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Attorneys Prepare iPod Class Action Lawsuit
An anonymous reader writes "Well, it was bound to happen. It looks like some lawyers are preparing to file a class action lawsuit against apple computer due to the iPod's battery problem (previously discussed here, here, and here)."
What I don't understand is how do you make a class action lawsuit out of any issue where the company it's self already has something in place for consumers that have battery issue problems.
Just sounds like a scam to me for someone looking to make a quick buck.
$51.2 million for the lawyers, anyone who had the ipod battery problem gets $20 off a select ipod accessory. Way to go.
Don't ALL batteries eventually lose their ability to hold a charge? I agree that Apple should have designed the iPod so it is easier to replace them, but consumers also should have thought about things like replacing the batteries before buying an MP3 player that costs that much.
As with almost all class action suits, the lawyers will more than likely end up being the only "winners".
I treated mine like shiiite for 10 months, then the drive crashed. I took it to the store and no questions asked: I was handed a refurbished iPod of the exact same series as mine and was only charged a $30 handling fee. I walked into that store expecting them to tell me that I had to pay for a new one since mine obviously broke due to misuse. The replacement iPod is already 6 months old and still gives me almost 11 hours of battery power.
Of course, mine was a first generation 5GB iPod. I have friends with newer units and nothing but problems, so who the hell knows? If any of you is interested in getting an iPod, go ahead and get it. It is an amazing gadget.
Pedro
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The Insomniac Coder
There is no excuse for producing throw away players that cost several hundred dollars.
Um, they don't? I've got a first generation, 5gig iPod (the kind with the wheel that is an actual wheel, not a touchpad). I've used it every day since I bought it two years ago. I've even dropped it once or twice.
I've had one problem with it, and it was battery related, but it was fixed by a software update a year ago.
now i can sue ford because every car my family has bought from them has broken down eventually. I'll be a millionaire!
Caveat Emptor.
They made no guarantees on battery life that I remember, its clearly stated that they use Lithium-Ion batteries, which are known to degrade, and its obvious there is no way to change that battery without extra equipment.
I don't see the case here.
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Companies that use proprietary sizes, or much worse, don't even let the user change their own battery, are asking to be sued.
How is Apple asking to be sued? Did they advertise that the iPods had replaceable batteries? No. Did they claim that the batteries would last forever? No. Apple made a design choice to have a non-user accessible battery in order to have a smaller, sleeker design. If you don't like this design, DON'T BUY THE DAMN THING. And if you do buy it, don't bitch later like you were mislead or lied to.
...posted to their solicitation page:
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Here are some pieces of relevant information:
1. It is well known ALL lithium ion family batteries die after a period of time. ALL have a finite lifetime. Apple used the best battery technology available in the manufacture of the iPod.
2. Apple provides an official method for iPod owners to obtain replacement batteries for $99, as well as extended warranty and service plans for new iPod purchases. This is available to all owners of all iPods. (This is in addition to numerous practical third party battery replacement plans and extended service plans.)
3. The iPod was not engineered to have batteries fail prematurely, nor is there any fundamential engineering defect or deficiency with the iPod. Lithium ion batteries fail after a finite period of time, plain and simple. No specific disclosures are required for any other lithium ion product, and none should be expected of Apple. (Yes, before Apple offered a battery replacement plan, there was a big hole in their service offerings. That hole is now filled, and this whole thing is now, therefore, a non-issue. Why not start a class action investigation into lithium ion batteries in general, since that's what this is fundamentally about?)
4. As to user-replaceability: if the iPod were designed with user-replaceable batteries, it would need to be engineered with access panels and mechanisms which would add, at a minimum, likely up to several millimeters to the thickness to the unit, as well as potentially opening up the unit to greater numbers of issues than even out-of-warranty battery failures cause. Additionally, the unit would likely be not as small and sleek as it currently is, thus making the unit much less desirable.
5. Other best-of-breed products, such as Dell's DJ portable music player, also use non-user-replaceable lithium ion batteries. Dell has no plan or program to replace failed batteries outside of warranty at this time. Better get a class action investigation ready for Dell, too, because they'll have the same exact problems as Apple, in the same exact proportion. Lithium ion is lithium ion.
