"Overall, Apple made a PR blunder," said Gaspar, referring to an Apple statement yesterday which said, among other thing, that its own technology would improve the more customers used it. Not enough, not nearly enough, Gaspar said.

"They can ride this out if they make the necessary adjustments," said Gaspar. "They realize they made a mistake, but now they have to be upfront and explain what they're going to do, do it honestly, and do it sooner rather than later."

If Apple asked his advice, Gaspar said he would urge them to address the problem publicly in the next two to three days, max.

"They can weather this," said Gaspar. "But they need to move now, or people will start reconsidering whether to buy an iPhone 5 or not."

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at , on or subscribe to . His email address is .