iPhone 4 antenna issue – lesson in PR

Posted on July 16, 2010 by David Canton

Steve Jobs is currently holding a press conference to talk about the iPhone 4 antenna issue. Its a carefully crafted message, as are all of his presentations – but its a lesson in how to deal with product issues.

Admit there is a problem. Put the problem in perspective by giving some numbers on complaints, sales, returns, and comparisons to previous models, etc. Show testing of other types of smartphones to say its a category issue, not just us. Then say they want their customers to be happy, offer a generous return policy if a customer is unhappy, and offer a free case to everyone (that’s not a token, cases help avoid the problem).

And its not as if the iPhone 4 has flopped. They sold 3 million in 3 weeks.

iTape for iPhone

Posted on July 14, 2010 by David Canton

That’s the title of my Slaw post for today. It reads as follows.

Whether you are an Apple fan or not, the apparent flaw with the iPhone 4 external antenna gets interesting on many levels – including the tech itself, why it wasn’t found during pre-launch testing, Apple’s reaction, customer relations, and testing by various entities.

It seems that if you hold the iPhone in a way that your hand touches a certain spot on the antenna that are on the edge of the phone, it causes signal loss, and degrades reception. Apple started out suggesting it was a software issue – but has since said that the fix is to hold the phone in a certain way. Which resulted in this YouTube video showing how Steve Jobs and others in Apple ads are holding it “wrong”.

Apparently the problem can be solved by putting the phone in a case, or by applying tape to the offending spot. (Is adding tape the equivalent of taping your glasses?)

One enterprising person is selling iTape, stating that the proceeds are going to charity.

There have been suggestions that there should be a recall, or that Apple should offer free cases, or that its not important enough to worry about.

Tablet competition heating up

Posted on March 19, 2010 by David Canton

The iPad will start shipping in a few weeks. While it is perhaps the first to market, the standard to which all others will be compared, and will no doubt sell in large numbers - it is by no means the only option. I’ve read estimates of 50 to 100 similar devices in the works.

More news on the HP slate is on engadget today. From what I have seen so far, I would prefer that – or something similar based on the Windows Phone 7 OS (I have not seen anything about that – but its a logical way to go) to the iPad.

IMHO these devices are revolutionary and will fundamentally change the way we consume what is now traditional print media. They will be pervasive within fairly short order. Why has this not been done before? Its a matter of getting a device with sufficient computing power, battery life, light weight, and useability - at a low enough price point.

This will become far more than just virtually flipping newspaper or magazine pages. See this Wired video for what we might expect.

And I suspect we will find them useful for business, as well as personal use.

I’m holding off for a bit to see how the various devices perform - hopefully I will have one by the end of the year.

UPDATE: Here’s an eWeek article I just found that delves into this in more detail.

Apple’s iPad

Posted on January 27, 2010 by David Canton

That’s the title of my Slaw post for today. It reads as follows:

Simon beat me to the punch mentioning the iPad. I’ve been watching a live-blog of the event. These are my first impressions.

It’s meant for things like “Browsing the web. Doing email. Enjoying and sharing pics. Watching videos. Enjoying music. Playing games. Reading ebooks” . Jobs says it has to be better than either a phone or a laptop at these,or its not worthwhile.

It certainly looks good in his demo – works like the iPhone – indeed, iPhone apps work on it.

Pricing: $499 for 16GB. 32GB is $599, 64GB is $799. 3G models cost an extra $130. $629, 729, and 829 with 3G.

Wifi versions ship in 60 days. Wifi plus 3G in 90. Apple has negotiated some good 3G rates with ATT. That’s for data – doesn’t seem to do voice. But it has a mic and speakers – so Skype?

So is this really, as Jobs has apparently said “ the most important thing I’ve ever done.”?

Could it, as some have suggested, save the publishing industry, reboot education and maybe even change the way we treat medicine? Or is that just hyperbole resulting from the Steve Jobs reality distortion field?

Frankly, while impressive, there was nothing that was really unexpected. The next few days will be interesting as the tech press dissects the good and bad of the iPad.

This is not the first, or the only, slate type product. The HP slate Steve Ballmer introduced at the CES is another example. It won’t be available until later this year.

But is the iPad perhaps the one that, like the iPhone, will be the disruptive tipping point that will define the category?

Frankly, I want a device like this – especially if I can use it to replace paper versions of newspapers and magazines. It could also be a great alternative to a laptop for taking notes in a meeting, or taking to visit clients. I think I’ll wait just a while though to see how the competition shakes out.

The press on this is hard to miss. Wired, Engadget, Cnet and Scobleizer are as good as any.

Apple takes bite out of Hackintosh

Posted on December 14, 2009 by David Canton

For the London Free Press – December 14, 2009

Read this on Canoe

COMPUTERS: In a hardware-software legal war, the company reaches a partial, $2.7-million US settlement with knock-off computer maker

Apple’s business model is to sell hardware with software on it. It does not intend for its operating systems to be installed on hardware it doesn’t make and its software licences expressly forbid it.

But that hasn’t stopped people installing Apple operating systems on non-Apple machines, dubbed Hackintoshes, from “hacker” and “Macintosh.” The main attractions are lower prices and wider selection of hardware.

