Analyst: Power adapter recall should not hurt Apple
updated 09:20 am EDT, Mon September 22, 2008
AmTech on adapter recall
Apple's ultra-compact power adapter recall should not substantially affect either the company or the iPhone 3G, says Shaw Wu of American Technology Research. The analyst comments that while the threat of electric shock is a "negative" with the potential for "headline risk," the number of people likely to be affected by the faulty adapters is believed to be minimal. Apple is also said to be doing the "right thing" by offering a free exchange and keeping its customer service standards up.
In terms of the recall's effect on the iPhone, Wu notes that in research, it appears that shipments and sales of device have not wavered in any significant respect; a number of shops have reportedly sold out of the 8GB model. Wu adds that the majority of iPhone owners avoid the adapter in the first place, preferring to charge their phones at the same time as they sync with iTunes.
In a secondary observation, Wu comments that the iPhone 2.1 firmware does appear to have "reduced" problems experienced by some owners, such as dropped calls.
gotta love it!
09/22, 09:36am (1 reply) reply
Those analysts, the way they phrase things.
that while the threat of electric shock is a "negative" with the potential for "headline risk,"
Wow. the threat of electric shock is kinda negative. Apple should put some spin on it, you know. "With the Apple compact power adapter, you too can have the thrill of being launched across a room!".
But, really, don't positve electrons flow, not negative ones. So really, wouldn't a shock be a 'positive'?
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
Not sure about that...
09/22, 10:09am reply
If I remember my middle school physics, electrons have negative charge (the positive ones being protons); the positive and negative polarity of the direct current were improperly named due to poor understanding of the atom composition at the time, and of the logic that when there is flow, it is normally from positive (charge) to negative.
vasic
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2005
Yes, electrons
09/22, 11:40am reply
protons and neutrons. Basic physics and electrical theory is coming back to me now, in wheich case, Shaw Wu made a funny. Also, the word "potential" could be taken as another electricity pun.
I think that Shaw is indeed understating the "headline risk". Headlines like "Apple iPod user shocked to death by Apple product!" would seem to be more than a headline risk.
Flying Meat
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2007
Not where I work
09/22, 12:44pm reply
Wu adds that the majority of iPhone owners avoid the adapter in the first place, preferring to charge their phones at the same time as they sync with iTunes.
None of those people apparently charge their iPhones at work in a paranoid business environment. My company put USB monitoring software on all our PCs about a month ago and 7 people have already had their USB devices confiscated. That's why I use the AC adapter.Oh, and electrons are negatively charged, so the electric shock would be a negative.
TheBum
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2001