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Why is Consumer Reports not recommending the iPhone 4 such a huge deal?
- Thread starter CJayC
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It's not. Simple as that. When was the last time people read CR? they haven't printed anything worth reading in a while to me. Simply put. Antennagate is the Yankees of the tech world. Let's all jump on the bandwagon and get our share of traffic.
Extremely sickening how companies have acted when their products are pure "crap."
You speak out of ignorance.
A lot of people do care about what CR writes/reports. It means a lot to apple now and for future sales. Sure apple has sold an unbelievably high number of iPhones, but admittedly the majority of those sales came before this issue fully hit the fan. Plus I suspect that much of the sales are from upgraders as opposed to new owners.
In getting my droid x, I was talking to the verizon store rep, and he told me, that interest in verizon phones, including the droidx and incredible have increased dramatically precisely because of the antenna issue. So this issue and CR's non-recommendation has merit.
And it only affects the domestic market too and they still have 50odd countries yet to launch in ...
Don't think sales are going to be a problem ... maybe down a couple of % on what they could have on a perfect launch but they'll see the year through ok i have no doubt
Don't think sales are going to be a problem ... maybe down a couple of % on what they could have on a perfect launch but they'll see the year through ok i have no doubt
Many Christians are not good on porn either, yet both survive
CR is one of the leading consumer forums in the US. Millions and millions form a decision based upon their recommendations. Maybe most young males that are more attracted to follow MR do not read CR. That is not to say that their fathers, neighbours, teachers and even them in a few years might not take dedicated and impartial consumer tests into consideration.
CR is one of the leading consumer forums in the US. Millions and millions form a decision based upon their recommendations. Maybe most young males that are more attracted to follow MR do not read CR. That is not to say that their fathers, neighbours, teachers and even them in a few years might not take dedicated and impartial consumer tests into consideration.
True but now that word has gotten out about the antenna, do you think consumers in the other countries will be wary?
I mean there's enough threads here about people concerned about buying one and are holding off. I suspect consumers in other countries may be even more wary, especially if the cost of the phone is higher then what we normally pay in the US
From what I have heard Consumer Reports is respected because of their rigorous, independent testing of all household items.
However, the fact that they initially rubber-stamped the iphone 4 ("all Apple products are usually really good!") makes it quite clear that well, they're really just interested in getting their reviews on their website. Everyone made it sound like the retraction was a big deal, but it just speaks to CR's lack of rigour.
This makes CR look worse in my mind than Apple releasing yet another innovative design that has some problems.
However, the fact that they initially rubber-stamped the iphone 4 ("all Apple products are usually really good!") makes it quite clear that well, they're really just interested in getting their reviews on their website. Everyone made it sound like the retraction was a big deal, but it just speaks to CR's lack of rigour.
This makes CR look worse in my mind than Apple releasing yet another innovative design that has some problems.
The irony of it all is that no major reviewer mentioned the antenna problem when the phone launched. CR came out a bit later and noted it due to the youtube videos making headlines, but then said it wasn't a big deal. This initial reaction tells me this is a hater lead revolution agains the phone. The common user will not be a affected by it, plain and simple... Unless you are a lefty with a catchers glove sized hand. In your case, get a case, its free.
I think Apple and the iPhone have become sort of like the Yankees in baseball. Their success has created a lot of envy around the business, and those other makers who took two years to catch up are bitter. Also the people who don't live in an area where AT&T is strong, or they have simply refused to switch carriers...and now that they have a phone with comparable features, they feel the need to hate. I find it both funny and frustrating at times. Especially from people who visit Apple sites. Its like, why are you here in the first place? Probably because Apple's been good to you in the past, so why are you so critical now?
I think Apple and the iPhone have become sort of like the Yankees in baseball. Their success has created a lot of envy around the business, and those other makers who took two years to catch up are bitter. Also the people who don't live in an area where AT&T is strong, or they have simply refused to switch carriers...and now that they have a phone with comparable features, they feel the need to hate. I find it both funny and frustrating at times. Especially from people who visit Apple sites. Its like, why are you here in the first place? Probably because Apple's been good to you in the past, so why are you so critical now?
When consumer reports talks people listen. Thier refusal not to recommend iPhone 4 drove down apple stock and forced them to hold a press conference for damage control.
Maybe this little diddy will change your mind" http://www.aim.org/aim-report/aim-report-a-black-eye-for-consumer-reports/
As far as you believing what the nice Vrz man was telling you..... I have some nice mountain top property to sell ya here in good ol Florida! The lack of iPhones available for purchase says more to me than you or a vrz sales hack. Not saying the numbers didn't go up for droid, just saying.
My dad uses CR, but prob not to many younger gens using it.
Exactly, apple was content to continue on their way of silence and not issuing any statements other then Jobs' coy emails.
You can tell based on what Jobs stated this surprised and shocked them.
