Do the best things really come to those who wait? Not in technology

Google's Nexus 4, Nintendo's Wii U are both set to have delivery delays of up to five weeks, so, in technology, do good things really come to those who wait?

They say the best things come to those who wait. It's not always true. Remember the game ‘APB: All Points Bulletin’ which took around five years to make and was so riddled with bugs and design flaws that it sent its maker Realtime Worlds into administration just six weeks later?

And try saying that to someone who has bought a Google Nexus 4 only to now learn that they face a wait of up to five weeks which - calendars out - means some will not receive a handset in time for Christmas.

Even the mighty Nintendo has fallen prey to the usual shortages which will cause some kiddies to go without a Wii U on December 25 (and then there's the little matter of waiting a few hours while a 2GB update is downloaded and installed to the console).

Technology is a fast-paced industry and it seems that it can move too fast for its own good. And while waiting for a product that has already been launched for weeks after payment is largely unacceptable, there is a case for companies to slow down until they are 100 per cent ready.

For, sometimes, it is good to hang fire. Consider the embarrassment caused when Apple lost its way with the Maps app debacle. It was, to some degree, a wake-up call for the Cupertino-based giant.

Rather than rush around faster than a speeding Jobs yacht, this much-discussed tech company decided to take its time when it came to launching iTunes 11 and it was music to many people's ears.

In delaying the launch of iTunes 11, a piece of software that divides even the most ardent Apple supporters, the company said it wanted "to take a little extra time to get it right."
And now that we finally have our hands on this software, we can see that it was worth the wait. It has been received positively and its redesign is something of a winner.
Slowing things down, then, can be a good thing. This is a company that, following Steve Job's death, appears to have been using iOS 6 for directions. A good example of this was John Browett who was brought in to head up Apple's retail only to find himself being cast aside six months later.

He left his mark in juggernaut fashion, though, and the result was there to see. The last time we visited an Apple Store, an assistant asked, rather unexpectedly, if we were ok. Usually shoppers are left to their own devices in these emporia - or, at the very least, left to play with the devices on display. This time we felt hurried in that PC World kind of way, only this was by someone with a bit of knowledge about what was being sold.

So a change of pace, which goes back to that "it'll be ready when it’s ready" ethos Job so loved, can be welcome. To a degree, at least. When people stump up cash for an item that is said to be complete and has launched, they expect to receive that item in a short space of time in as flawless a state as possible.

Otherwise those consoles, smartphones and tablets are going to have to come with a free headache pill for both consumers and makers.