How biz journalists get their iPhones to write critiques

Josh Quittner, the editor of Business 2.0 magazine, notes that business writers for Newsweek and USA Today who have written positive books about Apple are among those who received advance versions of the new iPhone to write a review before its Friday launch.

Quittner’s magazine, on the other hand, did not receive one in advance.

Quittner wrote, “I also—and I’m sorry for this, because I hear he’s a very nice guy—simply can’t bear to read Pogue’s reviews of Apple products. (His video is adorable, though.) I like him on other stuff, especially cameras. But he should not be allowed to review Apple stuff. I mean, the man has a whole side business writing “Missing Manual” books explaining how to wring the most out of your Apple products!

“He appears as the talent on Apple ‘geek cruises’ for crying out loud. (Though in his defense, he says he doesn’t take any pay for these gigs, but instead enjoys a discounted cruise vacation for himself and his family.) Oh, and, in the interests of full disclosure, Edward Baig, of USAT, wrote Macs for Dummies and iPhones. And Steven Levy wrote the books Insanely Great: The Life and Times of the Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything and The Perfect Thing, a great book about the iPod phenomenon.

“I am sure this had absolutely nothing to do with why Steve Jobs decided to give these guys review units two weeks before the rest of us, who are clearly on the C team (and the C, here, I can tell you, stands for chopped liver.)”

Read more here.