The tech world is abuzz with Apple Inc.’s hasty gathering of the press corps for tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Cupertino.
Some say the iPhone maker – under fire for faulty signal reception in the iPhone 4 – will roll out CEO Steve Jobs to reiterate that there’s nothing a little duct tape and new software won’t fix. Others predict Apple is ready to distribute bumper cases to iPhone 4 users. Still others foresee an iPhone 4 recall in Apple’s future.
Whatever Apple’s intent, the company is staying mum. The PR team is cryptically telling the reporters they’ve called that the press conference has to do with the iPhone 4. That’s it. And for journalists on the East Coast, that’s quite a gamble – pay a lot of money to fly to California for Friday’s event and take the chance it’ll turn out a non-story? Because there’s a lot of speculation Apple will use the press conference to spin the problems to its advantage and, in essence, do nothing.
That Apple is acting on the iPhone 4 debacle this late comes as a surprise. The company keeps a tight lid on its image and that grip this week spun out of control once Consumer Reports said it couldn’t recommend buying the latest iPhone. And after that, a betting company in Ireland said odds are good Apple will issue a recall and David Letterman started mocking the iPhone maker.
If Apple had addressed the antenna problems a couple of weeks ago with more than an open letter to users about software and how to hold the iPhone 4, it probably wouldn’t be in this mess now. And it wouldn’t be dealing with snarky comments such as the one from archenemy Microsoft. On Wednesday, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner told a conference audience the iPhone 4 looks like “[Apple’s] Vista, and I’m okay with that.”
