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It’s the end of the year, so many publications are putting together their top 10 stories (check out ours here, here and here) and CNN has listed the Apple iPhone 4 ‘Antennagate’ as the top fail of the year. Do you agree?
If you remember, the Apple iPhone 4 leaked online a few months before it was officially introduced and many didn’t believe it because the external bezel looked a bit odd for a company which loves sleek designs. It turns out that the bezel doubled as an antenna and this led to a lot of trouble.
At first, it seemed like an excellent idea: putting the antenna on the outside allowed the Apple iPhone 4 to be the thinnest smartphone out there and the it also led to an increased battery life. Apple had done it again, many thought.
But on the launch day, we heard a steady stream of complaints from users losing reception signals by holding the device certain ways. At first, Apple had churlish responses (You’re holding it wrong) and said this was a problem with all smartphones. It was then SHOCKED to discover that pretty much all iPhones had been displaying the signal incorrectly.
Antennagate was now a big issue in the press and Apple eventually had to call a press conference where it gave out free bumper cases to address the problem.
It was quite an ordeal and hassle because it involved the Apple iPhone 4 and Steve Jobs but was this really the biggest fail of 2010? Apple still insists that the issue impacted a small number of users and it sure as hell didn’t hurt the sales of the device.
CNN also lists the Microsoft Kin as the third-biggest flop of the year and I’d bump that up a few slots. Microsoft spent about $500 million to acquire Danger and a few hundred million more to develop and promote the Kin devices – it was then dropped about six weeks after being introduced. If that’s not the definition of a flop, I don’t know what is.
[Via CNN]
About The Author
Marin Perez
Marin Perez has torture tested cell phones and smartphones for industry leaders like CNET and InformationWeek. He remembers when 4G was just a screen on PowerPoint presentations and is fascinated with the amount of innovation out there. Marin has spent a lot of time with BlackBerry and Android but he finally broke down a bought an iPhone to see what all the hype's about. He also has too many tablets.
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