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Stevemail smackdown on student strikes sparks
On Friday, Gawker ran the story of Chelsea K. Isaacs and her claimed email back-and-forth with Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Now it's all the buzz. Isaacs, a self-described "renowned college journalist, artist and social fixture" (also apparently North America's "most desirable hand model" at the age of 12, which is, if accurate, rather creepy), didn't get the replies she sought when she reached out to Apple's media relations team over and over for answers relating to a class assignment. Since her three iPad-related questions were apparently the key to her getting an A on her classwork, and she felt that she'd been ill-treated by the silence, she took her case to El Steve. The exchange was spicy enough to get covered all over the place, from New York Magazine to the UK's Guardian newspaper. Apparently, when a CEO bothers to answer his email at all, she thought he'd be friendly and helpful -- not say things like "Our goals do not include helping you get a good grade" and "Please leave us alone." Curt and more than a little rude? Sure, but a) that's our Steve, and b) she kind of had it coming. I'm not sure how much Ms. Isaacs knows about Apple, but if she was expecting a prompt and thorough response to any question that began "I'm working on a college assignment" from the PR folk, she's not living on the same planet as any journalist or blogger who covers the company. From the bottom to the top, Apple employees hold their cards close to the chest, and often as not a request for comment goes unanswered -- even from major media outlets, to say nothing of college seniors. Calling repeatedly and desperately with the three mystery iPad questions, rather than rolling with a placid "Apple's representatives were not available for comment" or seeking out other sources of info, doesn't speak for her journalistic acumen. Emailing the CEO to complain that nobody would help her with her schoolwork? Well, that's just sophomoric. One thing's for certain, though, she's got her good grade in Brand Promotion 101 -- although who knows how well it will serve her out in the job market. Of course, from a media relations perspective, far better if Steve had skipped replying at all, or come back with a simple "Sorry, can't help" rather than getting in that satisfying but unnecessary dig about her grades. Then again, she's fortunate he didn't get really ticked off and go all ninja on her.
Daily Mail runs iPhone 4 recall story based on fake Steve Jobs tweet
No, wait -- it's not credible. Despite the fact that @ceoSteveJobs is 100% fake, which a casual reading of the account timeline shows, Britain's Daily Mail newspaper still ran with a story yesterday that quoted the Twitter account as saying Apple might have to recall the iPhone 4. The story has been removed from the DM's website, but it's still posted on multiple syndication sites and scraper pages. Meanwhile, MacRumors cites a newly received SteveMail that says "There is no reception issue. Stay tuned." This lends credence to the AppleInsider post that anticipates an iOS 4.01 release to correct the signal problems associated with the 'death grip.' Never a dull moment! Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Double Stevemails on iPhone 4 reception: "Just don't hold it that way"
With so much to do -- counting profits, making FaceTime prank calls to Woz, rubbing hands together and laughing manically -- it's hard to believe that El Steve is taking time out of his very busy day to answer his mail. Yet answer it he does, if our two most recent tipsters are on the level. Both are telling a very similar story about Steve's answers regarding the iPhone 4's gripping signal issues. [In the latest news on the signal/contact problems, Boy Genius Report cites similar issues with some 3GS phones as evidence that the problem is a software hiccup in iOS 4, while MacRumors notes that bumper cases or other coverings for the 4 seem to resolve the problem. ArsTechnica wasn't able to reproduce the issue right-handed, but only holding the phone left-handed and with some effort. WhenWillApple has some electrical analysis that's worth a read.] It seems Steve is happy to suggest the Mel Brooks approach to resolving the signal issue -- if we hold the phone that way, we won't need any signal boost. Tipster Rory Sinclair recounts today's email thread with the Apple CEO on his blog: So, um, just got my iPhone 4. It's lovely and all, but this 'bridge the two antennae to kill your reception' thing seems to be a bit serious. If I bridge them with my hand or with a piece of metal the bars slowly drop to 'Searching...' and then 'No Service'. It's kind of a worry. Is it possible this is a design flaw? Regards - Rory Sinclair Steve's reply: Nope. Just don't hold it that way. Rory pressed the issue once more, got the same response, and pressed it again, saying "Normally there aren't limits to how you hold a phone" -- finally getting this response from Steve: Sure there are -- every phone has these areas of sensitivity, depending on the location of the antenna. Some phones even ship with labels warning customers to not cover certain areas with their hands. Oooookay. You might think this was a non-answer answer, but it's the same one (or nearly) that reader Craig Brockman got from his email to Steve: Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases. Craig's correspondence was even confirmed by MacRumors, which was granted access to his email account and validated the message headers. That phrasing starts to sound like Steve has turned to the marketing department for some boilerplate copy, since he may end up answering a lot of these emails over the next few weeks. In fact, Engadget and The Loop say that this particular verbiage is the company's official statement on the problem, and both sites hypothesize that the Bumper cases may alleviate the issue. If you've got signal issues on your iPhone with your normal grip, be sure to let Apple know -- then come back here and let us know, too.
Of Stevemails and stevedores: Talkcast tonight, live at 10 pm ET
You have to hand it to Gawker writer Ryan Tate; he wasn't timid about giving his new penpal a piece of his mind, salty language and all. Tate let loose with a full-throated defense of iPad pornography, overworked print publishers and the freedom to write once and run anywhere. Of course, in this particular case he was sending aggrieved notes to Steve Jobs -- and, most surprising, Steve chose to write back. Repeatedly. In the wee hours of the night. Steve's defense of Apple's approach toward Flash on iPhone/iPad and the choices Apple is making about the future of its platforms makes for good reading; Tate's decision to run the emails in a post is one I can only describe as "chutzpadik," although he notes that Steve must be aware that many of his casual one-liners are making news in short order. [Side note, if Apple hasn't productized Steve's killer spam filter yet, they darn well should get started on that. Unless it's a rotating panel of interns -- that would be difficult to scale.] All that to say, we're fortunate to have our special time together later tonight on the Talkcast to chat about Stevemails, MacBook rumors, MobileMe betas, Steam releases and more! Join us, won't you? To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantage of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. iPhone users may prefer the iPhone-optimized Talkshoe site found here. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your computer, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk with you then!
