【GRE拓展阅读】细数苹果6次最严重事件

Apple AAPL -0.87% seems incapable of doingwrong. It’s a huge company delivering tech productsto the masses (and with 10 million iPhone 6s sold injust three days, we do mean masses). But it is, infact, fallible.作为一家向广大群众提供科技产品的大公司(鉴于iPhone6开售三天之内就卖出了1000万台，可以说“广大群众”是名至实归)，苹果(Apple)似乎是一家不可能犯错的公司。但事实上，苹果也会犯错。

Today, the tech giant hammered that point home with two gaffes: Bendgate and updategate, asreported by Fortune.Bendgate centers on the new iPhone 6 Plus, which is so thin that it can bewarped or broken if sat on. Updategate is revolves around the latest update to Apple iOS andthe fact that it can cause phones to lose cellular service and disable their fingerprintunlocking system.就在最近几天，苹果又爆出了“掰弯门”和“升级门”。“掰弯门”主要集中在iPhone 6 Plus上，超薄设计导致这款手机很容易被一屁股坐弯或坐坏。“升级门”则主要围绕iOS系统的最新一次升级，它可能导致iPhone无法使用蜂窝服务和指纹解锁系统。Of course, over the years, Apple has messed up anumber of times, both small and large. Here are a few of those tech and retail-related errors:当然，多年以来，苹果也大大小小地犯过不少其它错误，以下就是其中与技术和零售有关的一些错误：

1. Antennagate

In 2010, some customers who bought the newlyreleased iPhone 4 complained about receptionproblems when they held the phone a certain way.Allegedly, their grip blocked the internal antennaeand prevented them from making calls. Then-CEOSteve Jobs vehemently defended the iPhone,although he admitted that it could lose reception ifgripped by the lower left corner. As a result, thecompany gave out free cases to owners to fix the problem. "This has been blown so out ofproportion that it's incredible," Jobs said. "There is no Antennagate."

(1)天线门

2010年，有些刚刚购买了新发布的iPhone 4的消费者称，当他们以某种方式持握iPhone 4时，会出现信号接收问题。据说这是因为他们的手挡住了手机内部的天线，导致手机无法接打电话。时任CEO史蒂夫•乔布斯激烈地为iPhone 4辩护，但他自己也承认，如果握住手机的左下角，可能会导致手机失去信号。为了解决这个问题，苹果公司决定向用户赠送免费保护套。乔布斯说：“这个问题被难以置信地夸大了，根本没有什么“天线门”。

2. Apple Maps

Apple Maps, introduced in 2012, turned out to be amess. The company cut ties with Google by buildingits own free mobile maps for iOS 6 users. But while itlooked pretty, it wasn't entirely functional. Roadsled no where. Driving directions were suspect.Complaints reached such a frenzy that CEO TimCook publicly apologized. "At Apple, we strive tomake world-class products that deliver the bestexperience possible to our customers," he said in a statement. "With the launch of our newMaps last week, we fell short on this commitment." Even more astounding, Cook mentionedalternative mapping products to use, including Google, Nokia, Bing and MapQuest.

(2)苹果地图

2012年推出的“苹果地图”也被证明是一个失败之作。苹果希望通过构建自己的免费地图应用，使iOS 6用户摆脱对谷歌(Google)的依赖。不过尽管苹果地图是款漂亮的产品，它的功能却并不完全可靠。除了“无头路”的问题，驾驶方向也不靠谱。由于用户的抱怨达到了“群情激愤”的程度，CEO蒂姆•库克只好公开道歉。他在一份声明中表示：“苹果公司努力研制世界级的产品，为我们的顾客提供最好的体验。但是我们上周发布的地图应用却没能实现这个承诺。”更令人吃惊的是，库克还建议用户先使用其它替代地图产品，包括谷歌、诺基亚(Nokia)、Bing和MapQuest等。

3. Button-less iPod Shuffle

It was an iPod Shuffle, but curiously without buttons.Steve Jobs was accused of waging war againstbuttons with the product's 2009 launch. Did Appleput design over function? That became a centralquestion in media reports about the new product. Inorder to change music and make it work, userswould use buttons on the earphone cord to changemusic and fast-forward.

(3)没有按钮的iPod Shuffle

这是一款iPod Shuffle，但奇怪的是，它没有任何按钮。这款产品于2009年推出时，外界普遍认为乔布斯是要打一场彻底消灭按钮的战役。当时各大媒体纷纷置疑苹果是否走上了重设计、轻功能的路子。用户必须通过耳机线上的按钮进行改变曲目或快进等操作。

4. MobileMe

Apple's first foray into cloud computing was adisaster. Launched in 2008, the service wassupposed to synchronize email, calendars andaddress books. But instead, the service sufferedfrom numerous glitches and outages. In fact, Jobsis said to have become enraged with the productafter the launch, calling it "not up to Applestandards." He also allegedly fired the head of theMobileMe team in front of the rest of the division, according to The Guardian.

(4)MobileMe

苹果向云计算的首次进军最终演变成一场灾难。MobileMe发布于2008年，旨在对电子邮件、日历和通讯录进行同步，但它在实际运行中小毛病不断。据说乔布斯本人也对这款产品大发脾气，称它“没有达到苹果的标准”。据《卫报》(The Guardian)称，乔布斯还当着整个MobileMe团队的面，将这个项目的负责人炒了鱿鱼。

5. iPhone price cut

In 2007, the original iPhone got a price cut. Thatmay not seem like a big deal, except it happenedjust months after the phone's release. The cut? $200. The abrupt drop let to angry customers andJobs apologizing for the mistake. "Our earlycustomers trusted us, and we must live up to thattrust with our actions in moments like these," hesaid at the time. As a result, early buyers received$100 in Apple Store credit.

(5)iPhone降价

2007年，第一代iPhone进行了一次降价。这貌似不是什么大问题，只不过它发生在这款手机刚刚上市后的几个月，降价幅度达到200美元。这次突然降价令已经购机的机主愤怒不已，也逼得乔布斯为这个错误亲自道歉：“我们的早期顾客信任我们，我们必须在这种时刻，以我们的实际行动承担起这种信任。”最后，iPhone的早期购机者获得了Apple Store的100美元代金券。

6. "Hockey puck" mouse

Apple's mouses are typically oval. But in 1998, itintroduced one that resembled a hockey puck. Theproduct, which was the first USB-powered mousereleased by Apple, was tough to use and ended upwith the onscreen cursor moving in the wrongdirection. After about two years, Jobs revised thedesign in favor of an oval-shaped mouse.

(6)“冰球”鼠标

苹果的鼠标一般都是椭圆型的。但是在1998年，苹果推出了一款模仿冰球外型的鼠标。这款产品也是苹果推出的第一款USB鼠标。结果这款鼠标非常不好用，还可能导致光标朝着错误的方向移动。大概两年后，乔布斯把它设计成了椭圆型。

Apple has responded to claims that its new handsets are prone to bending by saying such damage would be "rare" during normal use.

对于此次iphone6事件，苹果也作出了回应，称这种损坏在正常使用中会“很罕见”。