Jobs: "Retire, relax, enjoy your family. It is just a phone. Not worth it."
crunchgear.com
crunchgear.com
“When this whole thing with Gizmodo happened, I got a lot of advice from people that said you’ve got to just let it slide. ‘You shouldn’t go after a journalist because they bought stolen property and tried to extort you.’ And I thought deeply about this, and I concluded the worst thing that could happen is if we change our core values and let it slide. I can’t do that. I’d rather quit.”
It's funny because my advice to Steve throughout this ordeal would be akin to "retire, relax, enjoy your family. It is just a phone. Not worth it."
Perhaps Steve should widen his perspective a bit and realize that it's much easier to accept something is "not worth it" when you don't feel like you're the one that's been wronged. He should know.
Further, had Jobs decided to just let that incident go, it could encourage similar acts of espionage in the future as people would think they could get away with taking a device that's not theirs and selling it in the same manner.
On the other hand, had this customer decided to let it go and just return the iPhone and grab, for example, an Android device, there would be few consequences.
It's one thing to get frustrated about someone stealing/selling your items. It's very much another to feel a sense of entitlement for something you purchased which is returnable for a full refund and demand compensation or otherwise instead of just getting a refund.
A customer angry about a flawed product isn't upset because it's a phone; they're upset because it's their phone. It's personal for them.
I'm not saying that the two situations are perfectly analogous (though, as a disclaimer, I do think Apple handled the Gizmodo thing poorly): what I am saying is that it's much easier to tell somebody else to not take things so seriously when you're not the one that's internalized the problem.
In general, this is how it works for public figures and the press.
1) stealing business secrets (and paying for stolen goods)
2) being unhappy with a $199 purchase
Sounds like Apple is following Jobs' advice, actually...
[search for restocking fee]
If you can prove its defective, there is no restocking fee, alternatively, they'll likely replace the phone with an new one if it is just a problem with certain models.
Apple claims this is the best that they have ever had and have explicitly advised their support staff that this is not a problem. Their recommendation is to just hold differently. In other words, its the user who is defective, not the phone.
Just how do you propose anyone proves its defective given that, and avoid being charged the restocking fee?
In general, Apple's retail stores are extremely straight forward, offer great customer service, and don't yank you around like other brick and mortar retailers.
He sure as hell doesn't market the iPhone as "just a phone," so how can he expect his customers to think of it that way?
"So some guy says his iPhone 4 is having reception issues. I say there is no reception issue. Now it’s his reality against my reality. Which one of us is living in the real reality?
There’s a two-part answer: 1, there is no real reality, and 2, it doesn’t matter.
The only thing that matters is which reality our customers will choose to adopt as their own.
Of course most people would rather live in a reality where everything works and there are no problems. And now, thanks to me, that reality exists. Because I’ve created that reality for them."
If something can bring you a lot of joy, by not working it can take that joy away, making you upset. I'm not saying that guy expressed himself correctly, but I can understand why he would be upset at the idea that Apple and Jobs doesn't seem to think this problem is real and needs a fix.
An angry letter seems like a pretty rational response if it means that you can still feel meaning in your life.
Oh come on.
And to be honest, some of the videos, photos, etc., they've shown me have cracked me up.
The world isn't "crashing"; It's a phone. One that works pretty damn well.
That, unfortunately, is their image.
They release flawed products, that eventually get fixed. The flaws are dismissed as not necessary, useless, or a waste. Eventually the features might get added, or the flaw fixed. All too often, I hear from Apple fans to wait until after the 1st generation.
So that's their image.
While I think a lawsuit is pretty silly this early on (thought not unwarranted if they knew about the problem before launch), a solid release would do their image better then always fixing flaws.
In the UK, an 'unsubsidized' i4 starts at $630. Even if you only use it as an expensive iPod Touch HD with an unused 3G antenna, the phone costs more than $200 to own, any way you want to look at it.
Orthogonal to that, I think this whole antenna kurfuffle is ludicrous hysteria.
He's stuck with this phone for two years.
