Is Apple headed for disaster? As reported here, product testing outfit Consumer Reports has warned people not to buy Apple's iPhone4 because of its finicky antenna and is now saying Apple should fix the glitch for customers free of charge. We now have news reports that Apple has switched into damage control and is holding a press conference on Friday to talk about the problem.
So what can Apple do to save itself? Jay Yarrow at the San Francisco Chronicle says Apple has to be totally upfront. Unfortunately, the company has been trying to spin the problem and that's making things worse. He says it's not too late.
But then blogger Dave Winer says Apple is heading into an absolute "shitstorm". The problem, he says, is that Apple's charm is starting to wear off and the company is now failing to live up to the hype that's been building since Steve Jobs returned in 1997.
Winer writes: "Apple has no concept of what's it like to be disbelieved, untrusted, seen as an American corporation and nothing more … Apple is a company that desperately needs to grow up and wipe the smile off its face, and roll its sleeves up and start to appreciate that they're no longer the upstart, the underdog, the Crazy One in the Richard Dreyfus ad. They are The Man, the Boss, the one who, from now on, everyone is going to be taking shots at and shits on. "
In other words, Apple has created the problem for itself by setting the bar too high.
Still, the company is likely to pull out of this one. Businesses that big and powerful do not just fold up and die. But it's a lesson for every business about taking your eye off the ball. Apple has shown the world that the biggest mistake you can make is to believe your own propaganda.
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