[pierrefar]

...the hardware will probably get fixed next iteration ... and isn't a big deal.

It is a big deal as people paid several hundred dollars for the device. If anything, the fact that people didn't return their iPhone 4s in large numbers is that they expected a decent response from Apple. I doubt that's what a lot of users feel they got.

My inclination is that this saga's real effects will be felt whenever the next iPhone is released: the initial sales will be a lot lower as people hold back being first adopters in case Apple screws up again.