iPhone 4

Despite all the negative speculation around the new iPhone 4, I couldn’t be happier.  I’ve even given my all singing and all dancing friend a name.  Joffrey, (if you really want to know).

After hearing concerns around the issue with the antenna, I decided to make it a priority to buy a case so as not to avoid this alleged ‘death grip’, as it’s been called.  Disappointingly, neither Vodafone nor the Apple Store on Regent Street had received stock of the necessary accessory, so I went straight on line and found a selection of non-branded cases on Amazon.  (I also saved money in the process.  Score!) I received my case within two days and have had no problems whatsoever.  I’d like to also add, that I’ve not had any problems with a discoloured or broken screen and my camera works perfectly. 

There is always going to be hype around any new product, especially one as highly anticipated as this.  It just proves that online communities can sometimes be counterproductive too.  Saying that, I may just have been extremely lucky. We have to remember, that the same way that big organizations have picked up on the social media frenzy, the ‘word of mouth’ approach is also becoming a strategic opportunity for corporations to manoeovre our thinking.  Just as there are Social Media Manager jobs nowadays, there are also Community Executives which are responsible for driving chatter in their brand’s favour.  Whilst community collaboration can be extremely beneficial (especially when looking to find out about what’s hot and what’s not), sometimes it’s still best to make up our own minds rather than just believe the hype.

Having said all that, my one piece of constructive feedback to Apple would be about the shape of the phone.  The iPhone 3 was ergonomically perfect.  Absolutely perfect.  I don’t understand how Apple could have even considered going back to the previous shape.  As the age old saying goes,  ‘if it ain’t broke, don't fix it!’  If it is 'broke', on the other hand…. sort it out!