Several companies have created bargain-priced, knock-off computers able to run Apple software. The most widely used is the OSx86 project, which runs the Mac OS X operating system on non-Apple computers with x86 architecture-compatible processors.

Apple software licences strictly prohibit use on computers that aren’t “Apple-labelled.” But companies such as Psystar and PearC have released products that let consumers use Apple software on non-Apple computers at considerable savings.

Apple has fought back in several ways.

The latest Apple OS version 10.6.2 added code to prevent it being used with the Atom chip used in most netbooks, a common Hackintosh platform. But within a week, a Russian-based hacker had circumvented the code.

Apple also has taken its Hackintosh battle to the courts.

On July 3, 2008, Apple filed suit against Psystar Corp. for violating the licence and breaching Apple’s copyright-protected technologies.

The end-user agreement for Mac OS X reads: “You agree not to install, use or run the Apple software on any non-Apple-labelled computer, or to enable others to do so.”

Psystar began selling PCs hacked to run Apple software — and priced more than $2,000 lower than an Apple notebook — in April 2008. After the suit was filed, Psystar kept selling systems and even created new ones.

Last month, the U.S. District Court judge trying the case found Psystar had violated Apple’s copyrights and anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Two weeks later, Apple filed a motion against Psystar seeking statutory damages of between $500,000 and $4.5 million US, plus attorney’s fees and costs. Apple also wants Psystar permanently enjoined from continuing a business causing “irreparable harm” to Apple’s business, brand and goodwill.

In the most recent development, a partial settlement has been reached. Psystar agreed to stop selling Hackintoshes and pay Apple about $2.7 million in damages in return for dismissal of some Apple claims. But Apple can’t collect until appeals are complete, which may take years.

Though this is a success for Apple, it remains to be seen what effect it will have on the Hackintosh phenomenon as a whole.

UK regulators ban another iPhone ad

Posted on November 27, 2008 by David Canton

Wired reports that the UK has banned an iPhone ad on the basis that it exaggerates the speed at which the phone operates. They also banned an iPhone ad a few months ago on the basis that the claim that all parts of the internet are on the phone was false because it doesn’t support Java or flash.

The Wired post has several links to other articles about complaints and lawsuits against Apple over the iPhone.

Of course that is in spite of its massive sales. What I find amusing/interesting is that flaws in Apple products seem to be overlooked by most people, yet flaws in Microsoft products seem to be exaggerated.

Apple sales via Windows Mobile

Posted on August 7, 2008 by David Canton

Digg has a post that refers to a Valleywag post that pokes fun at the fact that Apples stores use Windows Mobile devices to ring up orders on the store floor.

Its amusing to glance at the comments to the posts to see the Apple vs Microsoft camps do battle over that fact.

Michael on the Canadian iPhone debut

Posted on July 8, 2008 by David Canton

The iPhone is available in Canada this week. Michael Geist’s article on the unique Canadian issues is worth a read, especially in light of the rumours that Apple has shorted Canadian supply due to Canadian pricing issues, and the tens of thousands of people who signed up in protest of the rates.

It will be interesting to see to what extent these issues will dampen demand for the iPhone, and reduce their ongoing use for cost reasons.

Read Michael’s article

How to avoid buying new stuff

Posted on January 22, 2008 by David Canton

Lifehacker points to an amusing post on the Put Things Off blog that bills itself as The laid-back prodcutivity blog. entitled Think Different â Buy a Bigger Envelope!, subtitled How to Tell if You Really Need New Hardware.

Its a reality check for those who just have to buy the latest and greatest gadgets. I admit I get caught up in that sometimes – but then I’m too cheap to spend the money.

Apple, for example, thrives on the want, rather than the need to buy new stuff – with the marketing buzz they create, their knack of getting unique (or at least the illusion of unique) products to the market at the right time, and cutting edge design. Why include user replaceable batteries, for example, when you will buy the Macbook Space before the battery on the Macbook Air dies?

Take a look at the Buy a Bigger Envelope post.

Apple Macworld thoughts

Posted on January 16, 2008 by David Canton

Steve Jobs’ “reality distortion field” was in full force at yesterday’s MacWorld. Even if one is not an Apple fan, or does not use any Apple products, you have to admire the way they design, announce, and sell their products.

There was so much buzz, and so much desire to get the word out as the announcements happened, that some communications services were overwhelmed with traffic.

Despite the fact that their products are not cheap, they sell amazingly well. Millions of iphones, for example, in 10 months – enough to garner 19% of the smartphone market.

Apple seems to have the knack of figuring out what people want, and provides that by leaving out or compromising what most would feel are necessary features. For example, the new MacBook Air is amazingly thin, has wifi N, but has no ethernet port, only 1 usb port, no optical drive, and the battery is not user replaceable.

They also have the ability to announce new products, then have them available almost immediately.

Coverage is everywhere. Some examples:

David Canton

Technology law blog by a Canadian information technology and intellectual property law lawyer and trade-mark agent dealing with issues including software, copyright, privacy, the Internet, electronic commerce, computers

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