Yesterday friends who got a shiny new iPhone were already complaining about features that were not working as described.

Apple like most other tech companies rush product to market and the more software oriented, the less concern for the consumer. why? Because we have all been taught that iteration is a better approach. Get it out now and we will improve it later. However, Apple has one other huge problem. They have failed to understand that the masses are a#$!@s not the technology savvy customer they are accustomed to serving. The rude awakening is coming and it starts with grandma Clara, her new iPhone and Power Mac. She has just a few questions for the Genius down at the bar.

Reality people is relative to where you stand. Basing your product on crowd sourced clusters is a really bad idea if you want the mass market.

But then, I suppose that comes from someone who now puts “MD” in their own blog title.

I write about iPhones for a living, hence I *did* need one on the first day. I didn’t wait in line — I had it delivered — arrived at 9.55am on Friday.

I blame O2 for screwing up. It never handled the pre-registrations properly. It still hasn’t connected me — that’s a fault with their registration system, not Apple’s (iTunes activation worked flawlessly)

“It will be there next week after the kinks are worked out.”

Actually, no. I know the US is the centre of the universe, and for you perhaps there are ample stocks. Not so in most other places. People who want an iPhone in the UK probably won’t get on until the end of summer.

By Monday, everyone will be happy again.

Even if that’s not true, sounds like the internal Apple rhetoric among employees will be “It’s AT&T’s fault.”

Regardless, a massive one-day hiccup won’t hurt Apple. Good news or bad, as long as the press keeps them on the front page…

I think iPhone buyers will be quick to forgive because the product really is living up to the hype.

Particular for the iPhone 2.0 upgrade (I have an iPod Touch) – it was a 220 MB download so I can see how they just borked the job and starting losing connections.

Having said that, once I was able to download the upgrade I am a very happy camper. This device has turned into far more than an mp3 player. It is a new paradigm in computers. Mouse and keyboard becomes multi-touch screen and accelerometer. With a level of portability that the newton could not even begin to promise – I predict the whole class of ultra-portable laptops will be wiped out by these devices.

Also, I am with Aaron on the line thing. I love Apple and Apple’s products. I am also certainly an early adopter. But you will never catch me standing in a f*cking line for a product. I really don’t get that.

In some ways, Rogers is probably thanking its lucky stars that Apple messed up too – at least they’re not left shouldering all the blame.

Daniel Smith
Smithereens Blog

1) Your “conspiracy theory” may be true, but neither you nor I nor anyone else has any idea. And no one, even you, is offering anything more than simple assertion to attest to its truth. Apple *might* be trying to wiggle out of its contract with AT&T, but at the expense of so many loyal fans’ time and frustration? Perhaps. But let’s see some actual evidence. You say “they could easily create a conspiracy”, but *have* they?

2) You go on to state that “every other authorized carrier encountered the same problem” and only go on to list two. Did all the rest have problems? Even if they were, is it reasonable to assume that, at worst, Apple deliberately sabotaged communications with the carriers? If so and if discovered, carriers would have the opportunity to sue the pants off of Apple. Why would Apple risk that? At best, then, if Apple’s at fault, they underestimated demand, and the fault was in Apple’s own systems. Why, then, did Apple’s retail systems not fail last year when they were handling a comparable sales load at a much quicker pace? It seems much more reasonable to conclude that the carriers, either underestimating one or more of many factors (number of sales, load on databases, communications overhead with Apple, etc.) or out of simple inexperience or even incompetence, simply fudged it and had to play catch-up overnight.

3) “You know what they say – if it looks like you’re hiding something, you probably are.” Really? Who says that? And how is the use of an alleged aphorism evidence of anything? And when did you prove or even assert that Apple is hiding anything? I don’t see it in the preceding paragraphs. A tight-lipped marketing department? How is that different from Apple in the past? And even if Apple is “hiding something”, what makes you think it’s their own malice?

4) I agree that it’s hardly ever a great idea to be an early adopter–unless you’re an early adopter and understand the risks. Probably no one needs an iPhone on day one. But do you really want to get into a discussion on “need” versus “want” when it comes to high-end, luxury electronics?