Slashdot Mirror
iPhone Battery Replacement An Unwelcome Surprise
epidemic99 writes "Apple has released what it will cost to replace the battery in the iPhone, and consumers might be a bit put off. Replacement is a tricky ordeal, as the battery is apparently soldered into the device. The service will cost $79, plus $6.95 for shipping, plus an optional $29 'loaner iPhone' rental. A consumer advocacy group sent a letter to Apple complaining that this information was not made public before iPhone's release since the cost of the battery replacement is so high. Even reviewer Harvey Rosenfield, who is usually very kind to Apple, was quoted as saying 'some of them might be waking up now, wondering who they got in bed with.'" Update: 07/06 21:06 GMT by Z : Fixed incorrect attribution of quote to Mossberg.
Seriously -- have the crybabies complaining ever priced a new laptop battery? $100+++, and that's just a simple pop-in replacement.
Frankly, I think $87 is CHEAP when you consider this battery replacement requires someone skilled enough to disassemble the iPhone, desolder the old battery, install the new one, button it all back up and dispose of the old battery and ship you your product.
And, keep in mind, Apple assumes liability for replacing the hardware if they screw up the process.
Here's a suggestion for the complainers : if you believe $87 is terribly overpriced and fueling a thick profit margin, perhaps you should open a shop and replace these batteries yourself. (I think they'll see the reality of the situation quickly.)
The SIM card is on a tray that you open with a paper clip.
Some early reviewer missed this fact and ended up ripping their iPhone apart to get at the SIM card.
Retard.
*sigh* back to work...
I was wondering how many "Apple can do no wrong" posts I'd find here, and I haven't been disappointed.
I have no doubt that if Apple announced that it would collect information on your contacts when you send in the phone, then kidnap three of them at random and hold them for ransom, there would be people here saying it's a perfectly reasonable business practice. After all, Apple is in business to make money, and how can we expect them to pass on an opportuniity like that?
BTW, my GF just discovered that her 3-year old iPod Mini is now a $200 paperweight because they don't even offer the battery replacement for it anymore...
Even though the treo is dated, it works well in so many ways.
/, and .com buttons in web browser kbd)2 512.htme nt/accessories/10-95--2230.htmw are.showsoftware&PartnerREF=&siteid=1&prodID=13173 5
/ why-the-iphone-.html
r eo-755p-in-september/
I played with an iphone on Wednesday. There are some issues that would make it a show stopper for me.
-Keyboard stinks. Best way I could get anything typed accurately was hold it in one hand and point with the other.
-No correction in web URLs and email addresses, so you have to be perfect.
-No period in the keyboard (period,
-Touch buttons too small. Although my Treo 650 screen buttons are often too small, but I rarely use them)
-No removable media (Why switch to mini SD Palm? idiots)
-No video recording
-No editing MS word documents
-No EVDO (Edge was slow when it worked, 755p may have EVDORevA at 600kbs)
-No stereo bluetooth (http://www.softick.com/bluetooth-audio/)
-No third party applications (Chess, new browser, core media player, etc)
-No laptop networking using phone (http://www.junefabrics.com/palmnet/)
-No removable battery (Like 2x capacity third party)
http://shop.treonauts.com/content/accessories/---
-No way to quickly dial contacts
-No way to navigate single handed (five way rocker rocks)
-No tactile feedback (I like a click when I hang up the phone)
-No GPS addons like
http://hardware.smartphonetools.treobits.com/cont
with free software links to free google maps
http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=soft
More iPhone limitations from
http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2007/06
-No exchange integration for online calendering
-No hacks for "push" email
-No voice call recording
-No voice dial
-No cut and paste!
-No task list!
-No global find!
-No file encryption
-No podcast download over the air
iPhone does have:
-Slick gui (that gets in the way, browsing on safari was stinky. Zoom and scroll, zoom and scroll, not too impressed. Sideways was nice)
-Wifi built-in
-Widescreen
-More MP in camera (2.0 vs 1.2 in treo 755, both suck)
-Thin form factor
-Glass screen (more fragile than treo?)
-Did I say sexy GUI?
Neither have-
-Built in GPS
-Flash in browser
-Wireless networking for letting laptops online easily
So the Treo pros outweigh the cons. I am sticking with a new 755p as soon as I can get it, which looks like September.
Crossposted from my comment on another board:
http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/8918/verizon-t
I don't think this is so much an Apple issue as it's an electronics issue.
Hello Fanboi - how are you doing today?
Apple - What overpriced stuff can we sell you today?
