ASA Rules iPhone Advert Claims are Untrue
Wednesday 27 Aug 2008
Following investigation, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has found that Apple has been short-changing customers with inaccurate TV adverts. In their advert, Apple claimed that the new
iPhone would provide access to all aspects of the internet.
The ASA ruled that the iPhone falls short of Apple’s claims and failed to highlight the shortcomings of the iPhone. The ASA said the lack of Flash and Java on the iPhone prevents access to much of the internet rendering Apple’s claims untrue.
With the phrases ‘you’ll never know which part of the internet you’ll need’ and ‘all parts of the internet are on the
iPhone’, the ASA said Apple were implying access to all parts of the web.
The two key aspects that the ASA highlighted are the lack of Flash and Java. With no Flash capability, the iPhone will only have limited access to graphics, videos and games on most websites such as the BBC and that the lack of Java would restrict the use of web shortcuts.
The latest ruling is yet another blow to Apple as the
iPhone has already been criticised for its slow web page download rate.