Analysis - Apple’s emergency press event was surprisingly inept

[Fraz]

You should read this: The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs.

We call it “clouding.” Right now, for example, we’ve sent out the following messages about iPhone 4 and the antenna issues:

1. All mobile phones have this problem.

2. Our mobile phone does not have this problem.

You see how this works? These two statements cannot both be true.

Yet we’ve said both of them. And now you don’t know what to believe.

Ask any psychologist what happens to people when they get confused. Their heart rate goes up. Their skin temperature rises. Adrenaline starts to flow.

They feel desperate, and scared, as if they’ve fallen out of a boat and now they’re getting tossed by waves and they’re maybe going to drown.

Now all you have to do is reach out with some kind of certainty, and no matter how obviously untrue it might be, people will latch onto it.

Every religion in the world knows this, from the Catholics to the Scientologists. It’s the oldest trick in the book. You create some uncertainty, you put people at risk — you tell them they’re going to hell, or whatever — and then you hold out the answer.

No matter how ridiculous your answer may be — like, the one about the galactic ruler Xenu, or the one where God turns into a bird and flies down to earth and impregnates a virgin — people will accept it.

Not only that, they’ll actually thank you for feeding them this horse****. Because any certainty, no matter how crazy, is better than uncertainty.

[Percy1983]

So he has the sword which can piece any armour and the shield which no sword can piece...

Loved the video where he removed 2 fingers to sort the problem.

[TheAnimus]

Worth noting the usual tamed press have forgiven all sins:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10665424

they make it sound like its not a massive flaw to put a bloody antenna on the outside, where it will be touched. FFS beeb.

[Mattus]

Worth noting the usual tamed press have forgiven all sins:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10665424

they make it sound like its not a massive flaw to put a bloody antenna on the outside, where it will be touched. FFS beeb.

Your attempts to whip up hysteria when only a minuscule proportion of iP4 buyers have actually complained aren't exactly much better. Finding balanced coverage of anything related to Apple is practically impossible. They're so divisive, like Marmite.

[oolon]

Your attempts to whip up hysteria when only a minuscule proportion of iP4 buyers have actually complained aren't exactly much better. Finding balanced coverage of anything related to Apple is practically impossible. They're so divisive, like Marmite.

I don't think he is trying to whip up anything. TheAnimus actually bought and returned an iphone 4 so I think he is just voicing his opinion, however it just happens to be an informed one unlike many.

[mcmiller]

what really annoys the most me to be honest is the mess they have made of ios4 for the 3g, its complete crap. i see hardly any benefits and yet my phone is so sloooow, really bugs the hell out of m - I loved the 3g and i was contemplating getting this one but now seeing the general arrogance and 3.0 for android just around the corner i might move to that.

[TheAnimus]

Your attempts to whip up hysteria when only a minuscule proportion of iP4 buyers have actually complained aren't exactly much better. Finding balanced coverage of anything related to Apple is practically impossible. They're so divisive, like Marmite.

I don't think he is trying to whip up anything. TheAnimus actually bought and returned an iphone 4 so I think he is just voicing his opinion, however it just happens to be an informed one unlike many.

That really.

I bought one on launch day (a mate actually queued up!), and returned it the following Monday. Biggest piece of crap of a phone I've ever owned.

Best mobile gaming platform on a phone I've ever owned.

But even navigating the store was a pain in the arse.

Not what pissed me off about the beeb link, is they did nothing other than quote jobs verbatim, taking him at his word, even thou its directly contradictory.

So a piece of plastic fixes this antenna problem (makes sense, insulates it from contact with flesh).

But all other phones, which already have this peice of plastic suffer the problem.

Wait a second, how can that fix it for the iphone, yet phones which are properly designed from inception don't need it.....

My bull**** meter reads 11.

[usxhe190]

what really annoys the most me to be honest is the mess they have made of ios4 for the 3g, its complete crap. i see hardly any benefits and yet my phone is so sloooow, really bugs the hell out of m - I loved the 3g and i was contemplating getting this one but now seeing the general arrogance and 3.0 for android just around the corner i might move to that.

Yep, lots of report of the iPhone 3G stuffing up because of the update.

Don't bother getting a proper response from Steve Job, he will just tell you to buy the new iPhone, you noob.

[usxhe190]

That really.

I bought one on launch day (a mate actually queued up!), and returned it the following Monday. Biggest piece of crap of a phone I've ever owned.

Best mobile gaming platform on a phone I've ever owned.

But even navigating the store was a pain in the arse.

Not what pissed me off about the beeb link, is they did nothing other than quote jobs verbatim, taking him at his word, even thou its directly contradictory.

So a piece of plastic fixes this antenna problem (makes sense, insulates it from contact with flesh).

But all other phones, which already have this peice of plastic suffer the problem.

Wait a second, how can that fix it for the iphone, yet phones which are properly designed from inception don't need it.....

My bull**** meter reads 11.

Yep, that's why there is rubber on the sides of my Blackberry.

The whole Apple conference was so full of crap that it's amazing it didn't stink. But at least Apple customers gets a free Apple rubber band now rather than having to keep getting the response "there is no <*** Oi, language! Read the rules. *** > problem with your phone!"

[usxhe190]

"Mr Jobs said the design of the iPhone 4, with a gap separating two sections of antenna, might have contributed to the problems as it perhaps subliminally encouraged people to touch that spot."

RDF is On.

[.havoc]

Probably joining this a little late - been on holiday so only just catching up on the news, but if you look at the page apple put up with all the comparison shots - look how hard they have to press the phone in to cause a signal drop...

when do you ever get a finger impression like that without squeezing the absolute nuts off something? which i dont believe you have to do to cause an issue with the iphone...