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Apple Recalls Beats Pill XL Speakers As Fire Risk
An anonymous reader writes: Apple has released a voluntary recall announcement for the Beats Pill XL range of speakers, advising customers that the rechargeable device is a fire risk, and advising them to stop using the devices immediately. Apple bought the manufacturers out in 2014 after the successful release of the XL speaker range in November 2013. The announcement reads in part: "Because customer safety is the company’s top priority, Apple is asking customers to stop using their Beats Pill XL speakers. Customers who purchased a Beats Pill XL speaker should visit www.apple.com/support/beats-pillxl-recall for details about how to return their product to Apple, and how to receive an Apple Store credit or electronic payment of $325."
that those speakers aren't hot.
Anybody who pays $325 for a pair of speakers has already been burnt enough
Apple has a replacement product: The Beats Suppository XS.
FTR: Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world
Yeah, I admit their hardware is pretty good, and it's certainly up near the top in design and reliability, but damn, saying it that way sure does look like a conflict of interest.
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Apple knows its market.
Beats speakers are better because they cost more and are sparkly. Perfect fit for Apple.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS??
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
Apple pays attention to sound quality. This is evident from what comes out of the iphone, ipad, mac mini.
Beats, on the other hand, dips the music in sweet syrup, then wraps it in a soft blanket and then gives the bass a +10db boost. That's what their headphones sounded like to me.
I can only hope Apple will show beats what music really sounds like.
And as for bluetooth speakers, I use a JBL Clip. At least JBL remembers how to make good sound. Beats never learned. Plus it's really hard to clip a Pill to your backpack.. unless you improvise a carrying handle out of 1/2 inch velcro like a bud of mine did.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
Probably, though word of the recall probably hit the retailers so they won't sell anymore to anyone.
But I believe Apple has to refund the cost to everyone who bought one even if they bought it at the launch price. And the overhead to go and check to see what everyone really paid may outweigh the fact that a few people who bought one yesterday might make a few bucks in profit.
After all, people don't keep receipts so if you're going to have a policy that applies to them, it better be uniform - if people who don't have receipts get $325 and people who do get what they paid, well, if you paid less, you'd "lose" the receipt as well.
And I'm sure the extra money helps Apple maintain their image - if you're going to profit, it's just extra incentive to send in the unit, and well, exploding fire-y things is probably something Apple wants to avoid. If it means paying an extra $75 to people, so be it.
The real question is - was this done by Apple themselves or did the CPSC or other agency demand Apple do it?
lithium battery.
Yep, those things that don't like being vibrated to shit.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
You forgot "Burning down the house - Talking Heads"
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My Jim Lansing & Jensen Speakers have been working fine for 50 years.
Yup. Pair of Pioneers going on 45 years here. They don't make 'em like they used to.
and they don;t even get warm. What's in a Beats speaker that causes the conflagration?
Well, to be fair, they have this rather nifty feature with the fact that it runs on a rechargeable battery...you know the kind that our government refuses to acknowledge as "hazardous" amidst a sea of torched consumer products.
Or is it the crappy music that kids play today?
No, that just makes your ears bleed and make you scream for real singers to emerge again. It doesn't really do anything to your speakers that likely played their fair share of crappy 70's disco.
The nice thing about the Jim Lansing D-130 is the efficiency. Even a 10W amplifier can blast you out of the room.
Yup. In that sense, it's pretty damn awesome.
Buy broken speaker on eBay, get 325$USD in Apple store credit!
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I thought setting the heads of people that use Beats on fire was a feature.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Why does it matter? If Apple pulled them voluntarily then good for Apple. If it's a government agency, then great for them as well in doing their job. The issue is more about getting the OK to sell the product in the first place. Clearly, this thing wasn't tested properly.
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Hmmph.
My Dahlquist DQ10s are practically brand new. Bought them in 1975. Still sound great, even though I had to re-cone the woofers about 15 years ago when the paper gave out.
Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.
I'm wright 50% of the time!
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
In America, you don't (yet) need government permission to sell a product, with a few exceptions e.g. drugs. Product liability is your problem, after the fact. Most producers of products with wires inside choose to interact with Underwriters Laboratories, because only a fool buys anything electric that's not UL listed.
UL does quite a good job in testing, but rechargeable batteries have some oddball corner cases, and I wonder how comprehensive UL is there (they're downright picky about all sorts of materials requirements related to how stuff burns).
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Sparkly... sparky... whoops. Honest mistake.
Log in or piss off.
Why would you need to recharge speakers? I don't even own any speakers that need to be plugged into a wall outlet, let alone be plugged into a recharger. Why is the "save the world" crowd so enamored with wasteful battery technology?
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
Apple allows clueless customers (followers) a second chance to make an "intelligent" purchasing decision.
Apple bought the Beats company for the brand name and the large subscriber database from the music service. Apple suffers from a problem of being 'your parents brand' and wanted to buy something hip.
It's a lot like if JC Penney bought Beats, but don't tell Apple.
because only a fool buys anything electric that's not UL listed.
Yeah, the first thing I look for when I'm out shopping is that good ol' UL logo. I don't trust any of that CE shit, and god help em if all its got is CES.
People dont have the first clue what the hell any of them are. If you were to ask five random strangers off the street, you would have a better chance of one of them knowing the capital of Uzbekistan than of knowing what one of those marks means. The likely closest you'd get would be a general description of the FCC.
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Yup. Pair of Pioneers going on 45 years here. They don't make 'em like they used to.
The hell they don't. I bought a single channel Bluetooth at Radioshack during the post mortem, and the sound quality out of it is every bit as good as the pair of cerwin vegas my parents bought back in the 70's. Granted it wont handle 200Watts, but the sound quality is awesome for a piece of equipment that was supposed to retail for $99.95.
I also defy anyone to find car audio speakers from the 70s that can beat a decent pair of modern kenwood for raw power or sound quality.
Even Bose speakers put out incredible sound compared with the stuff you could get back in the 70s and 80s. Speakers today are smaller, louder, higher fidelity and cheaper.
I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
That CE shit is socialist - start giving it credit for anything, and next thing you know your taxes are higher, and you have an unnatural fondness for cheese.
Seriously, though, it's the stores that will usually check for the UL logo for you, thanks to liability fears. The buyers for the big chains know what it means, and that's an important reason why producers bother.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.