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."

Comments

Re:4G iPods out of luck?

[MoneyT]

Your 4G is still under waranty. Get it serviced.

Re:That's cool!

[learn fast]

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.

Re:Fair Test?

[sprouty76]

Shuffle won't make any difference to the HD usage - the order of the tracks is decided when the user hits play. Either way, the iPod knows well in advance which tracks it's going to play and can cache them accordingly.

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.

Re:That's cool!

[FreeBSDbigot]

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.

Re:That's cool!

[FLAGGR]

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.

Re:how much will it really cost them?

[squiggleslash]

Unfortunately, according to the settlement, you can't use the credit against the iTunes Music Store.

"Store Credit" means a credit in the amount of $50 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 either The Apple Store (Online) or at a kiosk (a computer linked to The Apple Store (Online)) located in a "brick and mortar" Apple retail store, issued as a discount code number. Store Credit may be transferred once but may not be aggregated or redeemed for cash. Store Credit may be used to purchase multiple products but, in all instances, the full value of the Store Credit must be used up or exhausted in a single transaction. Store Credit does not apply to any shipping, handling and sales tax charges applicable. Store Credit will expire eighteen (18) months after the date of issuance.

(source)

Sorry.

Re:That's cool!

[adpowers]

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.

Re:How do I determine what generation my ipod is?

[MoneyT]

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.

Re:That's cool!

[cosmic_0x526179]

Try to name a product in the last 15 years that you can't change it yourself - I'm having a hard time coming up with one.

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 !

Re:That's cool!

[o-hayo]

I'll name one:

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?

Re:That's cool!

[nvrrobx]

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.

3rd Gen. also has options in the settlement

[mcewen98]

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.