6. The vast majority of first generation iPods, many over two years old, continue to function without issue.
I hope you find this information valuable in your investigation, and take the time to consider the facts.
i call bullshit. for one, my guess is you are not an industrial designer. secondly, just because "standards" are there or emerging, or you'd wish there was a standard, has every chance, moral, and legal right to be irrelevant to Apple: if standards don't fit the bill, then fuck the standards, inferior devices can adhere to those standards and lose marketshare all they want to the sleeker iPod.
have you even looked at the shape of the battery we're talking about?. What trap door would accomodate that? you'd basically have to replace screws with ugly-protruding latches. change form factor? then the battery becomes bulgy and the iPod is no-longer slick and thin. i'm sure i'm barely scraping the surface. let's scrape some more though:
Part of the appeal of the whole Apple look is that it is one solid block of metal, no rugged edges, nothing to protrude, and yes that includes NO easy-to-open little battery door. Tiny digital cameras are NOT ipods. what you call tiny is actually way fucking bigger a form factor than an iPod. But again, beyond mere technical challenges, this whole issue is also about DESIGN. read my lips. D E S I G N. Nothing, absolutely nothing about the way Apple industrially designs its products is a result of a coincidence. Users like the iPod because it is simple. There isn't a lot of shit on it that catches the eye, things to fuck with that may confuse you, make you needlessly use your brain, and/or otherwise hurt the eye.
i've have litterally seen high-school chicks use the back of their fucking iPod as a make-up mirror. silly huh? guess what all their friends want for x-mas? Now. you wanna stick an ugly-ass trap-door to further mingle a pimple-ridden teenage chick's face? What about personalized engraved notes in the back of the iPod? If you want such note to live in an esthetically pleasing environment, while retaining all the attention, you can't have lines, holes, trap doors on the same surface. imagine a blank sheet of paper on your bed with a message in blue ink right at the center that says "thanks for last night". Now, imagine the same message written on the back of a shrivelled croissant-wrapper with the bakery's logo on it. not quite the same impact is it? it is that silly type of detailed attention to DESIGN, among many other features, that makes the iPod a truly unique consumer item. i'm sure Apple pays people to sit around all fucking day and think of the impact of silly shit like that. silly, but it works.
now. i understand people's frustration about their battery issues but hey, from a moral standpoint, that's the kinda shit they should have thought of before buying the iPod. $100 to change a battery is NOT the end of the world. I'll gladly pay $50 to some techie on top of the cost of the battery to ensure he successfully upgrades my battery without fuckin' it up. otherwise ill just do it myself. it ain't impossible to do. Even $100 is not a bad deal, Sony charges $100 for the rechargeable battery that fits their DSC P50 digital camera, and you don't really know you gotta buy the battery until after you buy the camera and realize that 2 AA batteries only let you take a few pictures. Unless you are like me and always read reviews of consumer products on amazon before buying. I'm not exactly seeing Sony being sued over this right now. legal foot to stand on? my ass. which brings me to my next point ...
from a legal standpoint, Apple never said their battery would last a lifetime. in fact Apple doesn't even advertise iPod as being a lifetime device. In fact what piece of consumer electronics ever makes such claims? NONE. NOT ONE. this is why Best Buy, Good Guys, Fry's
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My CD player runs the CD on a pair of AAAs for ABOUT 40 hours (this is what it's rated for, manufacturer's stats).
I can get a 12-pack of AAA cells for $9 US, plus tax.
Now, the first batch of IPod batteries to fail went after 18 months of "heavy use". Let's call that... 5 hours a day. At least.
4 hours a day, for a year and a half... 2737.5 hours of use.
That translates into $102.66 US, plus applicable taxes.
Compare to the $99 battery replacement from Apple. The $49 3rd-party battery. Compare to the people who've been running theirs under "heavy use" for over 2 years now.
Hmm..... those Duracells aren't looking so good, anymore.
Dark Nexus
"Sanity is calming, but madness is more interesting."
How is an ipod any different from a watch? I need a special tool to open one of those too.
Batteries are not designed to have a life in YEARS. Their life is measured in RECHARGE CYCLES. Once the engineers know how the device is supposed to be used someone then figures out how often it is expected to be recharded and converts that into days/months/years.
I believe the battery in question is rated for 500 charge cycles. If you charge it twice a day then it will only last about eight months. If you charge it every two days then it will last just about three years.
If you drain the battery 20% and then recharge it you have used one of the battery's recharge cycles.
This is the main reason why normal batteries last longer for some people that for others.