That said, it's overpriced for what it is. And the people buying it up right now are only paving the way for Microsoft and others to fix up their mobile OSes to deliver cheaper devices capable of much of the same things as the iPhone. Only they will have replaceable batteries, cheaper cost (subsidized by the carrier), and 3G.
Overpriced == priced above what the market will bear. The past few days show the market happily bears the iPhone's price. It may be more than *you* want to pay, but you're clearly not one of the 5-700K of iPhone owners. The price is right, and the proof is in the sales.
Secondly, if a better product is put on the market, it deserves success. Apple are trying to release that 'better product' with the iPhone, and if it causes others to out-do Apple, that's great for the customers. As an Apple customer, I hope this spurs a lot of competition. I'll be very happy to see a superior device from Microsoft or Nokia or whoever, as this will both raise the bar for the industry and force Apple to lift their own game or get out.
When people realize that Apple is no different than Microsoft, they will choose devices and software based upon need and usage requirements, rather than a religious belief to either company.
Outside of the enthusiast groups (including Slashdot), very few people care about Apple or Microsoft or operating systems at all. The 'religion' is pretty limited, and my experience has been that the majority of customers either don't know of it (and thus don't factor it into their purchases) or know about it but buy what actualy suits their needs (and thus don't factor it into their purchases). There are rabid Apple and Microsoft fans, but they're a minority as far as I can tell.
Precious Roy, Precious Roy, Makin' lots of suckers out of girls and boys!
It's an overpriced yuppie toy status symbol for the same tools who pay $50 for a "status brand" T-shirt and buy a new cell phone every six months. That's why it's only designed to last that long. Apple figures they'll sell 3-4 of them over the course of the contract they're locked into. And you know what? The desire to have the latest "cool" thing plus the notoriously short attention spans of these people means they probably will.
/. is well behind the power curve: iPhone costs about $220 to make. I guess I should be happy to get three dupes of some MIT wunderkind's latest too-cool-for-school case mod involving a pizza box or something.
Basically, Apple put a cell phone into an iPod and tripled the price. And to get it, you must sign a two year contract with the execrable AT&T Wireless (f/k/a Cingular) and pay full retail for the phone. Used to be that you got a break on the phone for signing a contract, no more. Apple knows that the idiot lemmings will flock to their stores and gladly plunk down $600 for a non-subsidized phone that you (1) cannot unlock, (2) cannot change the SIM card in, and (3) cannot even replace the battery.
As usual,
I'll stick to the BlackBerry, thank you very much. I can unlock that and use somebody else's SIM card when I travel overseas rather than pay exorbitant roaming charges.
For those of you Apple fanboys who think I'm just a hater, I'm typing this on my Mac Mini. I'm going to do work later on an iBook G4. Apple does make some great products, including the iPod, but they've screwed the pooch on this one bigtime.
For all the complete idiots who thought this was the one new device that would finally fill the hole in their lives and make them truly happy....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
For all the idiots who blindly buy any new apple product thinking it will make them cooler than everyone else....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
For those who haven't learned that buying the first version of a product(especially one that's in a new area for a company) is a bad idea....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I don't think it's a big issue. We have multiple iPods and cell phones that are well over 2 years old and we've never had a battery failure with any of them.
We also have a ton of rechargeable AA and AAA batteries for cameras, remotes, wireless XBox and PS controllers, etc. Many of them have had hundreds of charge cycles. We've yet to pronounce one of them "dead".
I'm glad Apple published the price and plan. If the battery fails, I know the cost. BUT, I doubt that I will have a failure before I get the 2G or 3G version of the iPhone.
FWIW.....
I am my own gestalt.
When I called the consumers that waited in queues for this monstrosity and then started complaining morons, I got modded down. Now, we see more articles like this, where people - who were made well aware that the battery was irremovable - are going "oh noes! Apple is overcharging us! Whatever will we do! :(". What the fuck did anyone expect? All of the problems this thing had were ignored by idiots who wanted to be the Cool Kid On The Block(TM).
I said it before, I'll say it again, and I don't care who thinks it's flamebait: anyone that queued for this thing that complains now is too stupid to be able to say anything, and I personally hope they have nothing but problems. I hope this costs these people over a thousand dollars, and becomes famous as an all-time worst bust, for the way Apple abuses their consumers, people who are too enamoured by pretty gadgets to realize how badly they're getting screwed.
Let's stop dilly-dallying and just change "-1: Overrated" to "-1: Disagree" or "-1: Doesn't Subscribe to Groupthink".