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Apple to Replace Faulty Nano Screen
Sam Wil writes "Apple has acknowledged a flaw in the iPod nano screen that results in cracking, and attributes it to poor vendor quality. The defect affects less than one-tenth of 1 percent of all the nanos that have shipped so far. Apple will replace the screen of affected units for free." From the article: "However, the representative said that the screen-cracking issue is separate from reports that the slim new music player is more easily scratched than prior models. Complaints about both issues surfaced shortly after Apple introduced the flash memory-based Nano earlier this month. 'A few vocal customers are saying their Nano is more susceptible to scratching than prior iPods,' the Apple representative said. Apple said the Nano is made of the same polycarbonate plastic as the fourth-generation iPod and said it does not believe the scratching problem is widespread." You may recall we had a lively discussion about the screen-scratch flaw a short while back.
Interesting...Apple is willing to address the cracked Nano screens, but not the scratched ones.
Apple said the Nano is made of the same polycarbonate plastic as the fourth-generation iPod and said it does not believe the scratching problem is widespread.
Hmm...all Apple needs to do to verify the scope of this problem is open up a web browser. To say there's been a lot in the media about the iPod Nano and its butter-soft screen would be a masterpiece of understatement. Googling 'ipod nano screen scratch' yields 521,000 results.
If you are unfortunate enough to own a Nano, here's some helpful links:
Hope this helps.
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~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Apple said the Nano is made of the same polycarbonate plastic as the fourth-generation iPod...
...which also scratches fairly easily! Even with light use, some sort of case is a good idea. I got one of those rubber skins for my 4G and it works great.
I love my Nano. I have a black 4GB Nano, customized. The screen is fine. I have abused it just as much as any other reasonable person. I can assure you that the Nano is no more scratchable than any other 4G iPod. The Mini, which I also own, was impervious to costmetic destruction, though.
... get a life.
It boils down to this: minor scratches and imperfections are likely with any daily-use product. That's why there's an industry for iPod protectors. HOWEVER, I'd rather have a slighly scuffed Nano with it's nice sheen and sleek profile than to have a Nano with a huge clunky protector that makes it look like crap.
So if you want a Nano, perhaps you should consider that your expectations have been set too high if you think a scuff or scratch is unacceptible. You'r probably the kind of person who gets minor dents and dings on your car fixed the day they happen. Or better yet, are you the lamer that has a car bra? Let it go. Damage happens. The Nano is not at fault-- look in the mirror.
I'm not discrediting the people who had actual CRACKED screens-- that's B.S. It should be fixed. Scratches
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I don't know about the plastic ones (and maybe even for some those this may be true), but for the rubber skins there is a cutout for the docking connector, and it can connect propery in *most* devices.
See here for more info.
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I don't believe this: my last three cell phones (Nokia 6100, Nokia 8260, Sony-Ericsson T610) as well as my Handspring PDA all became horribly scratched after a few weeks of use. I even bought a case for the T610 to prevent scratching, and it hasn't helped a whole lot (WriteRIGHT screen protectors have helped for my PDA). Even my free-with-Comcast-cable-modem 128M Creative MP3 players has a few scratches, and it's been out of the house exactly twice.
Bases on a quick examination of friend's/relatives cell phones, I'm guessing that most PDAs/MP3 Players/Cell phones have similar issues, but the Nano issue is getting a lot of attention because 1) the Nano looks so aesthetically pleasing, and/or 2) some people like to take Apple town a peg or two, especially those that think Apple values form over function. But I just don't see that most other products are more scratch-resistant, I think we just don't care as much.
The screens that are cracking in this case are the LCD module inside the iPod nano, not the polycarbonate plastic sheet over it. I know this because it is when the glass (yes, glass) inside the LCD breaks is when you hear people describe that simultaneous with the display cracking also the pixels stopped responding on one side of the crack (or both). Also, people are saying the LCD cracked on them, with "no external damage". This they are referring to a crack inside the unit, not on the polycarbonate cover.
Honestly, it's by far the most common problem I've had with LCDs. I've broken LCDs in both pagers and cellphones in this same fashion (LCD glass broken, not outside plastic). And I'm sure most people have has similar experiences.
So, you're way off. They cannot be the same issue.
As to perhaps the scratches problem itself is due to hardener, I agree it is possible. But having scratched a few iPods in my day also (including a nano), I have to believe Apple's story here. It's no different than the others except perhaps that since the screen is so small and the pixel density so high, scratches matter more than they have in the past.
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You fail to take into account that very nearly the only reason to purchase the Apple MP3 player in most cases is as a fashion accessory.
Definitely flamebait. Here's one of those "other cases": What got me on the bandwagon was Apple's more complete solution to my musical needs than I could find elsewhere. Apple has many of the pieces required for my home+portable music needs, all integrated seamlessly to one another. Well integrated! The fact that the hardware is stylish and of good quality (well, maybe not the Nano, but the other items I own are amazing) is not a major factor, though I do enjoy it. Its the Hardware + software + accessories product lineup and how they work together that I like.
What RANDOM software do you propose I use with your suggested MP3 player? After all, these things need to plug into a computer to be filled up and useful.
Here's my integrated solution. It all works quite well together.
- Apple Lossless Format, for ripping all my CDs to NAS with max quality - iTunes player for Mac, free, for playing and managing all my music - Airport Express, to send the music to remote speakers, from iTunes - iTMS, easily buy music, within iTunes. Not 192khz/24-bit, but still good. - Mac Mini for kitchen music/email/web. Awesome. Great wireless KB + mouse - iTunes player for Windows PC, for my Dell Laptop - iPod Nano, works very well with iTunes, super interface, 185 lossless songs
I love how my Nano lets me rate stuff and then synchronizes with my main collection. Its all about software and integration... And iTunes music player software also has built-in support for podcasts, audio books, etc.
Nobody else can compete with a solution that works so well together, that I saw. Of course, this is Slashdot, so any real other integrated alternatives will surely surface in a reply, but your MP3 player suggestion just doesn't solve much for me. It is probably as useless as my old RCA Lyra, which needs Musicmatch to work.
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