We think Apple were extremely right in offering free cases to miffed iPhone 4 users, but there was a major faux paus that a rather over-zealous Steve Jobs committed in the damage-control press conference.
Ever heard of the childhood riddle, ‘How do you make a line look bigger without touching it’? Draw a smaller line near it. Mr. Jobs picked out a page right out of his childhood and went complaining about how other mobiles in the market also had the problem that, ironically, their ‘unique’ antenna design was facing. This, to show that the problem was universal, sent from the heaven. Using the death grips, he tainted RIM’s Blackberry Bold 9700, Samsung’s Omnia 2 and HTC’s Droid Eris. We wouldn’t like to pretend that this wasn’t expected. We were rubbing our palms at the prospects while the statements from the companies arrived.
Here is what Research in Motion (RIM, the company behind Blackberry phones) co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie had to say:
“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”
Acidic, and bang in the face. We wouldn’t bet against a lawsuit.
Although he didn’t throw a Nokia phone in the mud, there was the mention of the company when he spoke about “Nokia phones that ship with stickers on the back that say ‘don’t touch here’” and self assumed that “this doesn’t just happen to the iPhone, Nokia, Motorola… other phones have this issue.” When Mr. Jobs took the ‘Negative-Marketing Head’ post at these companies last night, I am sure he was aware that these companies might have something to say later. Nokia had this (notice the absence of Apple’s name, now this is what we call manners!):
“Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models. Nokia was the pioneer in internal antennas; the Nokia 8810, launched in 1998, was the first commercial phone with this feature.
Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on. As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict. In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.”
Although these should be enough for the day for Apple, expect further bashing as Samsung and HTC enter to defend Omnia 2 and Droid Eris, respectively.