to be handheld.
Acting like a schoolboy reeling off lame excuses, Jobs, who proudly claimed that the Iphone 4 was the best phone ever, said that it, like all phones, fell prey to "weak spots". This was, in effect, to blame Iphone 4 reception problems on the mobile networks, including Apple's exclusive partner AT&T in the US.
Apparently Jobs also likes to think that the problem is due to the fact that there simply aren't enough cases available for the Iphone 4. He said that the firm's previous Iphone, the 3GS, didn't face this problem because cases designed for the Iphone 3G would fit. And, according to Jobs, only 20 per cent of those who buy the Iphone 4 don't buy a matching rubber band.
Holding the phone, Jobs repeatedly called the Iphone 4 reception problem a non-issue, affecting merely a small minority of users. But Apple claims to have sold 1.7 million of the things. If the so-called fix is to wrap a tacky piece of rubber around a £500 phone and 20 per cent of users don't have these, then that small minority of users affected by Antennagate is about 340,000 people. But let's not get hung up on figures, we're talking about the iconic Iphone 4 here.
The truth of the matter is that Apple's loyal customers are getting hoodwinked with a third rate solution to a major issue. Many of those who spent hours queuing and forking over hundreds of pounds did so for a mobile phone that could at least make phone calls without having to be wrapped in a tacky loop of rubber. Instead what they are ending up with is a manufacturer that insists on defacing their expensive device, which it sells based on its clean lines and sleek, seamless style, in order to cover up its flawed engineering and consequent inability to meet its most basic functional requirement.
Jobs noted that Apple is "not perfect", a point few would argue against. However despite his protestations that his mob of shiny toy merchants care about the people who line Apple's pockets so handsomely, his behaviour should be seen as the gold standard of corporate irresponsibility in the consumer electronics industry.
Faced with a billion dollar bill for doing the right thing, Steve Jobs chose the cheap and easy way out, an option that belies his claim that Apple is "an engineering company".
Has to be my favourite article yet. How anyone could retain their iPhone 4 and allow themselves to be mugged off by Apple any longer is utterly beyond comprehension.
The whole conference was nauseating, self congratulary, self obsessed and frankly I didnt believe a word of it
The emergency press conference had everyone wondering how Jobs would explain away a fundamental design fault that has been demonstrated hundreds of times. It needed the master of ceremonies to be on top form, and boy did he put on a show.
For those reading on an Iphone 4 we'll cut to the chase before you lose connectivity. As we predicted, Iphone 4 users will be given a free Bumper wrap-around. Rejoice in knowing that the once sleek device you shelled out hundreds of pounds for will be encased in a rubber band. Apple might just as well send out strips of duct tape.
Learning about this act of generosity came at the price of having to endure 90 minutes of Steve Jobs' reality distortion field. The press conference was, for the most part, a patronising lecture, with Jobs repeatedly saying that Apple "loves its users". We think any company would if it could get away with selling its customers faulty gadgets at high prices and repeat that cycle in an infinite loop.
Not surprisingly Apple knew it was under the gun, and it gave access only to friendly journalists. Our application was denied, with our reporter being told that the company was "Limited on space for tomorrow's event and can not accommodate your request." A fair reason, until you notice that there were plenty of empty seats at the event. Maybe Apple had a lot of last-minute cancellations. Sure.
Instead of doing the right thing and admitting Apple's mistakes, Jobs, seemingly living in a state of denial, decided to gracelessly lay the blame on the entire mobile phone industry.
After trying and failing to justify the dismal wireless reception capabilities of the Iphone 4 by holding a Blackberry Bold 9700, HTC's Droid Eris and Samsung's Omnia II, Jobs proclaimed that "phones aren't perfect". Well yes, but for the Iphone 4 perfection is a dot on the horizon. Not content with blaming competing mobile phone manufacturers, Jobs also appealed to science by saying that Apple hadn't found a way "around the laws of physics", as though that could explain his blunder of putting a bare metal antenna on the outer edge of a mobile phone that, by its nature, is designed to be handheld.
Acting like a schoolboy reeling off lame excuses, Jobs, who proudly claimed that the Iphone 4 was the best phone ever, said that it, like all phones, fell prey to "weak spots". This was, in effect, to blame Iphone 4 reception problems on the mobile networks, including Apple's exclusive partner AT&T in the US.
Apparently Jobs also likes to think that the problem is due to the fact that there simply aren't enough cases available for the Iphone 4. He said that the firm's previous Iphone, the 3GS, didn't face this problem because cases designed for the Iphone 3G would fit. And, according to Jobs, only 20 per cent of those who buy the Iphone 4 don't buy a matching rubber band.
Holding the phone, Jobs repeatedly called the Iphone 4 reception problem a non-issue, affecting merely a small minority of users. But Apple claims to have sold 1.7 million of the things. If the so-called fix is to wrap a tacky piece of rubber around a £500 phone and 20 per cent of users don't have these, then that small minority of users affected by Antennagate is about 340,000 people. But let's not get hung up on figures, we're talking about the iconic Iphone 4 here.
The truth of the matter is that Apple's loyal customers are getting hoodwinked with a third rate solution to a major issue. Many of those who spent hours queuing and forking over hundreds of pounds did so for a mobile phone that could at least make phone calls without having to be wrapped in a tacky loop of rubber. Instead what they are ending up with is a manufacturer that insists on defacing their expensive device, which it sells based on its clean lines and sleek, seamless style, in order to cover up its flawed engineering and consequent inability to meet its most basic functional requirement.
Jobs noted that Apple is "not perfect", a point few would argue against. However despite his protestations that his mob of shiny toy merchants care about the people who line Apple's pockets so handsomely, his behaviour should be seen as the gold standard of corporate irresponsibility in the consumer electronics industry.
Faced with a billion dollar bill for doing the right thing, Steve Jobs chose the cheap and easy way out, an option that belies his claim that Apple is "an engineering company".
Has to be my favourite article yet. How anyone could retain their iPhone 4 and allow themselves to be mugged off by Apple any longer is utterly beyond comprehension.
The whole conference was nauseating, self congratulary, self obsessed and frankly I didnt believe a word of it
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