Filed under: Cult of Mac, Found Footage, iPhone
Found Footage: Misleading iPhone ads?
A slight kerfuffle has kicked up in the last few days about whether Apple's iPhone 3G advertising is too misleading. 37Signals raised the complaint that a recent iPhone 3G ad (YouTube link) set up false expectations, as it shows an iPhone loading a web page, finding a location on Google Maps, and downloading an attachment at lightning speed. Now comes this nice side by side demonstration video as embedded above.
What do you think? Is this false advertising on Apple's part, or should everyone just know that TV ads are always unrealistic?
[via DF/Gizmodo]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Corey said 8:41PM on 8-12-2008
while its obviously not as fast as the commercial...I gotta say, my 3G speeds are definitely faster than the ones in this video. 3G speeds vary, and clearly the video creator didnt have incredible reception.....the commercial is faster than most peoples wifi
Reply
Bassir said 8:50PM on 8-12-2008
I've noticed this since last year when Apple's ads showed off the most amazingly fast Wi-Fi connection ever.
Reply
Fozzy Bear said 10:33PM on 8-12-2008
when they showed the ad in the room with the guards unlocking the case containing the new iPhone 3G... i didn't expect that my purchase came with guards... just like i didn't expect the commercial to be realistic... it's gotta fit the content in the commercial timeframe... it wasn't about being misleading...
Gianni said 8:53PM on 8-12-2008
Maybe this is the first advertisement they've seen? Or perhaps they have no previous wireless experience?
I hate it when those sneaky advertisements trick me. Especially after I went in to an Apple store to test an iPhone 3G before I bought one. They get me every time!
Reply
ianlive said 3:54PM on 8-13-2008
Agreed!
If we watched a video of a plane ride across the world and it only took 10 seconds, people would know it was cut for timing (and thank god) as most people can conceptualise how long air travel takes. On the other hand, the target market for an iPhone commercial doesn't likely own an iPhone already and probably has no idea how fast the download speeds are.
I think this ad is totally misleading. I love my iPhone and agree that it is the best mobile experience on the market but I think defending this commercial is a stretch. There is something to be said for managing expectations. I laughed out loud when I saw the video. They should have made the page load as his fingers approach the screen. Puuh-lease.
Justin said 8:57PM on 8-12-2008
This is ridiculous. Nowhere in that ad does Apple (or AT&T for that matter) say the 3G network is instant or near instant. The 3G network is in fact "lightning fast" compared to EDGE, I think we could all agree on that. If you expect web pages to load instantly, Google Maps to find you instantly and for your email attachments to download instantly, then join the club. And not just the mobile club, that goes for every Internet connected device. None of it is instant, or even near instant most of the time. So there was nothing misleading about the ad.
Its simple advertising, they have a very limited time on screen and they have to keep your attention during that time. Would you sit and watch somebody load a website, directions and download an email attachment for say a minute and a half or more? Of course not.
My advice: QQ.
Reply
Colin said 11:24PM on 8-12-2008
Exactly.
Adiz said 8:57PM on 8-12-2008
They pay probably per second for their TV ad... they aren't going to sit there and wait for it to load because it costs
Reply
Dallin said 8:57PM on 8-12-2008
I, for one, am a little pissed at the whole 3G situation. I pay $10 extra per month for something that should have been on the first generation iPhone, and it isn't even noticeably faster. In fact, where I live (Phoenix), I'm on edge about 30% of the time anyway. Granted that's AT&T's fault, but to anyone out there considering upgrading their iPhone to a 3G I say "not worth it."
Reply
bobics said 9:06PM on 8-12-2008
Should've check your coverage. And actually you paid $10 less for Edge, which is expected per AT&T's standard pricing.
PhxMacBear said 12:33AM on 8-13-2008
I'll back Dallin up on this one...
I DID check the coverage map before upgrading my original iPhone to the 3G...Phoenix is bathed in solid 3gBLUE coverage according to AT&T...yet I rarely get good signal, and frequently drop calls or just miss them altogether. I have used inetworktest to measure my speed from various locations all around this 400+ square mile city and NEVER has it EVER gone over about 275k. More typical is in the 100-175k range.
People are saying "oh, boo-hoo, it's still faster than EDGE"...no, it isn't. I just did a test on 3G and then disabled 3G to test on edge...
3G Speed: 172k
EDGE speed: 196k
I do blame AT&T more than Apple for network speeds, but if you're going to enter into a closed partnership with a single vendor, then you are one and the same as far as I'm concerned...AT&T's problem becomes Apple's.
