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What Antennagate Did to Apple

By Fool TV – Updated Apr 6, 2017 at 12:02PM

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Remember just a few weeks ago, when all we heard about was the flaw in Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 4 antenna? After the most successful product launch in the company's history, many were wondering whether that controversy might significantly dampen iPhone 4 sales.

Steve Jobs finally addressed the issue, offering free cases or full refunds for any dissatisfied customers who bought the phone. What are we hearing now about the issue now? Not much.

Still, investors might be interested to know whether this really did hurt sales. Fool analyst Rex Moore says we'll find that this brouhaha had almost no effect. He did some channel checks, and nearly two months after its launch, the iPhone 4 is still hard to find. New units are only trickling in to AT&T (NYSE: T) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) stores, and they tend to sell quickly. Things aren't much different at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), and Apple's online store is quoting three weeks for shipping.

The bottom line is that "Antennagate" had no material effect on sales. A more likely damper could come in the form of these supply constraints. Investors should hope to see some phones flooding into stores in the next month or so before the holiday season hits.

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Fool analyst Rex Moore loves it when the day goes down on the water town. He owns no companies mentioned here. Best Buy and Wal-Mart Stores are Motley Fool Inside Value recommendations. Apple and Best Buy are Motley Fool Stock Advisor selections. Motley Fool Options has recommended a bull call spread position on Best Buy. The Fool owns shares of Best Buy. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Stocks Mentioned

Walmart Stock Quote
Walmart
WMT
$131.31 (0.96%) $1.25
Apple Inc. Stock Quote
Apple Inc.
AAPL
$150.77 (0.23%) $0.34
Best Buy Co., Inc. Stock Quote
Best Buy Co., Inc.
BBY
$65.32 (-5.03%) $-3.46
AT&T Inc. Stock Quote
AT&T Inc.
T
$15.67 (-2.12%) $0.34

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