[quote author=“johnnyvn”]Hey, it sure is quiet around here!

Nothing but great Apple news…marketshare on the rise, analysts upgrading, Macs taking off on college campuses, and general markets doing well.

Yet, we can barely stay green with AAPL. 

Discouraging a bit…

Well not quite everything:

*  “iPhone Upgrade Universally Despised by Media”  9 to 5 Mac 8:34 AM

* “So…that whole ‘bricking’ thing didn’t last long…” Apple Gazette 8:34 AM

* “The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Apple UMPC” AppleMatters 8:33 AM

* “What to Do With A Bricked iPhone? I Asked Some Geniuses” iPhone Matters 8:33 AM

* “Apple’s iBrick Episode Should Be A Corporate Branding Disaster” Seeking Alpha 8:26 AM

* “iPhone Update Creates ‘Bricks’ - Apple’s Reputation At Risk?” Seeking Alpha 8:26 AM

* “Today’s gonna be a rough day for Apple’s PR department” ZDNet Blogs: Hardware 2.0 8:25 AM

* “Apple’s Update Strategy is Risky” Emergent Chaos 8:24 AM

* “Ted Landau’s User Friendly View - iPhone Software Update 1.1.1 = A sad day for Apple users” iPodObserver 8:15 AM

BS it may be but some people will be influenced.

PR backlash is all it is. I suspect most people have not “hacked” their iPhones nor plan to. 

On an aside, the public expects security on their devices. Yet, when Apple provides security it is considered lock-out.  The proverbial safe cannot be secure and unlocked at the same time.

[quote author=“awcabot”][quote author=“johnnyvn”]Hey, it sure is quiet around here!

Nothing but great Apple news…marketshare on the rise, analysts upgrading, Macs taking off on college campuses, and general markets doing well.

Yet, we can barely stay green with AAPL. 

Discouraging a bit…

Traders are very concerned abou the PR backlash from Apple ‘Bricking’ the iPhone.

If there is a so called backlash I would have to say it is the problem of the person who owns the phone not Apple. It was very clear that the phone was designed and meant to be used on the ATT network. If you choose to fiddle with a closed device then you the owner of the phone run the risk of turning it into a brick, not Apple. While I also don’t think that Apple can stop this unlocking I don’t think that they have anything to worry about by their actions of protecting their partner ATT. Anything else said about this is pure FUD.

d

Yeah, I’m with you, Roon.  Apple sells a product.  Consumer tampers with said product.  Media blames Apple?  I suppose that in decades past, MS was seen as “the man” and Apple was seen as the counter-culture.  I suppose that the media feels that the hackers represent the new counter-culture…SO…how could Apple cripple the hackers?  I guess the media sees that as “so-MS”. 

Me personally, I agree with you Roon.  If you tamper with a product, don’t go crying back to the manufacturer that you can’t use it for a purpose that it was CLEARLY not intended for.

If AAPL didn’t act in this way and said “hey, we’re a technology company, we encourage innovation and the pioneering spirit to hack our products, and we don’t care about the damage to T and their market, and we don’t care about breaching any terms in their contract with us (i.e. presumably a term that APPL will use its best endeavors to stop unauthorized alteration, potentially damaging to T’s exclusivity)”, can you imagine the negativity in the market.  No other company would want to do business with them, for fear that their exclusivity would be shafted, with APPL doing nothing to stop it.

I respectfully disagree with the posts that think that it’s quite alright for Apple to brick the phones of people who have tried to go outside the stated terms of service.

Don’t forget phones are also being rendered unusable if they have had 3rd party apps installed.  What about the number of phones sold for use outside the US? 

I’m no expert but don’t UK laws that disallow locking, what’s going to happen when the phone is released there?

And I don’t really care about the people who’s phones have been wrecked, but i do care about Apple’s reputation.    This is ten times worse PR than the iPhone price cut, because it goes to the heart of the consumer-friendly reputation that Apple has enjoyed for a long time. 

Talk about handing your enemies a weapon.

[quote author=“jimlongo”]I respectfully disagree with the posts that think that it’s quite alright for Apple to brick the phones of people who have tried to go outside the stated terms of service.

Don’t forget phones are also being rendered unusable if they have had 3rd party apps installed.  What about the number of phones sold for use outside the US? 

Jim, I also respectfully disagree with you.

No company, Apple or otherwise, should be held accountable when a) said company clearly states intended purpose of product (iPhone = $399.00 WITH TWO YEAR ATT CONTRACT) and b) consumer hacks product to be used as it CLEARLY WAS NOT INTENDED TO WORK.

That is 100% consumer’s fault, and I doubt this will have any impact whatsoever on Apple’s long range reputation, aside from the hackers being pissed that Apple took their fun away.

