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Judge Approves Settlement in iPod Suit

Posted by Zonk on from the shiny-white-money dept.

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."

9 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. Probably wont hurt them much... by Iscariot_ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As most people will never hear about this, or simply forget to get their cash in time.

    --

    Go here for teh [sic] funny.
  2. Re:how much will it really cost them? by Svet-Am · · Score: 3, Interesting

    espescially if they intend for people to use the credits in the iTunes store. If people just use the $50 to download music, Apple is out virtually nothing.

    --
    [move .sig! for great justice, take off every .sig!]
  3. Swappable & Death by Kynmore · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is why built in batteries are bad! Not only does it screw the customer, it screws the manuf. in the end. Not that $15m is alot Apple, but still, it's a big damn drop of water in that bucket. They should use cellphone-style batteries. Keep an extra charged, jus tincase you stuck in the desert and need a soundtrack to your death-martch to the next gas station. Oh no, your batteries died, but wait, you have an extra one. pop. more music to die by.

  4. Does Apple deserve the fan following ? by amodm · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not to hurt any fans here on /. but I wonder if the customers have to go to court for something as trivial as a battery, does Apple really deserve the kind of following it actually does.

    I first came to know of this battery thing here http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com/message.html

    Its good to have good products, and I believe Apple makes really good products, but I guess they need to be a li'l more flexible with something as trivial as a battery.

  5. Fair Test? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I ran the test on my 3G iPod and the battery lasted >8 hours, so I'm not getting anything from the suit (except that my iPod is fully functional), but I was wondering about the test - you have to run it on all defaults after a reset, so shuffle is off, which I assume means that the HD is not being exercised very much (and I assume that the HD is the big player in the power budget). Does anyone have stats on how representative the test is, or how the run parameters were decided on?

  6. Hope you kept your Receipt! by Flamesplash · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You need to show proof of purchase for some of these, like the 3rd gen battery replacement option. I replaced my ipod battery myself about 1.5 years after buying my ipod. chances of still having proof of purchase? 5% :/

    --
    "Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
  7. Re:That's cool! by hawkbug · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I think the problem here is that you can't change the battery yourself. 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. Here's a short list of the products in which you can, it just makes sense:
    1. Laptops
    2. Cellphones
    3. Cars
    4. Walkmans & Discmans from the 80's and 90's
    5. Walkie Talkie's
    6. Flashlights
    7. Cordless phones
    And I could go on.... and it's no big deal that Apple uses batteries that recharge, I love that they do - but the fact that you can't change them just plain sucks. To this day, I can't figure out why they did that. I still bought one, but I'm dreading the day the battery fails on me. I know there are web pages that describe how to do it myself, but I'm leary about prying apart a $300 device.
  8. Re:Who won this suit? by joelsanda · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So who won?

    These statements are not entirely true ...

    The people who got screwed by Apple get a $50 coupon that can be spent at an Apple store.
    Not everyone had an iPod with a defective battery - or even one that wore out prior to their battery life expectations. The $50 coupon is one option with the settlement.

    The first gen buyers who paid the original $255 battery replacement fee, are out of pocket $205.
    This might be the case if their battery failed a second time. Same thing has happened to PC laptops I've owned: "Oh, you've owned it for 366 days, sorry - warranty has expired."

    Apple continues to sell iPods without replaceable batteries.
    This is just simply false. The batteries are no replacable by the consumer because it requires breaking the case's seal. The battery can be replaced by a technician. It would be nice if the battery can be replaced by the consumer. But the smart consumer checks on these things first, or they learn a lesson from it.

    iPod customers still have to backup and exchange their iPod to get a new battery unless they're brave and use a third party battery.
    Because the iPod syncs with the Mac or PC it's already backed up. This is a non issue.

    The two attorneys get $2.7 million.
    Well, alright - you're dead on with this. Consumers are usually the losers in class action lawsuits.

    --
    The Luddites were ahead of their time.
  9. Is this in the United States only? by Drakonian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does this apply to international iPod owners as well?

    --
    Random is the New Order.