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Australian Regulators Targeting Apple Over '4G' Marketing Claims on New iPad
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It's still better than some areas like Japan and Hong Kong which had the iPad 2 3G versions on sale last year but now there's no "4G" or whatever version they will change the name to which connects to a carrier wireless network.
We don't even have a chance to be misled by Apple.... and we need to bite the bullet and buy the "parallel imported" 4G versions from elsewhere...
We don't even have a chance to be misled by Apple.... and we need to bite the bullet and buy the "parallel imported" 4G versions from elsewhere...
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So Apple admits that it's wrong, offers refunds, and will modify its packaging and advertising.
It seems that Apple is admitting that "4Ggate" was real....
Good for Tim - we didn't get some "you're looking at it wrong" nonsense from the turtlenecked overlord.
Wrong. Apple maintains it did not mislead the public (look at my second link), and they offer refunds to avoid some long legal battle (settling).
of course if you think that everytime a company settles that means they did wrong you might not understand how it works hehe
4g gate was an overblown non issue. we're upto 4 now: the no demand because of lack of lines gate, the heatgate, the batterygate, and the 4G gate. can't wait to see tomorrow's developments hehe
Shockingly....the world has still not ended!
Not entirely correct. I'll fix it for you.
4G = LTE and WiMAX
There is only two 4G services available in Australia currently:
Telstra (LTE): http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/coverage-networks/network-information/4g/
VividWireless (WiMAX):
http://www.vividwireless.com.au/4g-wireless-broadband/our-technology
Please, quit while you're ahead.
How is it not necessarily enough? This is what I said about being spoonfed earlier hehe. If that sticker is on every box, then this "investigation" is a bigger joke then I originally thought hehe
Well, it's not, so let's not jump to conclusions just yet.
It's not about being spoonfed, but it is about taking into account the reasonable expectations of the ordinary consumer, which most of us here are not. You can't sell a product called a steak knife that isn't sharp enough to cut steak, despite the fact that you put some fine print in that says it will only cut two rare kinds of steak. For better or worse, that's why we have consumer protection laws - as an Australian, I agree that the ACCC is usually annoyingly lax when it comes to enforcement, but that doesn't mean they're always wrong.
Similarly, Apple was wrong to advertise the Powermac G5 as the 'fastest personal computer ever' and was reasonably pulled up on that fact in the UK (http://apple.slashdot.org/story/03/11/10/2047209/apple-g5-ads-banned-in-uk for those with short memories).
There's so much right about the iPad and so much trust in Apple as a brand, that at the end of the day some backpedalling on this to conform with Australian consumer law is not going to make an iota of difference to iPad sales. It's really not that big of a deal to correct, making a fuss about it is actually a waste of time. I'd be interested to see how far they'll go before reaching some sort of agreement with the ACCC, even if it doesn't involve stickering.
Too bad that when you buy from the apple site you would only get that sticker AFTER you've paid for the iPad, not saying it's be worth a return, just saying....
No, not every single box.
Only boxes that were purchased at a Telstra store. I ordered mine directly from Apple, and I had no such sticker.
This tells me Apple did not put that sticker on the box.
The label is not an acceptable excuse for covering up miss leading advertising to even very false. 4G should not be on the box accept where it will work which is in America.
Wrong. Apple maintains it did not mislead the public (look at my second link), and they offer refunds to avoid some long legal battle (settling).
of course if you think that everytime a company settles that means they did wrong you might not understand how it works hehe
4g gate was an overblown non issue. we're upto 4 now: the no demand because of lack of lines gate, the heatgate, the batterygate, and the 4G gate. can't wait to see tomorrow's developments hehe
Shockingly....the world has still not ended!
Assuming that I'm in complete agreement with you about everything in your post, I wouldn't be welcoming all these "gates". (As a side note, is it just me or are the people defending Apple at every turn just as responsible for labeling all these events as "-gates" as the people criticizing the company?).
Anyways, all of this is negative publicly and even if we were to assume that these are all "non-issues" they still hurt the image of Apple as a company. So don't be too eager to break out that "
" emoticon just yet Out of curiosity, did this many articles about several parts of Apple's product pop up with past launches?
But Apple is modifying its marketing for the device to remove the misleading claims....
If Apple "maintains" that it has not been misleading, why would they modify the marketing?
Of course, it's because admitting that it was misleading would leave them liable for any number of lawsuits.
(Actually, they still may be liable - but an admission of guilt would make it harder to defend against the lawsuits.)
