Apple Inc. has seen some wild complaints, from iFires to widespread outrage over its locking policies. But complaints about manicures and chubby fingers? This is truly new territory to Apple.
The Cupertino based corporation is poised to sell the vastly improved 3G version of its popular smartphone for only $199, starting July 11. Apple also announced it will give all iPhone owners a new software upgrade with improved functionality. The new 3G phone in particular looks very attractive with GPS, a faster network, a simulated method for running multiple programs, lower cost, and more.
Unsurprisingly, the new iPhone is generating some complaints. Some are upset about the lack of video, which is common among most camera phones. Others are angry that Apple isn't offering a means of memory expansion, such as miniSD cards. Still others complain that Apple is just being lazy by not offering what seems like a simple functionality -- copy and paste for text.
Blog site DelewareOnline writes on a much stranger line of issues encountered largely by the fairer sex. The iPhone responds to electrical charges from fingertips, allowing its touch functionality to work. It won't respond to fingernails.
Erica Watson-Currie of Newport Beach, Calif., a consultant and lecturer, is among the women up in arms that the iPhone won't respond to their long fingernails. She states, "Considering ergonomics and user studies indicating men and women use their fingers and nails differently, why does Apple persist in this misogyny?"
Watson-Currie pegs her average fingernail length for those curious between an eighth and a quarter of an inch. She yearns for a stylus to save her from her iPhone woes. Unfortunately many have praised the iPhone for not using a stylus, which many feel is a burden and easy to lose.
Jennifer Aaker, professor of marketing at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley says that by trying to fill many shoes -- web machine, music player, and cell phone -- it is bound to run into these kind of complaints. She states, "Any time you fulfill multiple roles, there are going to be gripes."
There have also reportedly been gripes by users with "fat fingers" having trouble getting the phone to respond. This problem affects both genders equally.
Despite the dissatisfaction, iPhone sales among women and in general are up. Since June 2007, Apple has sold 6 million iPhones. In October only one in four iPhones bought was by a woman; that number has now jumped to one in three, based on information from Nielsen Mobile.
Some women are learning ways to live with the iPhone and have pretty fingernails. Heidi Roizen, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur and long fingernail aficionado, only uses her thumbs on the screen. She says, "My thumbnail does not hit it" thanks to a shorter thumbnail.
While those with long fingernails or larger fingers may be incensed at Apple's lack of compassion, they seem unlikely to be able to do much to slow down the iPhone juggernaut. They'll do their best to voice their complaints, though, if the latest reports are any indication. Windows 7, from Apple rival Microsoft, might be in trouble too, as it looks to implement extensive finger driven capabilities as well.
Source: DailyTech
