Apple.com crashes and burns (it must take after Apple stock) (Update: Site back online; stock not so much)

In a special event today, Apple today unveiled the new iPhone 4S with dual-core A5 and Siri intelligent assistant, launched iOS 5 and iCloud, and delivered new features and more affordable pricing to iPod touch and iPod nano.

In the meantime, Apple.com has crashed and burned. The site is out of commission as of approximately Noon Pacific, 3:00pm Eastern.

UPDATE: 3:26pm EDT: Apple.com is back online.

Speaking of crashing and burning, Apple (AAPL) stock has so far shed $18.39 (-4.91%) to sit at $356.21 today – off a high of $422.86 just last month.

This is why you leak “no iPhone 5 until next June” to The Journal before your “special” event, Tim.

Welcome to the Post-Jobs Era everyone!

Apple.com crashes and burns
Apple.com crashes and burns

123 Comments

  1. No iPhone5. No Jobs. Just a bunch of talking head executives presenting a souped up iPhone 4. What did they expect? I’ll be buying the 4S, but nonetheless, I’m disappointed. I think most people are.

    1. I don’t think most people are. I think 100s of millions if not billions of people all just tried to get on to Apple’s site (and crashed it) to see about the new phone specifically because they’re not disappointed.

    2. The 4S is pretty much what I’ve been waiting for to update my aging 3GS:

      * A5 matches iPad2 performance
      * 8MP camera lets me retire the old point and shoot
      * Retina display
      * Battery life at least as good as before
      * Updated antenna
      * iOS5 improvements
      * Same pocketable form factor
      * Lower price points

        1. Yes except it’s data is just as fast as most of the fake 4G phones out there. No one has true 4G, AKA LTE yet. This phone is just as fast as those phones data wise but doesn’t have the battery destroying 4G card. All those phones claiming to be 4G have abysmal battery life.

    3. For me, an iPhone 4 owner, I am disappointed…. not necessarily at Apple…. but I had my hopes of something big…. iPhone 5…. maybe a new iPad…..

      However, I am very excited about iOS 5….. but I think everyone already knew that was coming…..

      Oh well….. hopefully some sort of Christmas present for the geeks….. mid-November ????

      1. The iPhone 4S is not for iPhone 4 owners (just as the 3GS was not for 3G owners). See the pattern here?

        Leveraging a good form-factor for 2 cycles lets 3rd parties build a stronger ecosystem, creates economies of scale, etc.

        On the inside, it’s all new.
        I’m buying one.

        1. Ahhh, a man who gets it. Contrary to the title of this item, this sort of thing happened all the time under Steve Jobs.

          I’ll upgrade to the 4S (from a 3GS) and be very happy.

  2. Now now. Things are not so bad. I was surprised to see “You are not authorized to view this URL” for apple.com but the earth’s spin will right itself soon 🙂

    1. Look at today’s volume. This was a retail investor sell off. The institutions were picking up AAPL at fire sale prices. Watch what happens after Apple’s earnings report.

    2. Yea, a miracle! Like at least a 4inch screen, the largest tech company in the world couldn’t pull a miracle out of their ass and make a phone with a 4 inch screen. Maybe one day some one will invent a bigger screen for a phone!

      1. We still have penis envy, bigger is better. My how we don’t evolve. But you can of course get yourself a 4 inch. There are plenty on the market. Pharmaceutical name….Android. A good fit for those wanting bigger. There are still a lot though that are happy with better.

        1. another fag reply because someone wants a bigger screen than the same ol shit I’ve had since 2007. I guess apple should only make one size computer screen also? Here’s a concept they could of had 3.5 and a 4+inch screen. MDN out of all the apple sites I frequent have some of the biggest ifaqs.

  3. It’s just marketing. People are all disappointed because there is no iPhone 5, so somehow the iPhone 4S is a big let down. Don’t know about you, but I’ll take that new camera, 1080p video, 2x performance, and 7x graphics boost; you can wait for the name.

      1. It’s a media mis-step on Apple’s part. They over-hyped an incremental upgrade, the way other makers do too frequently. I believe S.Jobs would have just released the iPhone4S quietly and let the specs do the talking. When Apple gave notice of an announcement, they put high expectations in place for a *new* product. Unfortunately they didn’t deliver beyond the mundanely expected (better camera, faster, longer battery life, etc.).

        Nonetheless, millions will be sold.

        1. Are you even thinking about what you type, or reading it before posting? First of all, not one single ounce of iPhone 5 hype was generated by Apple.

          Second, since when is a complete internal re-design that eclipses the current hardware in every single way “mundane”?

