The iPhone 5 Launch

Great news Dan glad you're off of it but still taken it easy for a while bro.

This post needs an audience, so I'm putting it here too.

Got my iPhone 5 3 weeks ago after the preorder got fucked up and took a week later to get here. That was strike one. Anyway, I was enjoying the phone and resisting putting a case on there because it's just so thin and cool. But finally last weekend, I broke down and went over to the Apple store to snag a case (I didn't want to give Verizon another penny after the way they dealt with me and my preorder frustrations). The buffoons there told me Apple still has NOT "approved" any "official" iPhone 5 cases nearly a month after its release, and they thus have no cases . Then the idiot feeds me bullshit about how the new light design is totally "drop proof." Maybe it's more resistant, but I'm not taking that chance on a $600 device. That was strike 2. So I break down and go get a case from Verizon.

Then, this week, I started noticing my iPhone behaving just a TAD strangely. For instance, I would get some lag/lockup when I'd touch an icon or swipe over to the next screen of icons. Finally, tonight, my phone just starts refusing to connect to WiFi after working perfectly for 3 weeks. I've now tested it on 3 different networks (home, my network, and my parents' network) and reset my network settings. No dice. I know there have been a bevy of wireless problems with these devices in general (which Apple has kept mum about), but I was thinking I dodged them. Not so. Fuck this shit. I'm a total Apple mark. I have an iPod classic, iPod touch, iPad2, iMac, MacBook Pro, and most recently, my first iPhone (this 5). But their quality has been slipping for the last 2 years (i.e., this started before Jobs died, but probably after his control over the company was more or less over). Now I have to take time I don't have on my precious Saturday morning going over and exchanging the fuckin phone. I buy Apple products because I was sick of dealing with shit like this. If they're going to slip to this level, then there's no differentiating between them and PCs. The thing that pisses me off the most is they have not been straight with customers about this, instead you have Tim Cook sending some bullshit "apology letter" to brokeass hippies too poor to afford their personal transportation complaining that maps won't guide them to their subway. Who gives a fuck. At least they owned up to AntennaGate with the iPhone 4.

I'm probably going to sell my Apple shares soon. Fuck them. I know Dan doesn't want to hear this, but this is a company that is slipping into mediocrity and complacency. I buy Apple products for their useability and reliability. Yes, they are cool, and that is a HELL of a bonus. But I'm not tolerating paying for this shit to have bullshit problems basically right out-of-the-box.

Ehwmatt wrote:... my iPhone 5 preorder got fucked up and took a week later to get here. That was strike one.

Strike one against Verizon. I'm following, so far ...

Ehwmatt wrote: Finally last weekend, I broke down and went over to the Apple store to snag a case

Certainly you looked online or called, prior to making a trip to the store?

Ehwmatt wrote:Apple still has NOT "approved" any "official" iPhone 5 cases nearly a month after its release, and they thus have no cases.

Pretty common for them, as they don't want the market inundated with 3rd party cases for their phones, so they can't begin production until after the phone is released. There's generally a lag of a weeks with the cases. But there are already plenty out there. Nothing a 2 minute online Google search can't fix.

Ehwmatt wrote:Then, this week, I started noticing my iPhone behaving just a TAD strangely. For instance, I would get some lag/lockup when I'd touch an icon or swipe over to the next screen of icons. Finally, tonight, my phone just starts refusing to connect to WiFi after working perfectly for 3 weeks. I've now tested it on 3 different networks (home, my network, and my parents' network) and reset my network settings. No dice. I know there have been a bevy of wireless problems with these devices in general (which Apple has kept mum about), but I was thinking I dodged them. Not so. Fuck this shit. I'm a total Apple mark. I have an iPod classic, iPod touch, iPad2, iMac, MacBook Pro, and most recently, my first iPhone (this 5). But their quality has been slipping for the last 2 years (i.e., this started before Jobs died, but probably after his control over the company was more or less over). Now I have to take time I don't have on my precious Saturday morning going over and exchanging the fuckin phone. I buy Apple products because I was sick of dealing with shit like this. If they're going to slip to this level, then there's no differentiating between them and PCs. The thing that pisses me off the most is they have not been straight with customers about this, instead you have Tim Cook sending some bullshit "apology letter" to brokeass hippies too poor to afford their personal transportation complaining that maps won't guide them to their subway. Who gives a fuck. At least they owned up to AntennaGate with the iPhone 4.

By all accounts, the iPhone 5 is a runaway hit. There are approximately 7-10 million already in the hands of consumers worldwide and seemingly a few hundred phones are having issues. That's about 1 phone out of every 15,000. In short, there are no issues with the phone, in this regard. Zero, zilch, nada. The overblown maps fiasco was widespread, as it affected every phone, but even it, too, was sensationalized.

Ehwmatt wrote:I'm probably going to sell my Apple shares soon. Fuck them. I know Dan doesn't want to hear this, but this is a company that is slipping into mediocrity and complacency. I buy Apple products for their useability and reliability. Yes, they are cool, and that is a HELL of a bonus. But I'm not tolerating paying for this shit to have bullshit problems basically right out-of-the-box.

In the end, as individual consumers, we each have the right to our own standards. Apple has long been the standard bearer and continues to be so, to many. To you, perhaps not. We ultimately vote with our purchases. I've had spectacular luck with my Apple products, and it seems that prior to this, so did you. If you're going to pigeon hole Apple products as "mediocre" due to what we currently see as a problem with about a 1 in about every 15,000 phones, you're going to be in for unparalleled misery when you switch to another company. As far as customer service goes, Apple is its own league. Switch to Samsung, and enjoy going to South Korea to see a Samsung specialist, should your phone have an issue. Apple continues to offer an unrivaled ecosystem, with seamless integration and the best overall user experience. Perhaps that's changing, and you're right, but I haven't seen a shred of evidence *or* sinking sales of Apple products that would suggest any merit to your claims. I see quite the opposite, actually. Earnings are proof of that.