90% of Consumers Say Apple Maps Issue is Irrelevant

The iPhone 4 set a record for smartphone preorders, opening weekend sales, and pretty much every record known to the smartphone market. The iPhone 4S came along and did the same. And now the iPhone 5 is, once again, rewriting history.

This is despite what bloggers would have you think are extremely devastating issues: a horrible Maps app, an easily scratched back casing, and whatever else have you. But consumers have spoken. And they just don’t give a shit about these trivial matters.

According to ChangeWave Research, which surveyed more than 4,000 consumers, 90% say they have not experienced “any problem at all” with Apple’s new Maps app. Just 3% cite it as a “big problem.”

Moreover, people are salivating to acquire this well-machined handset. One in three respondents said they’re likely to buy Apple’s new smartphone, with 32% saying they’re either very likely (19%) or somewhat likely (13%). This means one third of all consumers are considering buying this one, single device. Wow.

“Despite the media attention surrounding both the Apple Maps issue and the Apple Lightning port issue, neither has had an impact on the massive numbers of buyers queuing up to buy the iPhone 5,” Paul Carton, a ChangeWave VP, said. “Both issues hardly rank as bumps in the road.”

A suspect Maps app is not the first time Apple has made a mistake, minor or major. It’s made several. But every sizeable company has—Yahoo, HP, Facebook, and of course RIM, to fire off but a few obvious examples.

It’s clear that consumers are willing to forgive a few small weaknesses to enjoy what is overall the best smartphone in the world today (at least according to most reviews, anyway).