        2. Apple didn’t “over-hype” the event. You *could* say that Apple allowed the event to be over-hyped. The event spoke for itself, and not in advance of the event. Frankly, they’re strong steps forward, just not a number 5 in the name nor a change in the form factor, which could have benefited from a mildly larger screen (less bezel).

        3. How is that Apple ALLOWED the over hyping? They are not in the business of telling the “experts” that they guessed wrong (again). Ever play poker Dave?

          And can you put a number on “mildly larger screen” please? Lord knows Apple is probably not as savvy as you and a larger screen never entered the tiny little noggins. Doomed I say. Dooomed!!!!!

          NEXT!!!

      1. I don’t think it would have helped… people would be bitching even louder that they called it a 5 without a radical case redesign.

        Personally, I think this is going to be the long-term pattern for Apple. 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5S, 6, 6S, etc. It takes time to make a quality case that meets the build quality of an Apple product, and I applaud them honestly for taking the time to get it right,

    1. So what is it that people were expecting the iPhone 5 to have that the iPhone 4S doesn’t—except the name “iPhone 5”, that is? From where I sit, the iPhone 4S looks like a kick-ass upgrade. Not to mention that the original iPhone 4 is now just $99. If I were an iPhone competitor, I’d be messing myself right about now.

    1. Yeah a fuck ton of people just tried to access a site at the exact same time. It was an unintentional DoS error. Considering how robust Apple’s site is, the number of people who must have tried to simultaneously access the site is mind boggling.
      Yeah no one cares about Apple anymore lol

    1. The only people NOT dissapointed in Cooks unveiling of the 4s are those who still own the 3g/s! Most 4 owners will not be purchasing the 4s. Stocks are down 5%. There was a guy who just purchased 50 shares (A very small quantity) and stated that he had 14 days till earnings. Its not good. Apple stock will stay neutral at best and could possibly fall more. They are coming off a stock high that will gain again 6/12!! Not a bad upgrade however! I will wait for 5 in June.

    2. Me too. I’ll be ordering one for me and one for the wife. The kids will be happy as they will be getting our iPhone 4’s.

      I’m just mad I didn’t have any money transferred in to my Schwabb account so that I could have bought more APPLE stock.

    1. Well, its the same trend that has always followed Apple around.

      People know that a product refresh is coming, and begging having pie-in-the-sky ideas and expectations. Some start rumors founded on these baseless expectations. Apple then comes along and releases the product, with specs that are a huge improvement over existing models, but because it doesn’t quite line up with the day dreams of analysts, people decry it as a disappointment.

      Meanwhile, the hedge fund managers laugh all the way to the bank.

      You’d think by now, people would recognize the pattern…

        1. Don’t be dense, your missing the point. Bigger does not always equal better. You’re getting hung up on a pretty minor spec, while completely overlooking far more important ones.

          What really cracks me up are people like you who expect Apple to break with their own well-established patterns.

          Even with that aside, has it occurred to you that a 4″ screen with sufficient pixel density to qualify as ‘Retina’ would have been cost prohibitive, and/or too much of a battery hog to implement it in this iteration?

        2. Not to mention the fact that 4in vs 3.5in when measured diagonally is a very minor difference. it’s less then 1/4 inch difference in hight and width or something like that.

        3. So you manufacture screens and know what can and can’t be done? They have made 5 phones, what pattern are you talking about? And only 2 b4 today were the same case wise. Yea break from pattern!

    1. Apple never said they will ever do bigger phone. On the contrary, Jobs did not have good words for “Hummerphones”, as he called it.

      (And, my mother says that even iPhone 4 is too big for her during calls, so I am not disappointed that Apple does not move to bigger phone.)

      1. A phone with a 4 inch screen would not have to be that much larger if at all. Steve also said 7inch tablets were dead because you would have to ” sand your fingers down to use it”. Then shit, with a 3.5 inch screen, I guess I need to use a pencil sharpener on my fingers to use it. Here is a crazy concept, not everybody has hands the size of your grandmother or mother.

        1. You are 100% right about the screen “a 4 inch screen would not have to be that much larger if at all” it’s a nothing feature that only the trolls are whining about.
          as for Jobs talking about tablets, you’re confusing two different comparisons. Tablet apps are different then phone apps. If you have a tablet app on a 7in screen it is hard to hit all the buttons easily. Phone apps are less full featured and much easier to navigate on a small screen.

    2. No, it’s the biggest COMPANY in the world, tech or not. And if you think they couldn’t have given you a 4″ screen if they WANTED to you’re an idiot. Fortunately, they don’t take design tips from people on the street corner. Otherwise the iPhone would look like a Zune.