Assuming that I'm in complete agreement with you about everything in your post, I wouldn't be welcoming all these "gates". (As a side note, is it just me or are the people defending Apple at every turn just as responsible for labeling all these events as "-gates" as the people criticizing the company?).
Anyways, all of this is negative publicly and even if we were to assume that these are all "non-issues" they still hurt the image of Apple as a company. So don't be too eager to break out that "
Out of curiosity, did this many articles about several parts of Apple's product pop up with past launches?
the "gates" have all been jokes.
no demand? naw we sold 3 million in 3 days
heat? naw, same or better then most tablets out there
battery? naw, its been like that since the iphone 3gs
real 4g? we didn't mislead you, but since you need to be coddled, here have some refunds
like i always say...apple will be fine these silly "gates" wont affect their bottom line, their sales, their reputation or their customer satisfaction ratings. these are just overblown issues that get a lot of press because its apple, the most successful company in the world
believe me, there will be more. stay tuned hehe
to avoid spending millions to defend something why else?
if you ran apple youd opt to spend millions on legal fees on such an overblown and silly issue or would you just change your marketing materials?
if your answer is the former, we know why you don't run apple hehe
the "gates" have all been jokes.
no demand? naw we sold 3 million in 3 days
heat? naw, same or better then most tablets out there
battery? naw, its been like that since the iphone 3gs
real 4g? we didn't mislead you, but since you need to be coddled, here have some refunds
like i always say...apple will be fine these silly "gates" wont affect their bottom line, their sales, their reputation or their customer satisfaction ratings. these are just overblown issues that get a lot of press because its apple, the most successful company in the world
believe me, there will be more. stay tuned hehe
to avoid spending millions to defend something why else?
if you ran apple youd opt to spend millions on legal fees on such an overblown and silly issue or would you just change your marketing materials?
if your answer is the former, we know why you don't run apple hehe
You're clearly new to this. Believe it or not, we're not all Fandroids clamouring for every single mistake to be the death toll for Apple. As you've correctly pointed out, Apple is more than capable of seeing itself through these sort of things. However, that doesn't mean that they are infallible nor that they, like any other company, shouldn't be pulled up when they overstep the mark.
Those words are what should be appearing in, and made clear in, the product's advertising, not only on a tiny label on the side of the box (4G should not even appear on the Australian packaging). And no, mentioning it in the tiny fine print on the website is not good enough.Wow, really? At first I was giving these Aussies the benefit of the doubt, but come on if its plainly written on the box like that, then they bought it and still whine, they are truly fools
This is a non-issue...
This is how the new iPad's cellular capabilities should appear on www.apple.com/au/iPad/ -instead of stating "Ultra-fast wireless. Full speed ahead. Designed with next-generation wireless technology, the new iPad with Wi-Fi+4G connects to fast data networks around the world."
It should instead state something along the lines of "Ultra-fast wireless. Full speed ahead. Designed with next-generation wireless technology, the new iPad with Wi-Fi+4G connects to fast data networks around the world (compatible with 3G networks only in Australia)."
Or "Ultra-fast wireless. Full speed ahead. Designed with next-generation wireless technology, the new iPad with Wi-Fi+3G connects to the fastest 3G data networks in Australia."
Or "Ultra-fast wireless. Full speed ahead. Designed with next-generation wireless technology, the new iPad With Wi-Fi+4G connects to fast data networks around the world, including 3G HSPA+ in Australia and 4G LTE in North America (not compatible with Australian 4G LTE networks)."
The fact that the new iPad is not compatible with Australian 4G LTE networks needs to be made clear to consumers. Apple is not making this clear, they are hiding the fact behind vague wording, tiny fine print disclaimers and tiny labels that most consumers probably won't notice until after they've purchased the iPad.
i never said anything about fandroids not in this thread and i dont think ever since i joined this site! its not about fandroids. its about the fact that if you're the most successful company in the world, which apple is, people are going to nitpick, whine, overanalyze, and overblow every little issue they come across.
this is nothing new. its not the end either. tomorrow we'll hear some other issue.
apple offered to settle to put this headache behind them, and thats it hehe. 4g gate is over!!! OMG.
its such a minor and silly issue that it simply will not have any negative effect on apple. i know they are not infallible, and if they actually make a huge mistake, they will fall and fall hard.
however, these silly "mistakes" that we've seen since the ipad launch are not going to be the things that makes them fall
this is just the haters getting their kicks in while they can. because once all this overblown stuff blows over hehe, they have to wait an entire year for the next iPad to hate on!
