MacDailyNews Take: It was at that exact point that we went off: “Bzzzt! Wrong answer, Steve. Try again… iPhone 4. Not only does it disappear in bars when it’s put down, but its bars disappear when it’s picked up. Talk about ‘magical.’ …If the iPhone 4 requires a ‘case’ or rubber ‘bumper” in order to operate properly, then Apple should provide one in every box free of charge. All that said, the iPhone 4 is the best smartphone/pocket computer we’ve ever used. We wouln’t give our units up even if they had to held with salad tongs.”
Bajarin continues, “By the time the press conference rolled around, however, Jobs had taken complete charge of the problem—and he had taken responsibility for it. Jobs made Apple’s response and fix quite personal. His initial e-mail may have seemed flippant, but I sense that Jobs’s response was a reflection of his trust in his staff and the technology itself. Apple is an engineering company—technology is its focus. The technology isn’t always perfect, but Apple tries hard to be the best-in-breed with each product it brings to market.”
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“That fact was really driven home for me when a group of us were allowed to visit Apple’s antenna lab after the press conference. This too was unprecedented—until then, no outsiders had ever been allowed in this super secret lab. During out tour, we saw eight of the 16 special anechoic chambers the company uses to test antenna accuracy. Our tour guide explained that the company conducts tortuous tests to ensure that any antenna it creates is highly sensitive and accurate,” Bajarin reports. “I have been inside similar testing facilities in Japan, Korea, and the Midwest. Apple’s setup was the most sophisticated I have ever seen. This fact was driven home for me when an executive from another handset company told me that, at first, his company was elated that Apple had made such a ‘misstep’ with the iPhone 4’s antenna.”
“However, once the company realized that Apple had actually created a real breakthrough with its latest antenna design, the joy was short-lived,” Bajarin reports. “That fact became even more clear during subsequent conversations with two other top-notch antenna designers. They told me that Apple’s antenna is best-in-breed and predicted that other manufacturers will be forced to try to match it in the future.”
Bajarin reports, “History will show whether antennagate will have a long term effect on Apple’s image or sales, but either way it will certainly affect the company itself. You can bet that this type of mistake will never happen again.”
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