I'm surprised Apple isn't taking the Nexus One approach. Buy the phone with the radio that you want, and use it on any network. No ETF, no subsidy, just a phone.
There should not be an ETF if the product has a major flaw (it is the iPHONE, so the phone part not working is pretty important imo).
I have no doubt that Jobs was being perfectly transparent when he said that and meant exactly what he wrote. However, you're right that it's not exactly the best way to diffuse the situation, so he did say:
"You may be working from bad data. Not your fault. Stay tuned. We are working on it."
reasonable, yes?
"
I just got my iphone yesterday and cannot replicate the problem. I thought maybe I was in a good signal area so today I went to an area where I know signal is poor. When not in my hand the phone sat at 3 bars. If I touched the spot I could get it to bounce around from 2-3-4 bars. Never once did it go to no signal. Also, no matter what hand I hold the phone in my particular grip doesn't naturally touch the spot.
A friend of mine who also just got his phone has has the same experience as I have. No real issue.
Another friend who received his phone on launch day can touch the spot and go from 5 bars to no signal in minutes.
The only commonality between the 2 phones that appear to have no problem is that they were bought at best buy from a very recent shipment. The phone with the problem was bought from Apple and received on launch day.
IMHO, the biggest problem with the whole situation is how Apple has handled it. Clearly some people have issues, but Apple being Apple has been arrogant about the whole ordeal. This is one time where a little communication would go a long ways. I'm going to guess they still aren't sure of the exact problem and that's why they have been totally quiet on the issue (other than SJs typical quips).
Also, the whole design defect thing needs to have some logic enter the equation. Do people really think that the phone went through an entire hardware design cycle and a group of engineers never thought to test of the phone was held? Even the worst developers I've worked with and managed do better testing than that. I think it's much more likely that there is/was either an issue with software and/or manufacturing.
My friend with Verizon gets full 3G in the middle of Nebraska. I barely get Edge. No contest.
I think it'll eventually blow over, and I think we're starting to see signs of this in the Apple press already. I suspect Jobs knows it's a relative non-issue and is trying to brush it off as such. Unfortunately, it is an issue new iPhone users are concerned about and his words sound callous in that light. It likely would make more sense for Jobs to sit on his words and instead quietly ship the upcoming 4.01 release, but hey, it's Jobs.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/07/01/exclusive_conv...
I question the credibility of the exchange. The whole thing could've been some elaborate troll to try to elicit a response and then sell it in the first place.
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/07/01/exclusive-conversa...
UPDATE: The last line in the email exchange was actually not said by Mr. Jobs; rather it was by “Tom.” We corrected it as soon as we were made aware.
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/07/01/exclusive-conversa...
-- UPDATE: The last line in the email exchange was actually not said by Mr. Jobs; rather it was by “Tom.” We corrected it as soon as we were made aware.
Strange... it doesn't seem to really make sense in context. Why is he telling Jobs to relax and that it's "not worth it"? He's irate that his phone doesn't work right but then when Jobs says they're working on it, he tells Jobs that it's not a big deal?
* The bars represent a moving average (instantaneous readouts aren't very usable anyway)
* There is a delay in what is reported, even when accounting for the moving average; conceivably to prevent jumpy reports
* The bars use some type of logarithmic scale, which makes sense when you understand digital signal degradation
http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/03/the-value-of-downvotin...
No, there is no downvoting.
There is no downvoting, and, as I understand HN's etiquette, you should not flag a story just because you don't like it.
Why don't you hold it like you're making a fucking call?
Oh. Because then it would work fine.
But the real reason I don't believe the bullshit: my wife has one, and if there was a problem, oh boy would I know about it.
It's just an issue with your phone. Fix it.
Anyway, something smells fishy.
The reason I haven't bought an Android is that I don't want to give up AT&T service. Not a fanboi at all; in fact, I've been pissed at them in the past. But in my observation they are superior, at least in the regions I haunt.
I understand the transceiver sensitivity of the iPhone 4 is finally quite good, and I was/am looking forward to maybe getting one. But until now, it has never impressed me as a phone, which is what I mainly need it for (it's my primary business line and I won't take a chance on inferior coverage).