The popularity of Apple
The well-respected company, which has churned out hits like iPod, Mac, iPhone, and the recent iPad, and posted a record jump in its most recent quarterly earnings, is passing through a public relations crisis, not very different from embattled British energy giant BP
Take, for instance, the software vulnerabilities Apple suffers from.
A new report from security software provider Secunia also shows that despite investing millions into R&D, Apple continues to produce software with loopholes.
In fact, the latest data from Secunia shows that Apple has surpassed Microsoft
The company whose software has lowest number of vulnerabilities is Mozilla. However, the data does not rank companies on how risky the vulnerabilities are, or how quickly they get patched.
Speaking about software vulnerabilities, it brings to mind the software glitch Apple acknowledged earlier this month.
Within days of Apple boasting of a record weekend debut sale of iPhone 4s -- 1.7 million -- thousands of customers complained of reception problems, blaming sudden dropped calls on poor antenna design.
Instead of acknowledging that the device's external antenna -- a thin metal strip trimming the body of the smartphone -- suffers from a design flaw, Apple had suggested that an inaccurate algorithm used in the new smartphone's software was the culprit.
"We were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong," Apple had said. "Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays two more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display four bars when we should be displaying as few as two bars."
Apple's Jobs also attempted to play down the issue by urging customers to "relax," "calm down" and not get "all worked up over a few days of rumors."
However, the increasing number of complaints snowballed into negative publicity for Apple, forcing it to finally give away $29 Bumper cases for free.
But before it did, Apple wailed that other smartphones, including those made by rivals Research In Motion
However, the crying did no good, as Apple got branded as a "cry baby" and "[a company] that can't seem to properly own up to the problem and admit that their design and engineering team screwed up."
Meanwhile, vulnerabilities are not limited to Apple's software.
Earlier this month, Apple conceded that its iTune store had a security loop that allowed a rogue Vietnamese app developer to hack into 400 iTunes accounts and manipulate them to change app ratings on Apple's legendary App Store and make unauthorized purchases.
Apple said the rogue developer has been booted out and the security flaw has been fixed; it tried to play down the incident, saying the hacked accounts represent "an extremely small percentage of (total) users." The company, however, refused to refund those whose bank cards were used to make the fraudulent purchases.
Apple's indifferent attitude towards its customers -- albeit claiming that no company love its customers as Apple does, and it tries "very hard to surprise and delight them" -- has engaged some people, prompting them to file lawsuits against the company.
Take for instance, the iPad, Apple's tablet computer which, at the time of its launch, was billed as a "magical device" by CEO Steve Jobs.
Though Apple has managed to sell over 3 million iPads since its launch earlier this year, the popularity of the iPad has also attracted criticism -- last week, a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in the North District of California that complained that Apple has misled customers into believing that iPad was a replacement for books.
"Using the iPad is not 'just like a reading book' at all since books do not close when the reader is enjoying them in the sunlight or in other normal environmental environments. The iPad overheats so quickly under common weather conditions that it does not function for prolonged use either indoors, or in many other warm conditions, for a variety of common uses such as, but not necessarily limited to, an e-reader, e-mail tool, Web browser and/or game/entertainment unit," the lawsuit filed by iPad buyers Jacob Baltazar, Claudia Keller and John R. Browning complained.
The lawsuit accuses Apple of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, deceptive advertising practices, intentional misrepresentation, breach of warranty, and unfair business practices under the Unfair Competition Act. The plaintiffs demand a trial by jury and want to "punish" Apple with punitive damages to "deter others from engaging in similar misconduct in the future."
At the time of reporting, it was not known whether the lawsuit was granted class action status, but if it has, then Apple risks facing millions of irate iPad owners in the courtroom.
iPad overheating is not the only gripe of irate customers.
Earlier this month, a U.S. District judge gave a 2007 lawsuit, which claims that Apple had "monopolized" the smartphone market for third party iPhone applications by maintaining its authority to dictate what iPhone programs users can and can't install on their devices and by forcing customers to be tied to AT&T
Last month, two Maryland customers had filed a class-action lawsuit, accusing Apple and exclusive iPhone carrier AT&T of negligence, fraud, and deceptive trade practices, among others.
Apple is also being dogged by patent infringement lawsuits slapped by NTP Inc., a Virginia-based patent holding company, and Nokia.
The company has also not found favor in the eyes of the authorities.
Apple is being dogged by charges that its reluctance to allow Adobe Systems'
The U.S. Justice Department have also contacted companies in connection with Apple's clout over the music companies and the influence it wields on the pricing of digital music.
More recently, the U.S. Copyright Office turned a deaf ear to Apple's pleas, ruling that "jailbreaking" or unlocking an iPhone does not violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a copyright law that was Apple's strongest weapon in controlling the iPhone and operating a closed business model that helped the company to mint money for several years.
What do all these mean for Apple? Loss of revenue? Probably not, especially since the company, despite all the problems, has "magically" managed to report a record jump in fiscal third-quarter earnings, driven by higher sales of iPads and iPhones.
But the issues may impact the reputation of Apple, known for being obsessed over every little detail of its products and churning out devices that offer the best user experience in their segment. And, more importantly, it may reduce the company's status from a religion to a punching bag for the media.
International Business Times, The Global Business News Leader
