The news of Apple’s troubles down under over the New iPad and its 4G claims in an advert has grown even more serious, with the company offering a wide-ranging refund to all Australian customers. Could this snafu turn into a widespread disaster for Cupertino?
Today it has been widely reported that Apple will be offering full refunds to all Australian buyers of the new iPad 3. This wide-ranging recall comes as a result of a rapidly escalating disaster for Apple in Australia, after a consumer watchdog group there took legal steps to force Cupertino to change the way it is marketing its new tablet — namely, its popular 4G LTE connectivity.
The problem is that Australia is not yet equipped with a wide-ranging 4G network, and so the watchdog group is claiming that Apple’s iPad 3 adverts are misleading and constitute false advertising. According to the Mail, “The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken legal action to ensure Apple makes consumers aware its third-generation iPad cannot connect to a 4G mobile data network in Australia due to technical incompatibility. Apple promoted its third-generation tablet as the iPad with Wifi+4G, but Australia has only one 4G network, operated by Telstra Corp, which operates on a different frequency to the 4G on Apple’s new iPad.”
In order to stem the tide of rising criticism in Australia, Apple will move to offer anyone refunds who feel as though they were misled by advertisements that highlighted the tablet’s 4G LTE capabilities.
There is also concern that this situation could spread to other countries where 4G networks are still not fully implemented, such as in the UK. Given the significant 4G LTE investments made by Apple’s mobile carrier partners in the U.S., however, it is not believed that any sort of lawsuit or refund would extend to American iPad 3 customers.
Today it has been widely reported that Apple will be offering full refunds to all Australian buyers of the new iPad 3. This wide-ranging recall comes as a result of a rapidly escalating disaster for Apple in Australia, after a consumer watchdog group there took legal steps to force Cupertino to change the way it is marketing its new tablet — namely, its popular 4G LTE connectivity.
The problem is that Australia is not yet equipped with a wide-ranging 4G network, and so the watchdog group is claiming that Apple’s iPad 3 adverts are misleading and constitute false advertising. According to the Mail, “The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken legal action to ensure Apple makes consumers aware its third-generation iPad cannot connect to a 4G mobile data network in Australia due to technical incompatibility. Apple promoted its third-generation tablet as the iPad with Wifi+4G, but Australia has only one 4G network, operated by Telstra Corp, which operates on a different frequency to the 4G on Apple’s new iPad.”
In order to stem the tide of rising criticism in Australia, Apple will move to offer anyone refunds who feel as though they were misled by advertisements that highlighted the tablet’s 4G LTE capabilities.
There is also concern that this situation could spread to other countries where 4G networks are still not fully implemented, such as in the UK. Given the significant 4G LTE investments made by Apple’s mobile carrier partners in the U.S., however, it is not believed that any sort of lawsuit or refund would extend to American iPad 3 customers.
