MobileMess fallout: Is Apple’s rapid growth really a curse, putting ‘it just works’ at risk?

"Apple has staked its reputation on tight control of a few carefully designed, faultlessly executed products," Brian X. Chen reports for Wired.

"Now, as Apple expands its reach from computers into music, video, consumer electronics and phones, it's getting harder and harder for the company to make sure all of its products 'just work,' as its marketing slogan goes. Its growing army of customers is getting more difficult to satisfy, and they're finding a host of new problems, ranging from tapeless camcorder issues to buggy iPhones," Chen reports.

Chen writes, "The list of customers Apple needs to keep happy is ever-growing: iPhone users, iTunes shoppers, iPod owners, MobileMe subscribers and Mac users. And the items all add up to one question: Has Apple bitten off more than it can chew?"

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