Will Google Join Apple iPhone 4 Rival Pile-On?
No sooner did the Apple CEO describe antenna problems with iPhone 4 as something that was common to other smartphones than some of the iPhone 4's biggest international competitors seized Jobs' assertion and turned it into another Apple-centric media circus tied to "Antennagate."
Now the question is, will one of Apple's most visible rivals -- Google -- join the chorus of Apple tut-tutters?
To recap: in a hastily called press conference Friday, Jobs said that Apple will offer free bumper cases to user that have already bought an iPhone 4 or anyone who buys an iPhone 4 through Sept. 30. The bumper case offer was a response by Apple to a storm of criticism around iPhone 4, whose well-documented antenna problems prompted Consumer Reports to say it wouldn't recommend the phone and escalated the already high-pitched criticism for Apple and its response -- or perceived lack thereof -- to the issue.
A key piece of Jobs' presentation, however, had videos showing similar antenna issues with the HTC Droid Eris, RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Samsung Omnia II when gripped in the same fashion, and Jobs describing antenna issues as an "industry-wide problem."
That suggestion from Apple quickly sparked a backlash from some of those phones' makers, including RIM's co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.
"Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple's claims about RIM products appear deliberate attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation," the co-CEOs said in a statement. "RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years."
The CEOs continued: "During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM's customers don't need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity."
RIM's chiefs weren't alone in their critiicsm, either. Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha weighed in to The Wall Street Journal, as did Martin Cooper, an engineer who helped develop Motorola cellphones three decades ago.
Hui-Meng Cheng, HTC's chief financial officer, further told the Journal that the reception issues "are certainly not common among smartphones," and various news outlets reported on similarly needling comments from Nokia and Samsung executives.
Old Apple enemy Microsoft hasn't quite sat out the pile-on either, despite its own well-documented smartphone shortcomings with Windows Mobile. Microsoft COO Kevin Turner likened the iPhone 4 to Microsoft's much-maligned Windows Vista during Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, something Microsoft partners suggested was an accurate comparison.
The major smartphone rival -- at least among operating systems -- that hasn't yet taken a blatant shot at Apple is Google, which with its red-hot and ever-growing Android OS probably has the most to gain from any Apple smartphone blunder.
It's worth noting, of course that Google is playing a bit of smartphone defense itself: Google's self-branded Nexus One phone, overhyped to the point of exhaustion upon its release in January, has been a sales blunder for the company, and Google confirmed a few weeks ago it would stop selling the phones through its online retail store.
But it's tough to imagine Google completely sitting out of such a public Apple public relations disaster. Android has gathered a head of steam and is the OS of choice for some of the coolest smartphones of 2010 so far, but its growth is still a far cry from Apple's dominance. While Apple's other rivals compete for "Antennagate" ink, should eyes be on Mountain View for the next public relations move?