Customers visiting Apple Computer"s online store can now post their own reviews of the products they buy--unless it"s the latest iPod. That"s because, though users can offer their takes on a variety of Mac and iPod gear from other companies, Apple automatically gives its own products a top "5-Apple" rating.
Apple allows customers to assign their own ratings, from one to five stars to products from other companies, such as iPod cases and speakers. In a frequently asked questions page, Apple explains its thinking. "We give all Apple products a rating of "5 Apples" because we think they"re great," the company said. Apple went on to say, "Would you trust us to display less-than-perfect ratings on our own products? We didn"t think so," but deleted that line Thursday afternoon. An Apple representative declined to comment on the reviews policy.