The iPad IS magical!!

Bingo, Will.

I got my phone and literally NO CLUE what people are making a fuss about. Granted i don't live in Manhattan so maybe I'm not suffering the way users in major cities are. But I have had NO issues at all and it's been a totally wonderful experience. I love the new speeds. I purposely didn't upgrade to 3GS in anticipation of 4.0 and the 4.0 OS mucked up my 3G usability.

But more to the topic of your post, I think it's merely sad when media groupthink and lazy reporting take over with respect to commercial products or pop culture. It moves from sad to dangerous when the same herd mentality occurs for serious things like politics and social policy. This propensity for the high drama and the easy "get" impacts lives - many of whom, unlike Steve Jobs and Apple, cannot and will not recover.

If you want a fair and impartial take on just how bad or not it is, check out Consumer Reports test of the phone. They don't accept money from any company whose product they are testing. They cannot give their checkmark recommendation after their tests.

Well said. I purchased my very first Apple product ever -- an iPhone 4 -- at the height of the media frenzy, recognizing all the hoopla for the childish drivel that it is and always seems to be. I haven't got my phone yet because it is back ordered, but am not worried a bit by what I've been reading in the comic book media or seen in the Consumer Reports video with the duct tape. The external antenna band is obviously a dipole and the little spoace at the bottom left corner is where the signal is loaded onto the antenna. A finger or palm that shorts one side of the dipole to the other (across the little gap) will turn your hand into the antenna and weaken the signal. Tape, a bumper, not getting a part of your hand over the gap will all help, and in a strong signal area, your hand works fine as an antenna too. So there's no big deal, unless you're a reporter or a product tester and need something to write about so you can get paid on your contract or justify your weekly check. Then the sight of a giant like Apple stubbing its toe a little is irresitible grist for your paper mill or paperless e-mill. What a sad way to have to earn a paycheck.

It's flawed. Steve Jobs admitted it. Nuff said.

Will -

Nicely done. As someone whose business depends on the realities of the video market, I have deep appreciation for your clear-eyed reporting. Your insights are priceless.

As your post indicates, the broader "journalism community" (in quotes to include bloggers with no journalistic training) is failing. Reliable sources of information are fewer and further between. And, we need reliable sources to make good decisions.

Will readers be able to think critically for themselves? I fear that they will not. Just looking at the prior comments to your post (some of which simply feed into the hysteria you were trying to get above) fills me with pessimism.

In the end, the public is too easily fooled and too easily whipped into frenzy. There is a widespread glorification of simplistic thinking and over-reaction. Those of us who take this into account can be better prepared for success in the 21st Century America.

Hey Will,

I agree with your assessment 100%. It's unfortunate that this issue has gotten as much sensational press as it has, and I think it provides an important (and unfortunate!) reminder that we need to take the news with a grain of salt. Ultimately a business is a business, and media is no different -- if eyeballs drive advertising, and advertising drives revenue, then it shouldn't be a surprise that salacious news gets the top billing.

Vik

You are being too kind to Apple. I am a big fan of Apple design, and this is the first time they have shipped a seriously flawed product. Worse still, they are being somewhat disingenuous about admitting it.
I am not going to return my iPhone 4, as it is a wonderful piece of technology in every other respect, but any antenna engineer should have known that an external, metal antenna at 2GHz is a bad design, and it does force me to think about how to hold the device.
Not up to Apple standards...

This is a good blog, it is encouraging to see people giving value
through great post.Thanks

You have to be kidding!

After watching Jobs and Apple attempt to completely demolish an excellent Web Standard like Flash just so he can corner the market on Apps... and his constant barrage of derogatory remarks toward Adobe and Flash programmers, Turtleneck-boy deserves antenna-gate and much, much worse...

Personally, I'll savor watching him, his company and the moronic little Apple-sheep sink into oblivion... Apple has made a lot of enemies with people, like me, who count the most in this war - Web developers - including Flashers.

Apple stock sunk yesterday in an up-day for the market. It's just the beginning of the end. And it couldn't happen to a bigger jerk.

It's interesting to see how all of the negative press in the geek media hasn't changed the way the Iphone is selling in the least. what other companies would not feel this occurence in such a way?