This kind of post drives me nuts. You don't have to be a "hater", it's just a phone, you don't have to be lefty, you don't have to have catchers glove sized hands, nor do you need to use the "death grip" whatever that foolishness means. If you don't read or believe Consumer reports is important to many people, then that is your ignorance. I have an Iphone 4 and drop calls in my house (more because of the proximity sensor problem) and never dropped calls at home with my old Palm Treo or my wife's Iphone 3. I am keeping the phone because it is fantastic technology and I love it, but it does have problems for some people.
Are you honestly surprised a Verizon Store sales rep told you that?
If anything has been proven fairly conclusively on these forms is retail employees (AT&T, Verizon, Apple, etc) know very little and will say anything to make a sale.And Apple noted that in the press conference.
People who read or base their decisions on what CR has to say will pause when reading the article. And definitely because of the headline.
If you were in the market for a new printer and they said it's the BEST printer on the market except that sometime it doesn't print correctly. Would you still buy it? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe reliability is more important than having all the neat gadgets, bells and whistles.
Perception is the issue. Not reality. Which is why Apple is doing damage control.
Are you honestly surprised a Verizon Store sales rep told you that?
Yes, because it was just small talk as he was typing up my contract. There was nothing for him to gain by lying. Besides, that fits my other ancedotal evidence as I was visiting the verizon stores prior to the droid x release. I was checking out the incredible and also if they had a droid x to play with. consumers were looking for an alternative to an iphone.
Think about how many millions of iPhones are sold in the US. Now think about the small percentage of those consumers are truly hardcore tech oriented and/or are members of MacRumors or other Apple dedicated sites. It's a very very minute percent.
Your average consumer gets their information from mainstream media or sources. CR is one of those sources that the typical consumer relies on for information on products. Now when the CR non-recommendation came out, every MSM news site ran stories on it and most of the typical buyers became aware of it. So that is why the CR article is such a big deal.
I still dont think that it has had that big of an impact because Apple cannot make them fast enough and several people that I know have ordered them or are planning on ordering one regardless of the "antenna issue".
Your average consumer gets their information from mainstream media or sources. CR is one of those sources that the typical consumer relies on for information on products. Now when the CR non-recommendation came out, every MSM news site ran stories on it and most of the typical buyers became aware of it. So that is why the CR article is such a big deal.
I still dont think that it has had that big of an impact because Apple cannot make them fast enough and several people that I know have ordered them or are planning on ordering one regardless of the "antenna issue".
The initial sales were before the issue was a known issue. So 1.7-2 million phones were already "spoken for" - and even if the phone exploded in your hand - they still would have sold that many. Clearly they would have had a lot of returns, lawsuits and a recall. Point is you can wipe a lot of those sales figures into the garbage. It's important to look at sales AFTER all of this press and the press conference.
That being said - I think that the phone will of course sell like hotcakes. And I think that's because the good outweighs the bad. And I also think - to some degree - that most average users believe that if they experience an issue, they can just exchange it or get it fixed. And they have faith that Apple will fix whatever issue there is.
And that's where it might get tricky in the future. If they do experience an issue. And they see Apple really HAS no fix - then it will really depend on how important and how affected they are.
The real "test" will be to see pre-sales and what happens when iPhone 5 or whatever it's called is announced. That's when there should be a decent gauge of customer (and loyal customer) confidence.
My .02
That being said - I think that the phone will of course sell like hotcakes. And I think that's because the good outweighs the bad. And I also think - to some degree - that most average users believe that if they experience an issue, they can just exchange it or get it fixed. And they have faith that Apple will fix whatever issue there is.
And that's where it might get tricky in the future. If they do experience an issue. And they see Apple really HAS no fix - then it will really depend on how important and how affected they are.
The real "test" will be to see pre-sales and what happens when iPhone 5 or whatever it's called is announced. That's when there should be a decent gauge of customer (and loyal customer) confidence.
My .02
I know 5 people that because of the CR report are not buying one. 5 is not a lot of people but if everyone knows at least 1 person that is not because of the CR review then that really starts to add up. Especially when Apple does not seem to be offering a solid fix so CR does not seem to be changing their mind which in turn has the 5 people I know saying its not a big deal I will just wait for the next one. Even after they have played with my ip4 they are still not sold...
It's not--and I say that as someone who subscribes to CR and who has used their recommendations on many purchases, from appliances to cars.
In this case, CR has simply been disingenuous to drum up traffic. Right next to the post where they said Apple should give away cases to fix the issue, they have their "still not recommending" post where they say free cases aren't good enough.
It's attention whoring. Everyone does it from time to time (Apple was doing it with Friday's PC). CR saw that the iPhone generated more revenue in a day than they do in 5 years, and decided to try to gin up web hits based on that.
In this case, CR has simply been disingenuous to drum up traffic. Right next to the post where they said Apple should give away cases to fix the issue, they have their "still not recommending" post where they say free cases aren't good enough.
It's attention whoring. Everyone does it from time to time (Apple was doing it with Friday's PC). CR saw that the iPhone generated more revenue in a day than they do in 5 years, and decided to try to gin up web hits based on that.
That's a huge accusation. I also believe it's inaccurate. But feel free to believe what you want. That's your right.