Is Apple the GW Bush of the Handset World?

Earlier in the week Apple Inc. got smacked upside the head by whatever the British regulatory entity is that follows truth-in-advertising. The reason? Saying the iPhone provides a true Internet experience.

See, the problem is — and I know this is tough to own up to, iPhone lovers — but the device provides no support for Flash or Java. And last time I checked, there’s a whole lotta both out there on the Interwebs. I mean, consider this: You can’t even run YouTube on the iPhone, I say with indignation! “True Internet?” That’s about as accurate as Bush’s “Mission accomplished!” statement on Iraq all those months ago.

Unlike the removal of combat troops from that country, the Brits just pulled the commercial (should I say “advert”?) and that was that, so maybe the analogy isn’t quite germane.

And I have to say, Apple has delivered unto us a user interface like none other, and I know of no handheld device so far that can Web it like we want it right now. So it’s a bit of a quibble, I realize...

...until I also realize that Apple is being sued by a woman in the South — likely living outside of any 3G coverage area — who feels bait-and-switched by the “twice as fast and half the price” mantra for iPhone 2.0. Well of course she does. They don’t explain to you that the twice-as-fast functionality is only true within AT&T Inc.’s 3G footprint of major metro areas. I’ll bet the Apple store hipsters don’t let you know that just automatically, either. And you shouldn’t have to be a technologist (or a hapless, working-late-on-the-eve-of-Labor-Day-weekend wireless beat reporter) to figure that out.

The point is (and I know I probably come off as seeming a bit anti-iPhone given my recent posts), come on, Apple! Is it really necessary to be so sneaky? Is it necessary to carefully craft misinformation and manipulate the unsuspecting public? Are you the Bush of the technology world?

Apple, you have given me the iPod, so I’ll always love you, and you have a way with design and the aforementioned user interface. And I salute the iPhone as the watershed device of our times. But I have to say, and maybe I’m feeling all impassioned on this because it’s an election year, but the truly strong admit their weaknesses and strive to be better, not hide their faults away with double-talk. We — and you — deserve better.

Of course, the broadband coverage issue could well be solved by opening up included access to AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots, as mistakenly announced not once, but twice before. I’m just saying...

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