I love how all these people keep saying Apple is getting pwned over the iPhone4...many will likely be the same people in line for one when the current issue gets resolved. The big question is if it was a different phone from a lesser-known manufacturer, but just as revolutionary and with the same issue...would there be so much public outcry and blatant bashing of that company?
I'm far from a fan-boy, but I have enough intelligence to understand (maybe enough humility to admit) that a company this big didn't get that way by accident. Is Steve Jobs handling it the wrong way...possibly, or are the arguments that he's arrogant overblown? As a leader, engineer, creator, whoever you may be to that company...I think you have the right to be a little defensive and stand up for your design, and from what I've seen and read, many people are really going out on a limb to slam the iPhone4.
The main problem I see here is that many people want to see Apple fail at something. The company as a whole has grown exponentially since the ipod came onto the market, so this whole climb to the top began a long time before the iPhone hit the market. When you create something, there are two main things that you will actively seek. Number one, you will always want to make it better. Number two, you will always want to protect it, if anything to preserve your ideas and keep other people from stealing them. People get pissy when you try to protect your product and preserve your ideas, so it's a given that some of those people will start attacking you.
People will preach a whole sermon about open source and how you should leave your code, device and application design open for anyone to access. It is a heartwarming idea, the intent is good and in the right situation is very effective. When you build a product to set your company ahead, to multiply your customer base, and raise your bottom line...you don't give away the millions of dollars in research and design to just anyone. You might however, want to walk around the middle ground and put forth a set of criteria and standards, then instruct potential and existing developers to adhere to that to preserve all that you've worked for. Sound familiar?
I admire the whole Android movement, I briefly considered buying into it after trying out a few devices. However, I went with the iPhone for it's history (I know, it's only been around a few years. I'm of course speaking of the actual smart phone market), support, and the fact that it has become almost an industry standard in the field I work in and the business I own. Trust me, I thought long and hard about the decision to buy an iPhone. I researched the various operating systems, application design, application availability, the actual engineering of the phone itself, even the aesthetics. It fits my business, my lifestyle, and my interests. It works for me, quite well I might add and the only regret I have is not making the switch sooner.
I like to try to live by the whole "to each his own" philosophy and avoid fighting ignorance, but given the latest barrage of unreasonable and excessive scrutiny over a product that is otherwise exceptional and revolutionary (even if 1st gen iPhone started the revolution)...it's become a bit hard to bite my tongue.
EDIT:
Someone mentioned the antenna issue as a design flaw, so I decided to sort of add in this little bit.
Yeah, I do see the whole antenna thing as a design flaw if the problem is easily reproduced, but I haven't been able to reproduce the problem myself when messing with a few of the 4's. That being said, I think the issue as a whole has been way overblown. I do think they responded to it pretty piss-poorly though, maybe that's why it's been overblown? No better way to get people hating on you when you first say there is no problem, then admit there is a problem, then people find you knew about the problem for a long time. I'm definitely not claiming to be an authority on it, just stating what I've found and my opinion.
As far as being revolutionary, I'm not trying to claim the newest iPhone4 as revolutionary or single out any one particular model, moreso the series as a whole. While that's up for debate for many people, and that many (if not all) of the same features can be found in other smartphones, but the iPhone was the first (for me) that really brought all those features together in one device and made them work well.
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