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Judge Approves Settlement in iPod Suit
BabbaBooie writes "According to AppleInsider, on Thursday a San Mateo County judge granted final approval of a settlement in the iPod class action suit that affects as many as 1.3 million iPod owners who may have been victim to poor or defective batteries. Under the settlement, owners of either a first- or second-generation model are entitled to $25 cash or $50 credit at the Apple store. Owners of third-generation iPod models are entitled to a free replacement battery if the battery fails. The deadline for submitting a claim is September 30, 2005. Lawyers say the settlement could cost Apple as much as $15m."
Because they didn't make false statements about the battery life on an iPod...which is what the entire suit was about.
Most people my ass. We get people comming into the stores all the time talking about this, long before the suit was even settled.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
Your 4G is still under waranty. Get it serviced.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
If it is still in waranty I'd take it up with Apple because it sound like it might be defective. My 4G iPod (and my wife's) have no problem whatsover with battery life.
Every manufacturer may use the same batteries, but they don't advertise them the same way. Apple promised a specific quality of battery life, which the product did not live up to.
They're not replacable because it was a design decision made by Ive (and I'm sure supported by Steve). If you have a self-contained battery with a user-proof connection method and a door to cover it all you are not going to be able to achieve the form factor that the iPod has.
Found a few articles that touch on this briefly:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6
http://www.designmuseum.org/design/index.php?id=6
Skipping is the real killer for battery life in my experience. People who just play everything and skip through stuff they don't want probably get much worse battery life than people who create sensible playlists.
No, I don't want a free iPod
Some Palm PDAs, like my IIIc, don't have user-replaceable batteries, though I've seen third-party batteries (complete with screwdriver!) on Ebay. So far, it still holds a charge. I've got my fingers crossed.
Orange whip? Orange whip? Three orange whips.
Originally, back with my 2G, it was almost the same cost, they changed it though after complaints. So I think you should be the one S'ing TFU.
The other issue being they also advertised 10hr playtime, when a few people were lucky to get 8, and most got 6. If your cellphone was advertised as giving 10 hours of talk time per charge, but you could only talk for 5 or 6 before it died, would you not consider that a defect, especially if the phone manufacturer told you that to fix it it would cost the same as a new phone?
Tm
Support TBI Research: http://www.raisinhope.org
Sorry.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
I mean, aren't they still losing money because of a defective product?
How are they losing money? They spent money on an ipod, which did not last as long as they thought it would and Apple did not make enough effort to inform users that the batteries would only last 1-3 years. Basically they did the same thing all the other digital music player manufacturers did, except they charged more for new batteries and they were wildly successful, which makes them a great target. No one lost any money on this. I'm pretty sure everyone knows batteries die over time. When you buy a new car, no one tells you that eventually you'll have to buy a new battery for it either. People expected them to last longer, although no one at the time provided batteries that did, and Apple did not make a point of advertising how long they would last, nor that it was difficult to change them yourself. Now Apple is paying $25+ dollars per user because the judge agreed that they should have been more informative or batteries should have lasted longer or been cheaper to replace or something. It makes little sense to me.
I'll bite. One year of expected use? Umm, even the website that sparked this whole discussion claimed 18 months of use. Mine has been going for over two years and can still hold quite a bit of charge. It is less than when I bought it, but it still is quite usable.
If it has a physical scroll wheel (i.e. a wheel that actually turns) it's a 1st Gen. If it has a solid wheel, but physical buttons arround the border, it's a 2nd Gen. If it has a solid wheel and buttons along the top of the wheel, it's a 3rd Gen. If it's got the click wheel like all the current iPods and iPod minis, it's a 4th Gen.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
DustBuster... the batts (NiCad I believe) in mine are just about shot. I called a nearby B&D parts store and asked about replacements. They said to just toss it and go buy a new one. But I like this one !
This msg is brought to you by the letter 'W'.. for Worthless Wuss
Palm's Treo 600. Thankfully, it was fixed with the Treo 650.
I'm sure there are countless more examples, like every bluetooth headset I've ever used.
Besides, if your $300 device wont hold a charge to the point its unusable, what's the harm in prying it open?
So much for using my mod points.
I have a Braun 7000-series Synchro razor. It looks pretty damned sealed to me. I'm not going to go suing Braun when the battery dies.
My laptop's battery *is* user replaceable (Dell Inspiron 4150), for $120. I think the $50 iPod battery replacement isn't THAT bad, in the long run.
Aye, I registered my iPod, and I also got a letter from the lawyers that contained the claim form.
:)
Those product registration forms do more than JUST put your name in a marketing database. They also put you on mailing lists for product recalls in the event of dangerous or defective products, or they put you on mailing lists for class action settlements like this
For those who are going to complain about being put in a marketing database and getting junk calls, just check the box that tells them not to contact you, if it has one. If it doesn't have one, then you'll either have to give up the marketing info, or pay the price by not being notified.
The article summary looks incorrect. I have a 3rd gen ipod and qualified for the settlement. The options for 3rd gen owners really are:
1)
replacement of the iPod's battery or (at Apple's discretion) a replacement iPod. [DO NOT SEND IN YOUR IPOD. Unless your claim is rejected by the Claims Administrator, you will be contacted with instructions on how to return your iPod and where to remit the applicable shipping and handling charges.]
OR
2)
a $50 Store Credit redeemable toward the purchase of any Apple-branded products or services (except iTunes downloads, iTunes Music Store Cards, iTunes Gift Certificates, or any other product redeemable for iTunes downloads or cash) at The Apple Store (Online) or at a kiosk (a computer linked to The Apple Store (Online)) located in a "bricks and mortar" Apple retail store. Store Credits may be transferred once but may not be aggregated with other Store Credits or redeemed for cash. Store Credits may be used to purchase multiple products but, in all instances, the full $50 credit must be used up or exhausted in a single transaction. Store Credit does not apply to any shipping, handling or sale tax charges applicable. Store Credit will expire within eighteen (18) months after the date of issuance.
Try to name a product in the last 15 years that you can't change it yourself
Cordless shaver. Electric toothbrush. Some small vacuums.
I had to replace my shaver (Norelco) because it eventually stopped working at all after two years -- even with the cord plugged in it simply wouldn't run (it would if the blade wasn't attached, so power flowed, but not enough of it). My cordless toothbrush (Sonicare), after about 3 years, is experiencing drastically reduced cycle times -- I can brush 2, maybe 3 times now before it dies mid-brushing. Previously I could go a week or two without recharging. I've trashed one cordless vacuum cleaner for the same reason.
Of all of those the only one I've been peeved at is the shaver -- the battery did not last nearly as long as expected (it ceased being useful w/o the cord after about 15 months). The others... well, I understand battery chemistry enough to get what's going on. Sucks, but that's how it is.
Apple apparantly mis-represented the life expectancy of the first few generations of iPod batteries, and then charged an arm an a leg to replace them. That's why they got sued.
Well the battery on the original 5GB iPod I own still holds around 9 or more hours of play in it (according to the test).
So as far as I'm concerned the rep is good.
If enough people have experiences similar to mine, then they will maintain a good rep. So while it looks like a lot of people have issues, the real question is what percetage of the userbase are we talking about? I would imagine that it's smaller than at other companies, as people still seem very happy with Apple and iPod sales are still brisk.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley