In what is commonly becoming known as the 'iPocalypse', it is fair to say the Friday's iPhone 3G launch did not go without a hitch. Many of those that had stood in line for the new device suffered more delays as activations failed or took an interminably long time. Existing iPhone owners trying to upgrade to version 2.0 were left with 'bricks'. Software updates appeared and disappeared. And to cap it all, Apple's new online service, MobileMe, encountered significant problems in the transition from the old .Mac service. So much so that today Apple describes it as "a lot rockier than we had hoped" and announced that all MobileMe subscribers will have their subscriptions extended by 30 days.
This is a welcome departure from its recent approach. One thing that was striking about Friday's events was the less than impressive flow of information coming from Apple amongst all the chaos. MobileMe customers were left with a maintenance screen for up to a couple of days, despite Apple initially claiming the service would be down for a few hours. When it became obvious this was going to last a lot longer, Apple barely kept customers in the loop. Likewise people attempting to buy iPhones were given conflicting reasons for why activations were not working - Apple store staff blamed O2/AT&T, and the carriers blamed iTunes. Once again Apple remained silent.
The events were rounded off by conflicting reports around the 'yellow tint' of the new iPhone 3G. Apple claimed it was deliberate, whereas at the same time some customers were already 'fixing' the problem by resetting their phones and using the latest firmware supplied by Apple!
There is no doubt that the new iPhone is a truly impressive product, and the fact the over one million have already been sold confirms that it will be a resounding success. However Apple needs to be careful that it does not use up all that goodwill from customers excited and enthralled by its products. An aloof approach worked when it was more of a niche computer maker, but now that it is becoming a major player in the smart phone market I'm not sure that this is the most appropriate communication strategy. Learning to engage its customers more and to not take them for granted will be as much of a challenge going forward as will the development of the next iPhone.
