Comments on: Don’t Buy the Coming Hype – Apple Botched the iPhone Launch, Not the Carriers

By: Tobias Bray

Tobias Bray — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:39:38 +0000

Picture this – A group of explorers arrives a the banks of the Amazon river. They know the river to be full of Piranha the question is “are they here where we ant to cross.” One intrepid explorer whips out his brand new iPhone and says “I’ll call you from the other side”. Chomp – Bye Bye. The first one in is always the first one bit. Do people expect too much from Apple? I think so. The experienced will tell you, high expectations set up failures and resentment.

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.

By: Bryn Youngblut

Bryn Youngblut — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:04:01 +0000

I agree completely but I do think the service providers could have got more prepared than they did since they knew what was coming.

By: Andy Merrett

Andy Merrett — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:12:59 +0000

You’re so arrogant, Aaron. “The idiots that waited in line”. Blah blah. Just because you wouldn’t do something, don’t shoot everyone else.

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 â€” I had it delivered â€” 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 â€” 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: MIchael Markman

MIchael Markman — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:42:03 +0000

worst PR nightmare in internet history? How about the Sony root kit fiasco? The Comcast shenanigans with P2P? The Yahoo saga? iPhonegate was a blip. Ghastly and then over.

By Monday, everyone will be happy again.

By: William Smith

William Smith — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 01:11:44 +0000

Ran into a friend of mine at the local Apple Store where he works. He quietly whispered to me that the fault here in the U.S. was the connection between the iTunes servers and AT&T — actually that the problem was on AT&T’s side.

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.

By: Aaron Brazell

Aaron Brazell — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:44:00 +0000

Kevin, it was either the 26th or 29th. I don’t recall. I just remember laughing at the idiots who waited for a first gen phone from a company who had never made phones with a carrier that sucked. I wasn’t the only one laughing and I’m not the only one laughing now.

By: Dan Hansen

Dan Hansen — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:30:59 +0000

btw, using superlatives like “worst” is just a bit over the top. They screwed the pooch but I suspect that folks will be happy enough once they’re able to get the goods.

By: Dan Hansen

Dan Hansen — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:29:20 +0000

It’s pretty clear that apple’s server farm was not up to the task of handling the millions of people (myself included) who were upgrading or connecting.

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.

By: frank

frank — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:59:21 +0000

Aaron, you are one of the rare Apple fan who sees the shortcoming of this company – most fans are simply blind and buy into the hype as if they had no brains. At last someone who thinks…

By: Mari Adkins

Mari Adkins — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:28:11 +0000

I never understood the need to be FIRST at anything – especially when it comes to new gadgets. Is it an ego thing? A need to feel and be perceived as speshul??