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i never said anything about fandroids not in this thread and i dont think ever since i joined this site! its not about fandroids. its about the fact that if you're the most successful company in the world, which apple is, people are going to nitpick, whine, overanalyze, and overblow every little issue they come across.
this is nothing new. its not the end either. tomorrow we'll hear some other issue.
apple offered to settle to put this headache behind them, and thats it hehe. 4g gate is over!!! OMG.
its such a minor and silly issue that it simply will not have any negative effect on apple. i know they are not infallible, and if they actually make a huge mistake, they will fall and fall hard.
however, these silly "mistakes" that we've seen since the ipad launch are not going to be the things that makes them fall
I apologise, sometimes I forget why I don't post here any more.
Ok, fine. Sprint offers a 2.5G network for their iPhone. That's fair is it not?
If Pluto can be demoted from a planet to a non-planet then Sprint can be demoted to having 2.5G for the iPhone 4S.
IF you aussies would take a moment and put down that shrimp you cooked on the barbie then you would notice that most people are getting less than 14.4Mbits/sec on their "4G LTE" networks using their "4G LTE iPads".
Also, speed tests on the 4S in some regions have offered up speeds in actual use that intersect the range of speeds experienced on an LTE iPad.
You cannot have it both ways. Either EVDO is demoted to less than 3G or HSPA+ of 14.4 Mbits/sec or faster is promoted to 4G.
Theoretical maximums really mean absolutely nothing. If some HSPA+ networks offer speeds into the typical 4G LTE range then HSPA+ has to logically be called "de facto" 4G.
If Pluto can be demoted from a planet to a non-planet then Sprint can be demoted to having 2.5G for the iPhone 4S.
IF you aussies would take a moment and put down that shrimp you cooked on the barbie then you would notice that most people are getting less than 14.4Mbits/sec on their "4G LTE" networks using their "4G LTE iPads".
Also, speed tests on the 4S in some regions have offered up speeds in actual use that intersect the range of speeds experienced on an LTE iPad.
You cannot have it both ways. Either EVDO is demoted to less than 3G or HSPA+ of 14.4 Mbits/sec or faster is promoted to 4G.
Theoretical maximums really mean absolutely nothing. If some HSPA+ networks offer speeds into the typical 4G LTE range then HSPA+ has to logically be called "de facto" 4G.
Wow, that's aboot the first time I've ever seen that kind of racism come from a Canadian. Congrats to you, eh?
The thing about the iPhone 4S is that there is nothing in it's name that purports to be a 4G (or 3G for that matter) phone. Similarly, there's nothing wrong with advertising copy in relation to the 4S that refers to Sprint's speeds without claiming that it's capable of 3G or 4G speeds.
This is not about theoretical maximums or technical definitions, it's about the reasonable expectations of ordinary consumers within a particular market. Anyway, I'm going to leave it there, I'm sure the ultimate resolution will be satisfactory, but I'd expect Apple will have to go a little further than they have so far.
the "gates" have all been jokes.
no demand? naw we sold 3 million in 3 days
heat? naw, same or better then most tablets out there
battery? naw, its been like that since the iphone 3gs
real 4g? we didn't mislead you, but since you need to be coddled, here have some refunds
like i always say...apple will be fine these silly "gates" wont affect their bottom line, their sales, their reputation or their customer satisfaction ratings. these are just overblown issues that get a lot of press because its apple, the most successful company in the world
believe me, there will be more. stay tuned hehe
I think it's clear at this point that it would be a waste of both our times to continue this conversation.
Sorry, but I'm not going to argue with someone that is so closed minded and dogmatic that no amount of reason, logic, or evidence will ever change their opinion.
Good day.
From memory, there was coverage of Telstra incompatibility in the tech press prior to the iPad's release, but I didn't really see anything much in the mainstream media until well after the iPad was available for purchase.
However the thing is, the onus here is not on the consumer - it is on the producer.
It should not be up to the consumer to have to follow press reports about the iPad. The onus is on Apple to be upfront and truthful in their product advertising, so that their customers do not make ill-informed decisions.
I call bull*** on this. Happened to have my packaging (shipping box and plastic wrap included) sitting right next to me when I read this and there is definately no sticker. I pre-ordered my iPad from www.apple.com/au/ on March 7.
I agree with you, but we must read different papers - the morning after the announcement this issue was plastered all over the homepage of Fairfax and News.com and its affiliates, and repeated in the paper editions the next day. Apple news is big these days, not like it used to be, and they're not shy about the odd misrepresentation or incomplete truth here and there. I don't watch TV, so have no point of comparison there, but I certainly got an earful from various people having a go at why the iPad couldn't do '4G'. Those are fun discussions (not unlike the ones on here).