Ever since it was launched in late June the Apple iPhone 4 has been plagued with problems and criticism from various sectors. Starting originally from the fact that the phone lost reception when held a particular way, to one device catching fire when plugged onto the PC and more recently antenna problems which leads the phone to drop calls.The antenna has actually led to the consumer report stating that they will not recommend the phone to their consumers.
Inspite of all this, the demand for the phone is strong. Fans of the product are still likely to keep purchasing it because of it’s asthetic elements. Bearing this in mind a recall of the phone by Apple is highly unlikely at the moment. Even though analysts and buyers might feel that the company needs to do a bit more to fix the issues, these problems ultimately should not affect the company’s market share in a big way.
According to Deborah Mitchell, the executive director of the centre for Brand and Product Management, University of Wisconsin, people buy the iPhone for what it projects.It’s more about what your personality reflects when you own an iPhone.
‘It’s a brand that helps you identify yourself.” she said. People with an iPhone are considered fresh and youthful in attitude. Loyalists of the phone also swear by the fact that it was the first one to launch easy Web Browsing and other features like shopping for music and movies on the handset, a trend that other companies have later tried to emulate and incorporate into their consequent products. This leads to an emotional bond and unflinching brand loyalty towards the iPhone. Bearing all these factors in mind consumers still tend to buy the product despite apparent criticism.
Coming back to the Consumer Report, they too have agreed to the fact that the iPhone 4 is not all bad. The problem with the antenna can be fixed by buying a case and the phone has definitely performed better than all other smart phones available in the market on other regards. Apple on their end have categorically stated that losing reception in certain networks is a not a problem that only the iPhone faces rather it is a problem that all mobile phones face at some stage.