Aside from network speed, there are MANY problems with the firmware and I don't think AT&T is to blame for that. My experience with the original iPhone was so good, it caused me to make the switch to Mac. The original iPhone interface was smooth, never stuttered and "just worked". This 2.0 software is jerky, stuttery, prone to crashing and just all around unstable. If this had been my first experience with Apple/Mac products, I would not be impressed.
Joe Bella said 1:14AM on 8-13-2008
If it was on the first generation iphone that you would not have paid $10 less. It's such cruel and unfair world huh?
Another thing you may not know is that if you are unhappy with the way it works, you can still return the phone and get your money back. If you came from another carrier, I believe AT&T even has to pay to switch you back.
Here is another novel idea. If you don't like the price.. don't buy the phone. That way you are happy not having to pay the outrageous price, and we are happy because we don't have to hear you whine about it.
Dallin said 11:32AM on 8-13-2008
hah, you two must live in an area where you get great service so it's hard to see where we're coming from. I knew full well what the price of the phone and service was when I signed -- That's why I bought it! What I did NOT know is that I was going to get zero bars or no service in my house AND my office (even though both are in a highly populated area) and edge-like speeds everywhere else. So basically, I paid for something and did not get it which makes me angry.
All of the little gadgets and apps are fan-tastic and blow any other phone out of the water (obviously). Still, if the most basic functions of calling and getting on the internet aren't working, what use does it have over an ipod touch?
PhxMacBear said 12:58PM on 8-14-2008
Yes, we could just return our iPhones. HOWEVER...there is that *tiny* possibility that maybe Dallin and I aren't just "whining" and that maybe there's really a problem with the hardware/firmware/network...and if Dallin and I and all the others with this issue just returned our phones and stopped using the service, sales would not continue to explode as they currently are, and eventually the iPhone and its platform would be relegated to "niche" category, thus limiting new development and the whole experience for the remaining users.
But what are the chances that it's a widespread problem and not just Dallin and I "whining"....hmmm there seems to be a lot of news stories today about a potential issue with the Infineon chipset used in the iPhone 3G...apparently it's an immature chipset that may be the cause of WIDESPREAD UNSTABLE 3G PERFORMANCE...
But hey...why is everyone complaining? Either use it and like it or return it and shut up, right? No sense calling out a serious flaw in the equipment you just bought, right?
Back to the original post here regarding false advertising. The new ad pitch is "Twice as fast. Half the price." Dallin and I are IN A CONFIRMED 3G AREA, and can't even access it half the time. When we do, the speeds range from SLOWER than EDGE, to barely faster than EDGE...
I don't think it was malicious false advertising - i think the product is CAPABLE of performing...but until they recognize and FIX the problem....it's false advertising.
PhxMacBear said 1:42PM on 8-18-2008
Dallin,
Just wanted to let you (and anyone else with similar problems) know that I took my iPhone into the Apple Store...learned two things:
1) Complaints of dropped calls, poor service, lag time, etc. will just result in them doing a firmware restore. Might help, might not...but...
2) When I told them (and showed them) that my GPS locator rarely works, just spins and spins and doesn't locate me...they swapped out the phone. What a difference! I actually have a 3G that works as well as my original iPhone! I'm pretty much convinced there are a bunch of bad 3G's out there..
Also interesting to note that the Apple Store has a utility to determine how many calls are actually being dropped. We didn't test mine before they wiped it clean, but they tested my partner's and he was at 32% dropped calls! They said this was pretty high and did a firmware restore. He's still dropping a lot of calls, so we'll be making an appointment at the Genius Bar and hoping they'll swap it out....
Dallin said 1:47PM on 8-18-2008
Wow, great tip. I'll have to make a trip to the apple store since this has certainly gotten even more ridiculous since I made this post.
bobics said 9:06PM on 8-12-2008
The footage is weak. Stickies?
Reply
Andrew Harrison said 9:53PM on 8-12-2008
i thought the stickies were a neat way to do the subtitles.
Nick said 9:11PM on 8-12-2008
Not false, but definitely misleading.
False would be demonstrating things that the phone can not do. Misleading is making the experience appear smoother, faster and easier than it actually is.
Reply
Andre said 9:16PM on 8-12-2008
Looks very misleading to me.
My iPod on my local wifi is very slow to surf too. Speedtests show me about 1.3Mb/s on my 7Mb/s connection. That would be OK, but it still loads things slower than that. Logging into my POP mail takes 20 seconds sometimes where it takes 1 second on my desktop.
I gave up on using the new apps that play internet radio because they break up too much. It's like having a 56Kb/s modem.
Reply