People 'simply don't care,' says one analyst

Analyst opinions are differing in the wake of a Friday announcement by Apple, in which the company agreed to hand out refunds or free cases to iPhone 4 owners affected by reception issues. Kaufman's Shaw Wu comments that Apple "did the right thing" by offering the cases, noting that there has been "strong evidence" that a case can insulate the iPhone's sensitive antenna. Wu also points out that just a small percentage of people have complained, and that sources indicate a permanent hardware or software fix may still be coming.

Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates takes a more aggressive tone, arguing that there is "no excuse for Apple to have obfuscated the antenna problems." The analyst also remarks that Apple's approach of comparing against flaws in other cellphones was irrelevant to to the rightness of its own actions. "Apple needs to do better and acknowledge when there is a problem to keep its customers happy long term," says Gold. "Otherwise, while it may not lose its most loyal fan base, those customers who may be looking at iPhone because of its reputation could easily be swayed at looking at competing devices."

Needham's Charlie Wolf takes an opposite stance, agreeing with Apple, and suggesting that antenna problems have indeed been "blown out of proportion." The majority of shoppers "simply don't care," according to Wolf, a position he defends by pointing to an ongoing supply crunch. Three million iPhone 4s have been sold so far, and there is claimed to be a "chronic backlog" of shipments in the five countries where the device is currently available. Apple is unlikely to catch up with demand until late 2010, says Wolf, as it tries to roll out the device to 88 countries by September.

by MacNN Staff