    1. I hate to break it to you, but there really is no true 4G anywhere. It is all just marketing hype. True 4G won’t come until LTE+, which hasn’t even begun to be deployed yet.

      And, if you were paying attention you;d have seen that the 4S has the same download speeds as the ones advertised as 4G do.

      1. and a better battery to boot. The phones touting 4G have abysmal battery life because current 4G cards SUCK! This battery issue (and the fact that the speed isn’t even there yet) is why Apple has not yet included this “real” (read fake) 4G.

  4. I expected this kind of update from apple for the 5th gen iPhone, and now it’s a trend: first: brand new, second: upgrade/new design, third: upgrade, fourth: new design, fifth: upgrade, next year: new design.

    The biggest shocker was leaving the iPod Touches – untouched.

      1. Chris, Retina has been on it since last year. The camera is the same, not better. So is the memory and processor. Everything is the same, except for iOS 5 on it, and a slight pricing change.

  5. After waiting 15 long months is it any surprise people are pissed off that all they got was an iPhone 4 with some surplus iPad 2 parts in it!?

    WTF was the hardware team doing that whole time?

    ALL I WANT IS A BIGGER SCREEN. IS THAT SO HARD?

    Investors are all pissed off too because we thought apple would finally try to get the market a free phone that isn’t almost 3 years old.

    Unless they pull a killer TV product out of their mothership very soon to explain what they have been up to all these months this will go down as the day apple lost it’s mojo.

  6. Well, we feared the worst and we got it. No iPhone 5! This is not Tim Cook’s doing. Nor will the next product launch be his. Jobs was in charge and Steve’s stuff is in the pipeline for sometime to come. Cook will not have his stuff ready for quite a while. Give the new guy a chance. Place the responsibility where it belongs. No one is perfect. Steve apparently thought keeping the iPhone 4 would make sense for margins? He’s right. But he underestimated the public and probably even fanboys (they’re as disappointed as everyone but can’t admit it). Waiting 15 months for this? Naw, I don’t think so. What a clusterfuck!

    1. You’re an idiot. This is no different than the 3G -> 3GS iteration. The only thing that didn’t change was the external design, and why should it?

      The fact that you are caught up on the appearance and name tells me you are an incredibly shallow person with the comprehension skills of an infant.

      1. Geez! Have a rough day fanboy? I do believe that I’m entitled to an opinion? You too. Even if you are an asshole. You think I’m a shallow person? Wow! How do you come up with that one? I have a 3GS asshole. I think I understand the iteration reference. Did your mom help you with that big word? I’m not caught up on the appearance only but that is part of it. Name? How do you figure I’m “caught up” on the name? Idiot! As I said I’m not happy but fanboys (guys with no jobs or women) living in mom’s basement must be crying their eyes out. But they can’t admit it so they rant. You are that fanboy. Asshole.

  7. i’m torn…. I am still limping along on my 3G… the new specs are welcome and iOS 5 will please…… yet i too was hoping for thinner with more screen real estate. Enough of the spec bells and whistles. Back to the basics. What to do? :/

    A free 3Gs? or iPhone 4s? starting @ $199.00 .. for 16GB???? hmph… really? 16 measly GB…… iCloud, iHope can pull through. iJust don’t know.

    Apple site up and running now.

    1. They only report the news. They didn’t fail to roll out an iPhone 5! C’mon, give em some slack. Truth hurts sometimes. Embrace life like an adult. Email Steve. This is his show. He made the decisions that were unveiled today not Tim Cook. Cook now has to deal with the results. 5 or 6 months from now things will look better. I’m guessing they wil roll out the 5 by June. It’s just that more was anticipated and more should have been delivered from the customer’s viewpoint. From Apple’s (Steve’s) viewpoint they can under deliver and the sheep will still line up. Ultimately I think this will be a hiccup that will be costly.

      1. Wow! That’s what I’ve been waiting for. I had to hear that the iPhone 5 will be out by next June from an anonymous jackass on the web so I’d know what to do with my investments. I can certainly relax now. Tell me, has TC called you for your design inputs yet? Be sure and give him your opinions on how to manage the company when he does. Apple would have gotten somewhere in the last 10 years if only they’d listened to you.

        1. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Let’s see, you’re upset because I said I’m guessing the iPhone 5 will be here by next June? Why on earth would a guess on my part make you upset? Has TC called me? Nope. Did I say I would design the iPhone 5? Nope. Did I say I would manage the company? Nope. Perhaps you have trouble reading? How would you interpret this : suck shit through a dead pig’s ass?

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