Apple’s competitors could gain on the problems Apple has been experiencing on the company’s iPhone 4 reception issues, according to David Garrity, principal analyst at GVA Research LLC. In an interiew with Bloomberg, the analyst said that Apple’s reputation has been tarnished by the issue.
Mr. Garrity characterized the problem as “rare” stumble from Apple, and one that has been exacerbated by the company’s admission of a software flaw in the way signal strength is displayed coupled with the fact that Apple has not announced any direct fix for that problem. Coupled with all the negative press and social commentary on the problem, Apple’s reputation for making the best products has taken a hit.
When asked if Apple’s competitors would see a direct bump in sales, the analyst didn’t say that iPhone 4 sales would specifically dip, but rather said that intent to purchase patterns “might” change away from Apple towards other platforms, such as Google’s Android.