In response to Nokia’s “We prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict” article, John Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote
Judging by how their phones look, must be a lot of conflicts.
I thought the same thing, but wasn’t able to succinctly state that message as well as Gruber. I think it shows, however, that “Antennagate” has really become a marketing monster more than a widespread issue. Is it real? Certainly, as I can place my finger over the slit and stop data from coming to the phone. More important though, would I have noticed it if these “journalists” weren’t trying to create a scandal? The answer is no. Most important, is this issue going to make people, including me, return their phone? I’ll get to that answer near the end.
As for Apple’s press conference, it took me two days to sit down and get all the information. I watched the conference, read some live-blogs, and followed the reaction. As expected, reactions were mixed, but overall, you could place most reactions into two buckets; reasonable and unreasonable. I’m in the “reasonable” group, so I thought I’d throw my perspective out to the internet.
First, this post isn’t to downplay the issue. For some users, this issue is a hassle. I’m fortunate (I guess) that my natural instinct is to hold the phone in a way that does not cover the slit on the left side (I do hold the phone with my left hand). The phone is so thin that I can’t imagine putting the “death grip” to make a phone call, as the fingers would hit my face.
Anyway, I thought Apple’s response was incredibly reasonable. If you take away all the extras from the presentation, it boils down to two main points. First, if you’re having issues, then a case fixes it. So have a case on the house. If you don’t want a case, then return it with no restocking fee.
In essence, you don’t have to keep the phone if it’s not what you want. What I know though, is that everyone “wants” to keep the phone. No one wants to return it. If you don’t believe me, ask someone who owns one, or just go to the Apple Store and see one. Once you hold it, or see the Retina Display, the phone sells itself.
That gets to the crux of the issue, though, which is the society we live in. People, by nature, have a sense of entitlement. Phones, like any product, are a series of tradeoffs. People recommend products based on the overall tradeoffs that were made, and how they fit the person’s persona. Some journalists would rather complain, believing they’re entitled to an expensive fix (or a new phone), when they can simply go out and get another type of phone.
Noticed I said “journalists” in the last paragraph. I said that because I know a lot of people who own iPhone 4’s. Not one of them have stated they think less of the phone because of the antenna issues. As a matter of fact, it’s 100% agreement that this is the best phone ever made.
Therefore, I think Apple went “way above” where they needed to go. Phones aren’t perfect, as Jobs stated. Most users, sans tech journalists, are not letting this issue stop them from purchasing one (although maybe Consumer Reports scared Apple). If you are concerned, bring the phone back and buy another brand. Which takes me back to whether people (including me) would return their iPhone.
Nokia, RIM, Microsoft, and others are making official statements, in an effort to attract iPhone customers. As stated earlier, phones aren’t perfect, and are a summary of trade-offs which attract a certain type of customer. In the end, a small minority may return their phones, but most will look at the value the iPhone 4 brings when compared to these other brands and stay. Again, just go to the Apple Store and see the Retina Display and the overall design. Then, go look at a Blackberry and its trackball. While everyone wants a perfect solution, including me, reasonable responses understand they’re is no perfect solution, so we want the best solution. People may threaten that they’ll leave you, but in the end, if you’re the best, few actually leave.
