As you may remember, I took issue with Apple last year for its handling – or mishandling-- of Antennagate. In Technorati columns here and here, I argued that Apple’s slow public response to the iPhone 4 antenna issues damaged the brand and was a failure at one of its Moments of Trust.
Nine months later, after Verizon has reported that the iPhone 4is the best selling product in its history and Friday’s jaw-dropping (even by Apple’s high standards) demand and wait times for the iPad 2, the answer is clear – Apple lost no luster last year and remains the most beloved brand in the world.
What makes me say so? With my eyes and ears, I saw way more than so-called Apple fanboys in lines I haven’t experienced since trying to get Springsteen tickets in New York and Los Angeles. Families, middle-aged single persons and young children all waited to buy the iPad 2 despite not having an ability to touch it and with every indication that the iPad 2 is a moderate upgrade from the generation one product that has seen its price slashed by $100.With no disrespect to the technology influencers – Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, Ed Baig of USA Today, The Boy Genius and the others – this buying frenzy was hardly about reviews. In my view, it had to do more with an overall record of Apple excellence, price points that brought in the masses, and trust that what Apple was introducing was worthy of purchase sight unseen.
More proof that Antennagate wasn’t even a speed bump?
(First published on Technorati as http://technorati.com/technology/gadgets/article/ipad-2-demand-shows-antennagate-wasnt/#ixzz1GUHpC1gO)