Law firm considering iPod class action suit

ZDNet UK



"Brothers Casey and Van Neistat, who collaborate on video projects using Mac editing software, were told by an Apple technical support representative that the cost to replace the dead battery in an 18-month-old iPod would be $255 (about £163, comparable to the cost of a new device). Incensed at what seemed to be the early obsolescence of the pricey music player, the brothers trekked around New York City stencilling the words "iPod's unreplaceable battery lasts only 18 months" on all the iPod posters they could find.

Now they claim video they created of their exploits is getting 50,000 hits a day, via ipodsdirtysecret.com. As of Wednesday afternoon the site was overloaded, having seen more than 186,000 visitors."

More from Dan Gillmor

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Re: iPod\'s

Umm, I don't know who's more stupid the brothers Neistat or Dan Gilmore considering that the very first google hit when searching for "replacement iPod Battery" is www.ipodbattery.com where you can buy a replacement for any model for $49. Course you have to put it in yourself, but thats not all that onerous.

Apple is also about to roll out a service whereby they will replace the battery for you for $90 I think. Thats not official yet.

I think the average useful life of a LiIon batt is about 18 to 24 months depending on usage. I know people that have gone through several batteries in that time and others who are still getting several hours of play from their original one. Oh well, no accounting for sillyness.

Re: iPod\'s

its pretty hard to replace for john q public.i love the looks of the ipod its a work of art. i love firewire and the fact it can recharge thru firewall.but battery is a scary thing for me.

Re: iPod\'s

Sometimes Steve Jobs blows it, like the round mouse for the iMac. I'd have put a couple of replaceable, rechargeable NiMH cells in it and ended up with a much more satisfied consumer in 24 months.

Re: iPod\'s

i liked my archos it took 4 aa and it took like 2 minutes to replace them.now archos has a 808 gig unit. but 80 gigs is just overkill. id be happy with 10 if it could do wma

Re: iPod\'s

Actually, I take it back, it IS official, Apple will do a battery replacement for units older than 1 years for $99. ipod service document the $255 figure quoted above is for a generic out of warranty repair, like replacing the hard drive if you run it through the wash in your pocket or something /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I might agree that an easier replacement would have been a nice design choice, but $50 every 18 months to do it yourself or $99 to have them do it is not unreasonable and a lion batt cannot be expected to be usable after 18 to 24 months. Thats just the way it is.

Raggie, it's not that hard to open it up, you could do it, I have confidence in you.

Re: iPod\'s

lol i know i can.im some what inclined mechanicaly i may still buy one.if its louder then the last time i heard one ive heard a first gen one.and it was in crowded loud store..walmart has a 20 gig creative labs unit for 159 now i may look at it to..but i love the size of ipod.its a work of art.

Re: iPod\'s

Sending the iPod back for a replacement battery in the Continental USA is OK for Americans, but far less attractive outside the US. Living in Canada, I would not look forward to shipping it across the border twice, paying taxes, insurance, shipping, etc. Heaven forbid if I lived in Zimbabwe or whatever.

Re: iPod\'s

hey any of ya ipod owners that have heard a sony diskman or walkman how does it sound compared to them?does it get loud as em.?does it get louder.

Re: iPod\'s

I want to know what those 2 guys were thinking. "Lets video-tape ourself putting graffiti all over Apple's advertising, post it on the internet, and just wait for Apple to come arrest us!"

Obviously Windows iPod users /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif otherwise they'd realize that Apple is actually very sensitive about this kind of thing.

Re: iPod\'s

[ QUOTE ]
Saaby said:
Obviously Windows iPod users /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: iPod\'s

ZDNet UK: "Brothers Casey and Van Neistat, who collaborate on video projects using Mac editing software..."

Re: iPod\'s \"Dirty Secret\"

what do you all think of this player. its more in my price range mp3 player

Re: iPod\'s

[ QUOTE ]
PhotonBoy said:
ZDNet UK: "Brothers Casey and Van Neistat, who collaborate on video projects using Mac editing software..."

[/ QUOTE ]

Shhh! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sssh.gif so I can't read...

Re: iPod\'s

My brother-in-law has an Ipod. It seems like changing the battery wouldn't be all that hard for a mechanically minded individual. BUT, this is the very reason I bought an Iriver flash based player. It sounds great and the interface is very easy. Takes simple AA's and they last a long time. But I still love the Ipod. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: iPod\'s

iriver is a great company.they have a hardrive based unit now ...but i saw a ipod today on a show called the screensavers(a live comptuer tech show) and it was so awesume looking i just wish they had a 10 gig unit for around 200

Re: iPod\'s

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Re: iPod\'s

in 18 months mp3 players will be a lot diferent id say useing a smaler more compresable codec i think flash memory will be the way they go i realy expect to see a 5 gig flashcard the size of a nickel by then.

Re: iPod\'s

If you only get 18 months and pay apple to do the replacement for you thats a battery cost of $1.38 a week. If you don't listen much you might use less than that in AA's and you could certainly save if you used rechargeables. But I think your level of outrage is out of proportion.

EDIT: I've sat in on a battery change. It's difficult to do it without putting some marks on the case. If you take your time it might take a whole 5 minutes to do it.

Really, if you think the thing is overpriced or have something against Apple in general, then don't buy one. But this doesn't qualify for a class action lawsuit, nor does spending $1.38 a week on batteries make me feel like I've been taken by those crazy marketing dudes at apple.

Re: iPod\'s

It's all about demographics. This whole fiasco with the iPod's dirty secret video may cause some people to decide against an iPod, but there's a who other demographic that nobody ever talks about, because they never talk, I like to call them the "uninformed." These are the type of people you'll never see on a message board. These are the type of people with disposable income. Lots of it. When their iPod battery dies they'll either toss the iPod and get a new one, or be thrilled to find out that Apple can replace their battery for just $100.

I'm *GLAD* Apple has done this. I see a healthy eBay market for 18-24 month old iPods with tired batteries.