Do you have a link to anyone having their iPhone bricked because of 3rd party apps? I have only heard of unlocked iPhones getting bricked - quite a bit of difference.

The only cases of 3rd party apps causing problems was that the 3rd party apps stopped working.

HAB

While some may be unhappy with the results of the 1.1.1 update ... it also should be noted that the update is not forced upon the customer ... you have to actively select and install the update within iTunes.

If you had an unlocked phone and still wanted to update knowing the possible risks ... you have no one to blame but yourself.

I have heard of non-unlocked iPhones getting bricked. Apparently the 1.1.1 updated screwed some folks who were ATT customers.

The hacking community has already found a way to revert bricked phones back to 1.02 firmware, and to unlocked state again with 3rd party apps. And some (Tommo, for example) have managed to use the new firmware without loosing either 3rd party apps or unlocked status.

I think all that we are seeing right now is the initial reaction to the “brick” issue, but that the dust will settle by week’s end with the news stories shifting to “Unbricking your phone. ”

This “Brick” issue is really overstated. 

1)  I’m not sure there is an accurate way to find out how many un-locked phones there are right now but I bet it’s a pretty small percentage.

2)  I don’t think Apple would be stupid enough to write code that would go out of it’s way to brick a iphone in this day and age of lawsuits

3)  I can’t believe ANYONE would argue that Apple has the duty to make sure their updates will be compatible with illegal hacks on their products.

4)  The truth of the matter is that ALL cell phone companies suck .... period.  I have Sprint ... they suck .... friends have Verizon ... they suck ..... so go ahead and unlock your iPhone all that you will accomplish is to disable some features (visual voicemail, ability to download updates).  Personally .... I’ve got about 4 months left on my contract ... so I’ll simply wait.

5)  APPL up over a buck .... have a nice day !

Do you have a link to anyone having their iPhone bricked because of 3rd party apps? I have only heard of unlocked iPhones getting bricked - quite a bit of difference.

The only cases of 3rd party apps causing problems was that the 3rd party apps stopped working.

I could be wrong, i’m sure I read that late last night in the dozens of articles around the blogoshpere.  I’m also pretty sure most of those bricked phones could be reset. 

I think the bottom line in all of this is “does your Nokia/Blackberry/KRZR/Treo et al get bricked by the manufacturer? 

A few weeks ago everyone was so thrilled that phones could be unlocked, thus freeing us from the shackles of AT&T.  Now I’m supposed to be happy that customers are forced to stick with them!?  I’ll admit to being confused.

Do you have a link to anyone having their iPhone bricked because of 3rd party apps? I have only heard of unlocked iPhones getting bricked - quite a bit of difference.

The only cases of 3rd party apps causing problems was that the 3rd party apps stopped working.

I could be wrong, i’m sure I read that late last night in the dozens of articles around the blogoshpere.  I’m also pretty sure most of those bricked phones could be reset. 

I think the bottom line in all of this is “does your Nokia/Blackberry/KRZR/Treo et al get bricked by the manufacturer? 

A few weeks ago everyone was so thrilled that phones could be unlocked, thus freeing us from the shackles of AT&T.  Now I’m supposed to be happy that customers are forced to stick with them!?  I’ll admit to being confused.

Why on earth are you “confused” ..... Apple clearly states that the phone works with AT&T only ....  They never promised anyone anything else when people purchased the phone. 

Fair is Fair .....  if people want to try and unlock their phone they do it at thier own risk.

If one really dislikes AT&T then the iPhone is simply not a good choice .... plenty of other choices are available ... but to buy a product and then try to use in in a way that the manufacturer clearly states won’t work is simply not a good idea ... and then have the nerve to complain about the manufacturer ?  I don’t get it ..... but I’m sure plenty of Lawers do and are trying to file class actions suits as we speak ....

Sorry about the post ... I was responding as Tommo asked not to discuss it here ....

iDone with the iBrick issue !

Also not supported by Apple. Nuff said?
[quote author=“jimlongo”]
I’m no expert but don’t UK laws that disallow locking, what’s going to happen when the phone is released there?

I don’t believe that they are being sold yet are they? Release date yes, sold no… so it too is a non-issue at this point.

d

[quote author=“Gtrplyr”] ... 3)  I can’t believe ANYONE would argue that Apple has the duty to make sure their updates will be compatible with illegal hacks on their products ...

Your home remodeling has to be compatible with house breaking-in techniques.  Otherwise, you would be sued for making it difficult for house breaking-in .  Should I use brick in place of break?  Prefer break out or break up .

So, I guess, since I hate oil companies, it’s ok for me to start using water in my car.  I’m sure BMW will be more than happy to make any repairs necessitated by my decision to make the change.