seriously, you just don't get it do you?
Touché...
no one i know wants to send off their phone to have the battery replaced. it's retarded. if it's gotta be soldered in, then at least teach the techs at the apple store or at&t store how to do the repair in shop to avoid sending it anywhere.
Apple does not want to manage training for thousands of employees at AT&T and Apple stores when it can manage the process centrally, so it can ensure quality in the process.
most people don't want to give up their personal phone for any amount of time, because quite simply, there's personal stuff in there. it's a communications device, and someone else having it means they have access to all your numbers, emails, text messages, etc.
This is the kind of misunderstanding of the process that is the problem:
You just erase all data on the phone before it's sent in.
Open iTunes. Click "Restore". Done.
i'm aware that the sim card is swappable, but what about the other internal drive?
...
One button click and ALL personal data is off the phone permanently.
How difficult is this?
the fact that you seem to be fighting everyone who feels this way is really crazy. would you like your personal computer to be sent off to be worked on? probably not, but if you had to you would. so would i, but i wouldn't like it.
Thousands of people send their computers to vendors to be worked on with their data intact on the machine, but hopefully backed up.
But since the iPhone battery replacement doesn't even return the same phone (and even if it did), and all it takes is one sync with iTunes to get back exactly to where you were before, the only thing you have to do is purge all personal data from the phone before you send it in.
Again,
1. iTunes
2. Restore
3. There is no step 3.
my point is that by design, you MUST send your phone in to have a battery replaced. this is silly to me, and most normal people. i don't think it's that big of a deal on an ipod because it's just music and videos, stuff i can replace. this may not be the case with info on one's phone.
1. iTunes
2. Restore
3. There is no step 3.
All of your personal information is gone. One sync with iTunes returns everything to the replacement phone, and anything that's been done with the loaner/service phone in the meantime. Oops, but they might have all your personal information from the service phone, too!
Oh, wait. You can just click one button before you return that, and all of your personal information is gone from there as well.
who's lost a cell phone before or broken one beyond repair? was it a pain in the rear to find all those numbers again? unless you are poindexter and write down every number you ever get, it sucks. and they ALWAYS tell you at the cell phone store that it's no big deal, just swap out the sim card and all your stuff will be there. i personally lost info this way, and i know several people who experienced the same problem, either due to an incompetent cell phone store employee, or just bad luck.
This is *completely* irrelevant to the discussion.
1. iPhone doesn't store anything except the phone number, essentially the phone's "identity", on the SIM. All other info is on the internal memory.
2. There is no danger of Apple "losing" your data because:
- It's ALL in iTunes on your computer, which it should be synced with, and
- Your computer should always be backed up.
3. Apple cannot gain access to your data if you simply do a software restore on your phone before it's sent in. Apple even *instructs* you to do this, for heaven's sake.
nobody wants to give up their phone to simply swap a battery. i'm sorry you don't understand. and yes, i think spending over $100 to do it in order to have a temporary phone sucks.
1. "Nobody" is provably wrong, so that already invalidates that part of your argument.
2. You're not even getting your own phone back, as I've said repeatedly. You're getting back a replacement iPhone in the same exact way that it has happened with iPod since November 2003, which you have already said is acceptable.
and that's not the sole reason why i think some people are saying they don't want an iphone, but it is a contributing factor for those that know about it..
I'm sure you understand that if people are making the decision based on false assumptions like "I won't have a phone in the meantime" (wrong) or "Apple can see all my personal data" (wrong) or "I won't have a phone with all of my own personal information, contacts, etc. in the meantime" (wrong) or "If the battery only lasts 300-400 charges then I have to replace the battery every 300-400 days!" (wrong), etc., then it's not realy a valid reasoning process that is being used.
If you simply disagree with the decision to make it with a sealed battery, and fully understand that you'll probably never have to replace the battery if you keep the phone for a typical amount of time, and understand that there is no way Apple can access your personal information if you perform a restore on the phone before sending it in, that's fine.
the biggest factor for me is that they are using at&t which has terrible coverage in my area. would i get one if they used another provider? maybe, but there are other factors.
Fine. Valid reason.
i don't think anyone is saying that the battery issue is worst thing in the world, but it does make you wonder why they made it that way. a simple internal plug would be sufficient instead of soldering it so it has to be sent off.
Soldering isn't way it has to be sent off, and it wasn't done this way so it *had* to be sent off. Certain models of iPod already have the battery soldered.
