"iPod's Dirty Secret" 262
akpoff writes "Have you ever made a promise while in tech-support hell to let everyone know how bad the product is? The Neistat brothers followed through after the batteries in an iPod died and Apple told them it would cost US$250 to replace them. The tech rep told the guys they might as well buy a new iPod. The brothers thought differently and made a movie showing how they got the word out in a large metro area. Of course it was made on a Mac with iMovie." Their statement is a bit misleading: many people have iPods that have lasted a lot longer than 18 months (the iPod was released over two years ago). But the batteries don't last forever. What is their life expectancy? Does Apple notify consumers of a life expectancy?
Wrong. Apple offers a $99 battery replacement (Score:1, Informative)
No battery problems here (Score:5, Informative)
Idiots. (Score:5, Informative)
Days after Apple announced the $99 battery replacement policy.
Months after www.ipodbattery.com [ipodbattery.com] offered $50 battery replacements.
Replacement battery for $49 (Score:5, Informative)
Like anyone thought that Apple could summons the power of the Almighty and create a Lithium-ion battery that lasts forever...
Re:Oh my gosh! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:And a third-party iPod battery costs... $50. (Score:3, Informative)
Irrelevant in this case since if the iPod is under warranty Apple will fix it for you for the mailing costs.
Would you pop open the case of your VCR and replace the damaged or worn out heads?
Probably not because I don't have the equipment to do the alignment etc.
You can't compare this to ram, hard drives or any replaceable computer part.
I have seen plenty of PC's where installation of RAM requires pulling the power supply, something I consider beyond most end users.
The fact of the matter is that this article is total nonsense. Apple offers a $99 replacement service, and there are companies like PDA smart that will replace the battery for you for $69.
Re:They must work for SCO (Score:2, Informative)
Here's how I understood it:- two brothers have certain issues with their iPod battery. They call up Apple support and ask if there's anything they can do about it, presumably because, as you mentioned, it's an expensive toy and would want to do things the Right Way (tm). Apple support says, sorry, your replacement costs US$250/-, which, obviously, pisses them off to creatively protest about it.
I know I would be pissed off, never mind the fact that there's some odd-ball third-party site offering a cheaper alternative, or if Apple's webpage disagrees with their support staff; most people tend to believe (in) what they've been told by the concerned people, as opposed to reading something off the net. In other words, this is not so much a case of showing off your l33t googling skills, as it is of companies telling apparently wrong pieces of information through what's a blatantly one-way mode of communication.
To be sure, that's one reason why I'd actually applaud their graffiti; it is a sureshot way of getting back at the company by hitting where it hurts. Whether they are correct in their assertion is a moot point, really; as you've so successfully pointed out, there's no reason for us to believe their statement. But all the same, it is Apple which has to respond to the video, not us.
I mean, is it me, or can't some people stand anything being said against Apple?
Re:Oh my gosh! (Score:5, Informative)
Since always. Li-ion batteries often show failure at 2 years.
Li-ion [buchmann.ca]
"Aging is a concern with most Li-ion batteries. For unknown reasons, battery manufacturers are silent about this issue. Some capacity deterioration is noticeable after one year, whether the battery is in use or not. Over two or perhaps three years, the battery frequently fails."
Apple's engineers sat down one day, desinged the cheapest battery in the world that barely met all the requirements, and laughed as they increased Job's profit margin and screwed the end user with an inferior product.
I don't think Apple is designing batteries. Like every other box vendor they are buying technologies available from others.
get real. (Score:1, Informative)
what makes you think these are the same? Apple's price includes the shipping and installation and does not violate the warantee. Also since apple is exchanging your ipod, not just changing the battery you can be pretty certain you will be getting back an ipod in better condition than the one you sent in.
i'll bet the farm my 10gB ipod cost apple less than $300 to make
I'll take that farm. Have you priced out the components, let alone the cost of providing customer service and warantees? that's right go price out a 40GB micro drive, or a set a samarium cobalt ear peices. mas production? get real. apples not driving those markets. if these could be made for a lot less dell and nomad would be selling them for a lot less.
you should reasonably expect to replace the battery in less than a year?
uh yes, depending upon use. THese things have a finite number of cycles. But in your case your ipod battery is under warantee. so stop whining.
Re:I love it! (Score:3, Informative)
Ah-hem. [apple.com]
This was announced before this website was up.
Re:Oh my gosh! (Score:2, Informative)
I'm curious, what of Apple's "other technology" is proprietary?
Oh, you meant that in order to make it portable and usable they chose a battery that fit the form factor? Oh. How sad. Do you know how many camera vendors do that? Sure, they're removable, but have you ever noticed how much larger they are to accommodate that bay for it?
You want replaceable batteries for an iPod? Belkin offers that (a backpack for it that runs it on AA batteries). It's possible.
Tool.
Re:They must work for SCO (Score:2, Informative)
No excuse. If they're farmed-out phone service sucks, they can either do better contract management or bring it in house. Outsourcing the function does not allow them to outsource the responsibility.
iPod Lifespan (Score:3, Informative)
I bought a 15 GB to replace it, but paid more than I needed to just to get it at Best Buy and get the $40 extended warranty. I NEVER buy extended warranties, but in this case, Best Buy is crazy - for $40, I guarantee the life of my iPod to 3 years. iPods are great, but I would never put their average lifespan as that long.
Re:Replacement battery for $49 (Score:5, Informative)
Whenever you see somebody selling a battery for too much, don't forget that they need to buy it from somewhere, and they need to make a profit. Most industrial rechargeable batteries you'll find on replacement sites are sourced through DigiKey or Newark, and the manufacturer's markings are usually left intact on the original battery. Just head over to one of those sites and type in the part number. You'll usually see a 50%+ savings. This goes for UPS batteries too!
Re:Defective by Design (Score:3, Informative)
So, removing the back of the iPod is as complicated as removing an engine from a Mustang? I think you're being overly-dramatic here. Batteries have a finite life; always have, always will. Battery hatches can be held on with a screw, or a clip, or any other manner of things. The fact that the hatch isn't separate with the cover, hardly makes this a non-servicable part. If someone wants to be lazy and/or scared to do the work themselves, they can drop 99 bucks to have someone else do it, or they can do it themselves for 50 bucks.
This is no different from any other value-added service of a product - if you want someone else to do something for you, they get to set the price and you get to decide if it's worth the money.
Looking at these guys' site, I can't help but wonder if the situation is truly as they describe - the price is wrong, what else did they get wrong and/or distort?
Re:Does it still work with a dead battery? (Score:4, Informative)
For your information only. (Score:3, Informative)
strange reminder (Score:2, Informative)
I thought nothing of it, seeing as how I could understand how some stupid people could take something the wrong way and do something stupid about it. Now... there's a slashdot article and a little movie about it...
That's why I get the warrenty... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:And a third-party iPod battery costs... $50. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Oh my gosh! (Score:3, Informative)
No.
Generally, batteries are *not* covered under a warranty. They are considered "consumables" and are handled under a separate agreement, if at all.
So, any regular or additional warranties would apply to the iPod device itself.
As pointed out be many others, having a consumable that you have to void the warranty to replace is a stupid design. Forcing consumers to void their warranty to maintain a perfectly useful device is a stupid design.
We need to stop designing things that are fucking useless, or a PITA to maintain, only after a few years.
Re:D'oh. (Score:2, Informative)
194,000 loads so far and counting...that's got to be more than a battery....
Re:My bag of cookies are gone, do I get another, f (Score:2, Informative)
Behaviour like this kills li-ion, lots.