Apple appears to have given in to regulatory pressure after
the UK's consumer watchdog, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), as well as
Australia's counterpart, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) launched investigations following a wave of complaints from consumers
about the advertising of the Cupertino-based firm's new iPad 4G capabilities.
While the ASA's concerns didn't result in legal proceedings,
the ACCC filed a lawsuit in the federal court of Melbourne accusing Apple of
misleading consumers, for which it sought fines and a possible injunction
banning sales in the country.
The two met recently for mediation, with Apple agreeing to
further clarify the devices' exact network capabilities in store. At the time
they rejected the idea of placing stickers on the product's box or changing the
name, but they did offer refunds for any iPad owner that was unhappy with his
purchase or felt mislead over the 4G speeds when purchasing the tablet.
In a rather interesting move however, over the course of the
weekend Apple has re-labeled the popular tablet to "iPad + Cellular"
without releasing any press statement or giving any warning ahead of the
changes.
There is no doubt that "cellular" is considerably
more legal-friendly than before, especially given the tablet's incompatibility
with many 4G networks outside of the US and Canada. It's also likely to go a
long way towards appeasing the concerns of consumer groups.
The news will be bittersweet for consumers though, as the
iconic iPad retailer has already shipped millions of the new tablets in the
disputed markets, no doubt buoyed by its 4G claims with consumers blissfully
unaware of the 4G's incompatibility with their domestic mobile infrastructure.
This is especially true in the UK, where network operators can't seem to even mention
4G in a sentence without it ending in arguments.
Therefore the real winner here is Apple -- the changes
effectively bring an end to further legal proceedings and increased criticism
from consumer regulatory groups, although the ACCC has made it clear they will
be held to account for past conduct and the trial will continue as planned on
June 4.
Credit : http://www.techspot.com
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