Apple’s back in court (they should probably just set up a tent in the lobby), but this time it’s not to fight off Samsung’s copyist antics. Nope, this time it’s because consumers are getting tired of Siri not performing up to their expectations.
A grouping of lawsuits are currently seeking class action status in California. The lawsuits allege that the “iPhone 4S commercials and company statements about the phone were false and misleading. Siri, they say, is brilliant on TV, but she’s dim in reality” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Can’t really complain there, but Apple’s certainly right when they point out that the software application is in beta currently, and it’s far from being finished.
How did Apple’s legal team respond in court? Oh, it’s a doozy:
They offer only general descriptions of Apple’s advertisements, incomplete summaries of Apple’s website materials, and vague descriptions of their alleged—and highly individualized—disappointment with Siri. Tellingly, although Plaintiffs claim they became dissatisfied with Siri’s performance “soon after” purchasing their iPhones, they made no attempt to avail themselves of Apple’s 30-day return policy or one-year warranty—which remains in effect. Instead, they seek to take an alleged personal grievance about the purported performance of a popular product and turn it into a nationwide class action under California’s consumer protection statutes. The Complaint does not come close to meeting the heavy burden necessary to sustain such claims.
If you didn’t read the quote, let me paraphrase it for you. Apple’s legal team pretty much inadvertently called the plaintiffs a bunch of gold-digging douchebags. It’s hard not to agree with them. All the complainers could have returned their phones quite easily within the first 30 days after they purchased it, but they chose not to, didn’t they?
That said, Siri certainly doesn’t live up to my expectations either; however, I’m giving Apple the benefit of the doubt here because I live in Canada. That said, there’s a good ten minute stretch between my location and the freeway where Siri’s servers can not be accessed despite having decent signal strength. Again, this could be on the carriers, so I’m not going to complain too hard.
What do you think?
