The Typical Apple Arrogance

Consumers did not expect this.  It does not make any commercial sense either to launch a new product with snazzy features that cannot work in the market in which it is selling.

I am talking about the new Apple iPad, which was unveiled last week amid much exuberance.  The product hit this part of the world with razor-sharp text and images, among other cool features.

But here is the hitch:  the much-vaunted 4G tablet cannot hook up to 4G networks as the device is configured for different radio frequency bands used in the United States.

Just like Hong Kong, many Asia Pacific areas such as Singapore and Australia cannot enjoy the iPad's ultra-fast 4G capability due to different frequencies.  It can hook up with the 3G networks though but that is beside the point. 

It may seem strange that Apple has decided to launch a product with a feature that is incompatible with many markets.  No hardware manufacturer in its right mind would pull such a stunt, but then I guess Apple does not have to make sense, right?   

It has counted on, and can still count on die-hard fans to join snaking queues for the product because the brand has won the hearts of many consumers here and around the world - the typical Apple arrogance at work.

Queue seen forming 2 days before the sale started in Singapore.

I really enjoy Apple products, but the naming of this new one is kind of dumb, if I may say so.