Slashdot Mirror
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."
Big corporations need to pay for THEIR mistakes. Not THEIR customers.
it may cost them 15 million in coupons, but how much will it really cost them? after all, if everyone cashes in, it's that many more apple products out there in the hands of consumers.
As most people will never hear about this, or simply forget to get their cash in time.
Go here for teh [sic] funny.
Meanwhile, owners who actually paid Apple to repair a battery in one of the players will be entitled to up to half of that cost back.
Between this and the "$50 credit," does this seem like it's not really that great a deal for the people that were impacted by these defective batteries? I mean, aren't they still losing money because of a defective product?
"You're older than you've ever been, and now you're even older."
Why the judge was wearing an iPod suit is yet to be determined.
Anything you can do, I can do meta.
I can understand replacements on 3rd or 4th generation units. But by now, who would be able to tell if a 1st or 2nd generation iPod really had a defective battery, or if its just old?
I don't get it.
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.
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.
Your 4G is still under waranty. Get it serviced.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
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?
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
I would think giving iPod hungry people $25-$50 credit will actually make Apple money.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Big surprise, the lawyers make a cool $2 million off this. That's right, they made $2m out of the $15m that "might" be collected by the deadline ONE MONTH FROM NOW.
Quit tech, folks, and go into Law.
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
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.
Does this apply to international iPod owners as well?
Random is the New Order.
Dear Plextor, My DVD-R drive motor died after only 30000 hours of constant DVD piracy. Your published specifications clearly state that the MTBF for my unit is 60000 hours. I researched changing the motor out myself, however it is not customer replacable, which I find totally unacceptable for such a complex and expensive electronic device. Although I've burned over 3000 DVD's since I purchased the unit, you should refund me the full purchase cost of my drive. The drive ran out of warranty last year and I chose not to purchase an extended warranty some years ago, which is entirely your fault. Anything less than a refund will cause me to whine incessantly on /. about how horribly unreliable your top selling, top rated drives really are.
See you in court,
Phil Ken Sebben