Don’t get me wrong.  Anyone who knows me is probably laughing because they know I have Apple products all over the place.  I have an iPhone, 2 Mac Laptops at home, one Mac computer (also at home), my kids have iPods and Shuffles, my wife has an iPod (and a Droid… Yuck!), and all my employees get at least one mac.

So what gives?

Early this morning I was talking to my good pal Pete Beebe (owner of Zilyen)- a brilliant mind in the world of branding- and we were trying to figure out what was bothering us about Apple. And here’s what we kicked around:

1- Apple is no longer the underdog.  We liked them better when they were.  Now they’ve replaced Microsoft as the company to beat (and dethrone).

2- They messed up.  Their new iPhone is not revolutionary and it has problems.  Not what you’d expect from them.

3- They didn’t admit they messed up fast enough.

4- They tried to sort of fix it by sending me an email saying they’ll give me a free case that will improve the “dropped call issue”.  When I chose my free case, the next page that popped up said, “Thank you.  Your case will arrive in 3-4 months.”   Huh?  I could be dead by then!

5- They lied!  Yes.  Here’s the big one.  In their new ad campaign they said, “This changes everything again.”  Well not really.  Funny thing is… I actually want my OLD iPhone back.  The reception was better, it didn’t drop as many calls, it didn’t try to log on to the web when I put it up to my ear, and it didn’t force me to buy all new accessories.  The new iPhone didn’t change everything again.  It’s not really that much better.  And other products are.

Here’s why we used to buy from Apple…. Because they do it right.  They tell the truth.  They are huge but make you feel like they are a small company that cares.  They are on the edge.

And most of all, they don’t put a product out just to make money.  They put them out to innovate and make the world a better place.

But this recent iPhone launch doesn’t keep the promise and is not in line with their brand.  Something just doesn’t feel right with Apple.   And all I can figure is they simply lost their edge.

But, like a distant cousin routing for his family member to win a football game from afar, I hope they get it back.