Perhaps more amazing the the Willy Wonka wow factor that seems embedded in all Apple products — is the fact that the phones fly off the shelves even when they have truly annoying flaws. Example: I own the iphone 4 and daily… no hourly… I battle with the phone to find the perfect grip where I can both hold it without literally dropping it, and simultaneously not drop a call. Solution: I need to hold the bottom left corner between my thumb and forefinger to pull it off, or set it on a table and use speaker phone or a headset. Yet this antenna issue did not stop the 4 from breaking all iPhone sales records; nor does it stop me from loving the phone. I do. I love it.

Now, as reported on Techcrunch:the 4S is having some pretty serious battery issues. Not great news for Apple! The question is whether all buzz, the new slick features (the voice activated virtual assistant and the new mega-pixel camera) will be enough “bang” to get beyond the battery bumps in the road.  Historically, it seems the overall coolness of apple products is enough to cover over any practical sins.   And something tells me that the 4S will be no different.   With the debacle last month over at RIM, it seems likely that there will be plenty of Blackberry defectors.   However, just when you thought Apple was alone out front ahead of the pack, Samsung quietly became the new smart phone manufacturing revenue leader.  Does the recent battery issue and the continued onslaught  from the likes of Samsung and other android phones mean trouble in Dodge city for Apple?   Or will Apple continue to mop up among the cool kids?