

Apple's condescending iPhone 4 press conference. - obsaysditto
http://www.slate.com/id/2260619/pagenum/all/

======
rauljara
What Manjoo wishes Steve jobs would have said: 'He could have admitted a
problem, offered a fix, and said, "We're sorry for any trouble we caused
you."'

What Jobs said: 'To our customers who are affected by the issue, we are deeply
sorry, and we are going to give you a free case or a full refund.'

Granted, Jobs only said that in response to his question, and not as part of
his initial presentation. And Manjoo's critique of the dropped call statistic
sounds dead on to me. But Manjoo specifically said what he would like out of
the conference (even before this article), Jobs gave it to him, and he still
is acting like Jobs personally punched him in the face.

~~~
Natsu
It's interesting what people get out of this.

Some see the tests where the other cell phones are shown to have a problem if
you wrap your entire hand around it and point out that it's nothing like the
little spot you just have to touch to make an iPhone die if you're less than
20-something dB above the minimum signal.

Others see the apology you quoted and don't understand the media witch hunt,
where the press even supports those who traffic in stolen phones.

(I realize that I'm oversimplifying both of those stories a bit, but they're
not my main point.)

Seems like there's no middle ground any more. If you post something in support
of them, you'll be derided by someone as a fanboy. If you post something
against them, you'll be derided as a hater. Whichever one you pick, you'll
likely stay there, because both sides feel free to act like jerks toward the
other. And why would you want to switch and side with those jerks who were
mean to you?

I try to remain neutral, but it's hard. I see some people giving them a free
pass, and I dislike it. But other people _do_ give them flack when it's
unfair. I don't want to do either. I want to be fair.

In short, maybe what we really need here is more civility?

~~~
dieterrams
I'm an Apple fan who doesn't get the witch hunt, but I readily acknowledge
Jobs glossed over the problem. The problem is that the problem ultimately
wasn't much of a problem to begin with, but the haters keep looking for
something to get angry about. I can't go a day on Hacker News without seeing
several grossly uncharitable comments get a bunch of upvotes. Any other topic,
and it'd get rightly voted down. It's extremely poor form for Hacker News, and
it's started to make me pretty bitter. In fact, the only reason why I created
an account was to fight back against the hate/FUD.

I believe that there are a number of strong, charitable, level-headed
criticisms you can make about Apple. I don't have a problem with those, and
appreciate it when people make them. But that's not what we're getting here.
What we're getting is a bunch of snippy and sneering quips from people who
don't bother to examine the range of possible reasons why Apple did X, instead
always assuming that they did X just to be manipulative jerks. It's just
crazy.

I like Hacker News a lot, but this has really been souring the experience.

Edit: And look at how I get anonymously downvoted. These guys can't even argue
in their defense. They just maliciously downvote.

------
megablast
Wow, is this tall poppy syndrome or are the media just trying to push this
non-story as far as it can go?

~~~
sambeau
Indeed. This is becoming a witch hunt.

I don't understand what the big problem is. So, my iPhone 4 has a small
hardware flaw. I found this out weeks ago. It hasn't made a difference to my
life and I am certainly not going to return it.

Does it drop calls? Yes. Does it drop less calls than my 3G? Yes. Does it have
better reception in general than my 3G? Yes. Am I happy with 02, my network?
No - but they have always been pretty bad where I live. (But also bare in mind
the walls to my house here in Scotland are made of damp sandstone and are 3ft
thick.)

I think that my iPhone 4 is not just the best phone I've ever owned its the
single greatest consumer electronics device that I have ever owned. If it was
recalled you'd have to prise it out of my cold dead hands (or replace it with
an iPhone 5).

Nobody I know that owns an iPhone 4 cares about this issue - they all think
it's funny. The only people that seem to care are either people I know who own
android devices (who gloat) and tech journalists who seem to be very, very
angry for some weird reason.

~~~
derefr
A lot of the press gets by by writing snark-filled criticism of anything and
everything. Bigger names make for better press: the snark that pulls in the
most eyes is the snark about the fall of the biggest Goliath. So, this segment
of the press has wanted an excuse to tear into Apple for years—it's a very big
name—but Apple has Done No Wrong (from their fans' perspectives), so they
haven't been able to.

Now that there _is_ something that consumers could, theoretically, get mad
about, they're going to attack Apple full-bore, no matter how irrational it is
on an objective scale.

------
Spoutingshite
I knew about this problem before I bought my iPhone 4, I didn't care then and
I care less now.

The iPhone is the best tech device I own. It helps me run my life by managing
my diary, email and contacts with a easy to use interface that my old
blackberry could never aspire to.

It rocks and I don't care if I loose one call in every 50...it's a small price
to pay.

------
lwhi
Apple is now subject to the kind of scrutiny any other corporation has to put
up with. The honeymoon might be over, but this is a good thing.

You can only spin the public for so long, before the public starts to feel
sick.

~~~
YooLi
I agree that Apple has been the darling of the media for a while, but I don't
know if I would call this the same kind of scrutiny other corps put up with;
this is bordering on irrational (if not there already).

~~~
lwhi
Cast your mind back to recent history, and consider the pure hatred that has
been expressed for Microsoft over the years.

Corporations don't need to be loved - they need to be kept in check.

------
mmacaulay
"I wasn't invited to Apple's event"

This is an important sentence.

~~~
philwelch
"I wasn't invited to Apple's event, and I didn't watch the web stream, but I
read liveblogs so I'll critique it anyway".

Kind of like, "I didn't read your column, but I read the HN comments so I'll
critique it anyway".

------
pohl
"Hey, I got an idea: let's all sing this song: it goes..."

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKIcaejkpD4>

~~~
drivebyacct2
Are you posting this to get people to ignore this topic or in support of the
article? I thought the conference was fine. I was shocked they played that
snooty stuck up video.

~~~
pohl
Well, I can understand how one might find Jonathan Mann to be snooty & stuck-
up. I don't know much about him, but it appears he has already led an
extraordinary life. I thought his song was amusing.

The article wasn't about him or his song, though, and I don't think he is
employed by, or represents Apple. Apparently they thought it was amusing too.

I only linked to it because there is deep wisdom in the chorus that could have
saved Farhad Manjoo a lot of typing.

------
CRASCH
I look at it as a hidden golden feature.

If I don't want to talk to someone. I simply say "The cell signal isn't great
here. I may drop you."

I then slide my fingers over the magic drop call button. The call degrades and
gone....

The screen is great and all but the best feature is that I can magically get a
bad signal whenever I want if I hold it just right.

------
invisible
This is one flaw being criticized, he admitted Apple and phones aren't
perfect, he apologized after the initial talk to those affected, he expressed
how committed Apple is to making ALL users happy, and he offered a free case.
Yeah, he might feel like it's a bit over-the-top media sensationalism, but to
the USERS/CUSTOMERS, he is being nothing but kind and supportive.

------
thewileyone
It's amazing to read how the iPhone4 is so great and how people can't live
without it.

I have a 3GS, an Ipad, an XPS gaming laptop, and tons of others tech stuff and
if they all went away one day, my life would still be a rich one.