This doesn't really make sense, though, since solder or no, no iPod battery is officially "user replaceable", either. They're all varying degrees of difficulty. And I already explained why Apple designed all iPods and the iPhone this way. Some people might not like it, but the humorous thing is that the vast majority of people generally bitching about it have never actually had to (and probably never will) replace a battery in an iPod or iPhone during the lifetime that it is in their possession in use.
i love the idea of the iphone, and later on i might get one if i move or they offer it to other provider, but for now i think they have some kinks to work out. maybe they don't care, and maybe the battery thing won't mean that much, but i still think they could have made it differently to avoid having to send it off, and yes, they could have done the same with the ipod.
...which would have added size and weight to the device, as well as AT LEAST a small external indication of a door. You may think a half-an-ounce and a couple of millimeters in thickness or a half-hour less in battery life are no big deal. But it's a HUGE deal, and the design and engineering decision to make a sealed unit is part of what makes the iPod and iPhone so small and sleek and clean in appearance. That, in turn, is a huge factor in their consumer attractiveness, and thus their market success. Apple has eliminated size, bulk, weight, and complexity by using sealed battery. Does it suck when and if you need to replace the battery? Yes. I agree myself. HOWEVER, I also understand the tradeoff: I have a smaller and lighter device because of it. Would some people take a heavier and larger device, possibly also with less battery life because of the compromises that have to be made in internal design to accommodate a "user accessible" battery? I'm sure some would. Many wouldn't. And since it's something that needs to be done so very infrequently by people, if at all in the time they own/use the product, hopefully you can at least understand why Apple did it. It's not to screw the customer or force people into buying new equipment.
if you don't get the logic, that's fine, but don't second guess people because they have personal feelings about giving up their stuff to be sent off.
You said it was acceptable for iPod.
iPhone uses the EXACT SAME MECHANISM to replace the battery as iPod.
You somehow don't think it's acceptable for iPhone.
EVERY SINGLE REASON you have come up with (outlined above) is incorrect.
So yeah, that's why I'm taking issue with your reasoning.
and yes, if i didn't get my phone back after sending it off i'd probably be pissed. who wants a refurb? i'd rather have my phone back with a new battery than a refurb with a new case. at least i know where it's been and what, if any problems it may or may not have. if you take your car in for service, would it be ok if they gave you a refurbished car instead of your original vehicle? probably not if you have half a brain.
Ahh, the old "I don't know where it's been" argument. These are all circuit board components that have been sealed inside other phones. Each component is factory tested. Some are replaced with new components. The entire external physical enclosure is new. Anything that has the slightest hint of anything being wrong is discarded. So it looks physically new, has factory tested and QAed components, and has its own service warranty.
Additionally, you already said the replacement process for iPod was acceptable, and this is identical.
I didn't say you couldn't think that battery replacement mechanism sucked. But it's logically inconsistent to say that it's fine for your iPod but not for your phone. All of the reasons you say the phone is "different" (not wanting to be without a phone while it's sent in, not wanting Apple to have your personal data) are invalid. That's what I'm taking issue with.
If you think the battery replacement program sucks, great. But when you think it sucks for reasons that simply aren't true (e.g., the personal data argument), then you can see why I'm correcting your misunderstandings, so other people don't mistakenly believe you're actually correct.
Let me be very clear: if you personally just don't like the fact that battery is sealed, that is fine. But once you said that the process was okay for iPod but not for iPhone, that's what I found curious. The other problem is that misinformation (like other people believing that Apple will have their personal information, not realizing it's a literally 5 second job on the main iTunes screen to erase the phone) doesn't help others formulate correct decision processes about the phone. Wouldn't you agree it's best for people to actually have accurate information on which to base their decisions?
When I started
http://ipodbatteryfaq.com it wasn't because I thought the battery replacement program was the greatest thing on earth. It was because I saw people making decisions based on things like:
1. Once the iPod battery dies, you have to throw it away and get a new one
2. Apple intentionally used "bad" batteries so people would need new iPods sooner
3. iPod batteries are somehow different or "worse" than any other li-ion battery
4. There is no way to replace an iPod battery yourself
5. The battery needs to be replaced every 18 months
6. There is no easy way to get all your songs back onto the replacement iPod
7. Etc.
And now I'm starting to see the same things with iPhone...
1. You will have to be without an iPhone for several days
2. A third party will have access to all of your private and personal information
3. Even if I get a loaner phone, I won't be able to add any contacts or songs in the meantime
4. I'll need to replace the battery every 300-400 days
5. Apple could easily have made the battery replaceable while maintaining the exact shape, apperance, size, and weight of the current iPhone
6. My personal information might be lost if I have to send in the phone
7. Etc.
I'd hope that you value the idea of people actually having correct information when they make their decisions.
products but do not like the constant 'fleecing' of its customers. I will NOT buy an iPhone until the battery is user replaceable. 
