Isolated Issues vs Widespread Problems

Question

I've been reading these boards through many new product releases, including all of the previous versions of the iPhone. Don't let these threads, or the number of post, scare you. Apple has sold over a million new phones in the last two days, and the vast majority of buyers aren't posting here with problems. And many of the people who have experienced legitimate issues have posted, and continue to post, in multiple threads. Before you panic and write off the new phone as a failure, consider the following:
Isolated Issues vs. Widespread Problems
With any product there will be isolated issues -legitimate, but not really a worry for potential buyers. For example, a few people have mentioned problems with syncing data or sound/speaker troubles. But most of us have had no problems with these.
There are three "big" issues which have been raised repeatedly on the boards:
1. loss of signal when you "hold the phone wrong" -Yes, it's real. But is it as bad as people say? I've not dropped a single call, or had a total signal loss. Only a dropped bar or two. And no complaints from anyone that I've spoken with on the phone.
2, yellow spots/screens -Another widely-reported problem. There have been several reports that this is due to a glue that hasn't cured properly and that it will go away with use. The fact that the "yellow screen" posts have faded to the bottom of the list suggests that the problem is, in fact, going away, or at least not nearly as widespread as the posters would have you believe. And Apple is reportedly exchanging the phones for new headsets.
3. proximity sensor not working -I've had this one myself. Many people have reported that the screen remains active during a call, causing your ear to hit the mute button or hang up on someone. There is a reported fix: reset the phone. No word yet from Apple on this, but several people report that the fix works. I've done it, and no problems since.
I got my phone on the 23rd, and have used just about every feature on it with great success.

Answer 1

I have to agree with finii. I'm sure there are people who are experiencing specific problems, but there are many factors contributing to even the seemingly well-documented problems that may mean the issues are not anywhere near as dramatic as they may look here. For instance, there are a LOT of issues I've seen here that are simply due, in my opinion, to network congestion, or the typical busy-ness online that occurs around a launch-day.
And keep in mind that Apple has released iOS4, Mac OSX 10.6.4, the 4G and iTunes 9.2 all very closely together, not to mention Xcode3 for developers. Granted, all of the above are related technologies, but still, it's a major debut of a major step forward for the company, and all things considered, Apple is doing spectacularly well.
I also remain impressed with Apple's customer support. At a time when almost EVERYONE else in business takes a "support? what's that? we offer the means to keep our customers as far away from us as possible once they've bought something from us, via ridiculously involuted voice systems, email and support "solution packages," etc.," Apple's support is simple, direct.... and FAST. Amazingly so. And the support people are friendly, knowledgeable and... supportive! NOBODY else out there comes even close.
So, calm down everyone; all the issues here will be addressed as best they can.
I also HIGHLY recommend a lot of diligence on your end when you, for instance, consider a major OS or hardware upgrade. I can't tell you how many times I've seen one of two troubling scenarios. First, someone dives in at the deep end, the day of launch or release, when the traffic is most intense, and then is surprised if they run into any challenges. Secondly, someone sticks with a platform for five or six years and then is astonished when the support no longer exists for that platform.
One thing to say to each of those scenarios. In the first case, it is YOUR responsibility, individually, to decide whether you want to take the risk -- and yes, there is risk -- getting into the middle of launch-day craziness. If you get frustrated with the results, you can blame no-one for taking that risk but yourself.
Secondly, if you've used modern computer technology for any length of time, you know that technological change continues to be dramatically fast. I have a Windows PC that is "merely" three years old and already, I can pick up something for a fraction of the cost that's literally triple as fast, more reliable, and easier to use (Windows 7 vs. Windows XP). Should I be complaining that the companies that made the hardware and software for my 3-year-old PC have "abandoned" me? No. They've continued to dramatically reduce cost, complexity and dramatically increased reliability over time.
I've seen some people yearn for the "good old days" of Macintosh before the demise of PPC-based technology. Well, remember that the market was spectacularly smaller, the hardware was significantly less complex, both in architecture and sourcing, and the cost was significantly higher for a lot less functionality. A modern Mac/iPod/iPhone/iPad is an absolute marvel, even compared with something made three years ago. And even with that, Apple has done a far better job of sustaining older technology -- hardware and software -- than its competitors.
There are some fundamental underlying decisions for Apple that have contributed to its success, and I think those decisions (too many to go into here) are going to continue to contribute to the company's competitive edge for a long time to come. There will be growing pains, too, but compared with everyone else -- and I'm not even just talking computers -- Apple's doing a great job of dealing with them.
Take a deep breath and enjoy, if you can. If you can't... find something simpler to do that you can. And also, as we used to say in the old days of free broadcast TV: if you don't like the programming, you're free to change the channel. It's all your choice, and your responsibility, to figure out what you want. Remember that.