"iPod's Dirty Secret"

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?

Don't blame Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

The product has a one-year warranty. That means- you guessed it- Apple will back it up for one year. Want more? Lay out the $59 and buy an AppleCare Protection Plan- the service and support extends to 2-years.

Tech Support is a business, boys and girls, not a public service. Apple has to compete with illegal abuses of monopoly power, and yet they still offer top-notch support and quality products. Don't bitch about them not doing more than they said they would.

Re:Oh my gosh! any company that charges

[Anonymous Coward]

A shipping and handling fee of $29.95 USD will be charged for all iPod repairs performed after the first six months of the warranty.

Nice. STAB the consumer in the back for S&H. Nice.

Out-Of-Warranty Pricing
Price includes:
- Repair: $249.00 USD Replacement: labor, parts, and a 90-day guarantee on materials and workmanship, plus $6.95 USD shipping. $255.95 USD total.

Funny. 250 bucks regardless of model. Sounds like a gouge to me.

Steve Jobs in Interview:
Q: Still, $300 to $500 is an obstacle to a lot of people.
JOBS: No, of course I don?t think it?s too costly. Fifty million homes have DVD players that cost that kind of money. For music lovers, I don?t think it?s a hurdle at all. There are sneakers that cost more than an iPod.

Yes, $500 isnt a lot for a person worth more thatn 250 million dollars with a 100 million dollar jet.

Battery Service: $99.00 USD: labor, parts, and a 90-day guarantee on materials and workmanship, plus $6.95 shipping. $105.95 USD total.

$99 bucks for a battery that is worth $30. Nice. Where are the consumer protection laws when you need them.

Does it still work with a dead battery?

[Kris_J]

If you provide an iPod with power from outside will it still run as normal even with a dead battery? If so, there are going to be some cool-looking firewire HDD arrays in the future.

I love it!

[martinX]

Disclaimer: Mac user since OS7/LC III and I want an iPod once it becomes videoPod

I think it's great. If this doesn't wake Apple up, nothing will. Seriously, how hard would it have been to design the thing with an easily replaceable battery? That's one of the things you look for when buying things like digital cameras: how much does a replacement battery cost?

I love the iPod and I want one but here's to hoping that Gen 4 pods have easily replaceable batteries. Remember, the guys that did the vid are solid Mac users too. They're just righteously pissed off. More power to them.

Re:And a third-party iPod battery costs... $50.

[cpt kangarooski]

If you really want a fun time, look up the instructions for adding RAM to any of the Macintoshes based on the Quadra 800 case.

Re:Can we say...

[fname]

I don't think he's a vandal (or vandle), since he's disfiguring posters that Apple just throws up all over town, probably without a specific permit. He's just modifying it. Might be legal in some places but not in others; I don't think it's open-and-shut.

Not that big a deal for some :)

[djupedal]

When you race electric R/C cars on a serious level, you become quite adapt at building and servicing your own packs.

Popping the back off my iPod and installing a fresh battery, bought off the net for less than US$75.00, is nothing... I look forward to the day :)

Mine is fine and it is from Day 1

[azav]

I ordered an iPod a few hours after the first ones were announced in 2001. Still have it. Battery still works fine.

That's a 2 year old iPod for those who are curious.

Other products ...

[Midnight Thunder]

The iPod is not the only device to use built in rechargeable batteries. Other examples of such devices are cell phones and Palm PDAs. Cell phones usually have easy access to the batteries, but the high end Palm PDAs don't. Does anyone know in comparison how easy it is to change these batteries, how much they cost and what is their life span?

I think the issue may need to be making people aware of the lifespan of 'integrated' rechargeable batteries, no matter the product.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

News Flash

[MachineShedFred]

If you call ANY hardware support line for ANY company, they will ask for information, and if you don't give them the information they need to properly troubleshoot the issue, then you aren't going to get help.

In addition to that, if you are under the published system requirements, they have every right to tell you to sod off, as there are reasons the minumums are set there. Reasons such as driver support, performance considerations, and more likely in Apple's case, chipset support and removing the god-awful backwards compatibility engineering costs of supporting machines that are 6+ years old.

It's not just Apple that does this. Go buy ANY hardware OR software that you don't meet the minimum requirements for and call support saying it doesn't work, and see what response you get.

Oh, and nice blast at the end about people making money where others didn't have the vision to see what they had. I seem to recall Xerox executives voluntarily showing Jobs & Co the Smalltalk systems, above the protests of the PARC employees at the time.

Re:And a third-party iPod battery costs... $50.

[megan_of_wutai]

I don't need to :), I've done it.

My 840AV is pretty damn evil to get into, the worst bit is the disturbing snapping sounds as you undo/replace the clips along the top of the mobo. Saying that, it's not *insanely* difficult, just moreso than most other computers, hey, only 1 screw! :) (not including thumb screw type thingies).

Personally I've forgiven Apple forever considering how easy it is top put RAM into a B&W G3 and all later towers.

What's wrong with a 226ci V6 anyhow?

[mactari]

This is as bad as the old V-8 Mustang-IIs that required the engine be dropped to replace the back two spark plugs. Even the game boy advance has a user replaceable battery (albeit behind a screw).

There some reason you feel you always need to hit on all cylinders? Or that you can't rip a couple of holes in the firewall? ;^) There's nasty bolt in the top of my Jeep's Tremec T-150 tranny that's a real bear to get to, so I just busted a hole in the body big enough for a rachet wrench, and voila!

Which is the whole issue here, of course. I still haven't quite finished bolting my iBook up after upgrading the hard drive (and it's trivially worse for the wear). I wonder where the PRAM battery is on that monster; shoulda checked while I had the chance. And the PRAM on my Powerbook 1400 required flipping off the lid/screen and cracking the "body" in two. Nobody wants duct tape holding together their iBook body for easy hard drive access or 1400 for PRAM replacements.

I've often wondered if the way autos are put together isn't a result of some mechanics' union to get business "where it should be". It looks like Apple's doing the same thing [as my conspiracy theory] -- uncessarily difficult tasks which, to them, equal pure profit. Great analogy if Pony II's really had to have the engine dropped. That's madness.

Re:Oh my gosh!

[mehgul]

For starters, they don't actually have to pay $250, as another poster here pointed out, it's actually $99.

This is totally fresh and new, this 99$ replacement has been announced like, two weeks ago.

I'm willing to assume that when he called about getting the battery replaced he got someone new/clueless.

I personally assumed that in order to record the call for his movie, he probably had to call Apple a 2nd time. Or else he must be a paranoid or new in advance what they were gonna say, don't you think ?.
For the rest I agree this is an isolated case.