Bangalore: A vilified Tim Cook, Apple Inc’s Chief Executive apologized to its disappointed Chinese consumers, after the micro bloggers of China condemned the company’s faulty after sales service.

A number of Government controlled media outlets like China Central Television and the People's Daily newspaper, bashed Apple for its "arrogance," protesting among other things that its current one-year service warranty is far shorter than in other markets.

While some saw the move as a planned sabotage of yet another foreign company tapping the affluent Chinese market, Apple Chief Tim Cook on Monday promised to overhaul its consumer practices. "We are aware that owing to insufficient external communication, some consider Apple's attitude to be arrogant, inattentive or indifferent to consumer feedback," Cook said in a letter written in Chinese on the company's local website. "We express our sincere apologies for causing consumers any misgivings or misunderstanding."

According to Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Information Foundation, “The targeting of Apple may be part of a policy that China has adopted to favor homegrown companies.”

Cook has previously admitted that China with its growing economic power and increasingly affluent middle-class is a crucial market for the iPad-maker. The country is practically a shinning beacon of success in Apple's quarterly financial statements.  Revenue from Greater China which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong totaled $7.3 billion in its fiscal first quarter, up 60 percent from a year ago.

Criticism of Apple began on March 15 with the broadcast of an annual show on CCTV about consumer safety and rights, which has become an annual ritual targeting foreign, along with Chinese consumer firms. The program criticized the firm for its after-sales service, including Its failure to offer new replacement iPhones with a one-year warranty in the case of major repairs.

Now, Apple will offer full replacements of iPhone 4 and 4S instead of major repairs, adding a one-year warranty starting from the date of replacement.

Apple has been expanding its presence in China slowly but steadily, especially through increasing its retail footprint. Its iPhones, iPods and iMacs are considered aspirational products in China with cache among the countries growing middle class. 

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