Posts tagged iphone

apple: this is the way we roll

i consider myself a reasonably patient person.  i have a 2.5 year old who is potty training.  occasionally, he shits on the floor.  i’m never thrilled about it, but i clean it up, tell him i’d prefer he do that on the potty, and move on.

but this latest (or greatest) stunt by apple to propel the popularity/desire of its new iPhone, is not only lame, it’s insulting.

in an email thread that ran in our office today, two very divided sides on the intentions therein.  are these new devices really that fantastical, or is apple simply withholding supply to increase demand?  i was skeptical - i gave apple the benefit of the doubt (i hinge on fanboy) but have recently uncovered the naysayers to be right: the iSheep (as referred to by a co-worker) are indeed being played by a stunt reminiscent of a downtown nightclub … create a massive line-up simply by limiting who can purchase your precious phone.

early today i visited a 3rd party wireless supplier on the off-chance they might have stock.  my question was met with a complete look of malaise on the part of the sales rep who did not hold back on telling me “how it really works”:

“this whole thing is a show and it’s pissing me off.  we got 10 phones.  10!  the apple store is carrying an initial stock delivery of 1100 phones.  who knows how many they have received since then.  they form these ridiculous lines, make people wait all day, all in an effort to show off how popular they are”.  he went on to say: “it’s the worst display of customer service i have ever witnessed.  i hate this fucking phone”.  in the same breath he replied to his own statement: “but it really is the best device on the market - i couldn’t recommend anything else that would compare”.

if you go to the apple store online and try to order one the new-fashioned way, you get a standard “ships in 3 weeks” ETA.  i’m no nostradamus, but this would suggest that apple plans to run the charade for 3 weeks before they open the supply gates and make their devices available in every retail outlet from the apple store to the local kwik-e-mart.

so here is my question, apple: you don’t need the horse and pony show … clearly people want an iPhone4 (as do I) so why participate in something so completely juvenile and unnecessary!?  in the wake of a successful product launch, you are turning those adopters of your product(s) into a mob of unsatisfied customers.  and though there is no argument here that a blackberry is far less appealing than an iPhone, i gotta say, sometimes you end up dating the less attractive sister because, at the end of the day, she is lower maintenance.

mr.