Apple Releases 4th Gen iPod

[raypang]

An unhappy first time Apple buyer

I read this forum and decided to ring Apple UK on Tuesday morning. Armed with a screenshot of Monday's website I received an email telling me that the lady had spoken to a sales manager who confirmed that I would receive the accessories. I got an email to confirm it.

But then I got this today:

"Dear Mr Pang,

First of all may I apologise for any confusion caused by the Apple support web-site yesterday (20th July).

It has been brought to our attention that the web page http://www.apple.com/uk/ipod/specs.html was displaying some inaccurate
information about the specifications of the new iPods for a brief time yesterday. We brought this to the attention of the web masters in the Apple Care department and this was quickly rectified and now displays the accurate information in relation to this product.



Despite this the web-site http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore, where you placed your order has always stated clearly what the 20GB iPod ships with,

which is Apple Earphones, AC Adapter, FireWire cable and USB 2.0 cable. As such, when placing your order, you would have been advised on the Apple store web site that the carry case and the remote are available as optional accessories. As such, we advertised exactly what we were offering for sale on the Apple Store web-site and feel that the Apple Store was not misleading. We deeply regret if you feel we have misrepresented the accessory items that come as part of the new generation iPods, but stress that our web masters have gone to great lengths to ensure
that the content would not be open to interpretation.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you feel that we may be of further assistance for any future orders."

Now I'm really unhappy. Firstly, I ordered a 40gb iPod, not 20gb. Secondly, I had confirmation that I would be receiving the accessories. For them to turn around like this is not acceptable. I wouldn't have been too miffed if they'd said at the beginning "Yep, sorry, our mistake, but it was a mistake and you don't get the extra bits" but to change their mind afterwards is, in my opinion, not right.

Have any other UK people got this message, or indeed, got their accessories confirmed?

 

[gco212]

I ordered the new 20 gig iPod, but I have one question about the griffin fm transmitter. Does it work without the dock connector, because the store says compatible with all iPod's with dock connector.

 

[iMeowbot]

I ordered the new 20 gig iPod, but I have one question about the griffin fm transmitter. Does it work without the dock connector, because the store says compatible with all iPod's with dock connector.

Yes, it works without the dock. The iPods with dock connectors have a different kind of remote control jack than older models, and it's the remote jack that actually matters. The dock connector is only mentioned because it's easier to describe (until some wiseguy comes around and starts asking too many questions 😉 ).

 

[drlunanerd]

I read this forum and decided to ring Apple UK on Tuesday morning. Armed with a screenshot of Monday's website I received an email telling me that the lady had spoken to a sales manager who confirmed that I would receive the accessories. I got an email to confirm it.

But then I got this today:

"Dear Mr Pang,

First of all may I apologise for any confusion caused by the Apple support web-site yesterday (20th July).

It has been brought to our attention that the web page http://www.apple.com/uk/ipod/specs.html was displaying some inaccurate
information about the specifications of the new iPods for a brief time yesterday. We brought this to the attention of the web masters in the Apple Care department and this was quickly rectified and now displays the accurate information in relation to this product.



Despite this the web-site http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore, where you placed your order has always stated clearly what the 20GB iPod ships with,

which is Apple Earphones, AC Adapter, FireWire cable and USB 2.0 cable. As such, when placing your order, you would have been advised on the Apple store web site that the carry case and the remote are available as optional accessories. As such, we advertised exactly what we were offering for sale on the Apple Store web-site and feel that the Apple Store was not misleading. We deeply regret if you feel we have misrepresented the accessory items that come as part of the new generation iPods, but stress that our web masters have gone to great lengths to ensure
that the content would not be open to interpretation.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you feel that we may be of further assistance for any future orders."

Now I'm really unhappy. Firstly, I ordered a 40gb iPod, not 20gb. Secondly, I had confirmation that I would be receiving the accessories. For them to turn around like this is not acceptable. I wouldn't have been too miffed if they'd said at the beginning "Yep, sorry, our mistake, but it was a mistake and you don't get the extra bits" but to change their mind afterwards is, in my opinion, not right.

Have any other UK people got this message, or indeed, got their accessories confirmed?

Damn, I'm really sorry mate. This doesn't bode well for me now either. Like you I got told on the phone that it was all OK and I'd get the accessories sent (although unlike you I didn't get a follow-up email), but they still haven't updated my order. There's no way they're taking me for a ride on this one. If you really want the 40 gigger I'd either tell them to stuff it, or threaten them with Trading Standards if they won't change their minds. The inconsistency of their policy is not on, as you say. We ordered what was advertised (and I got a second confirmation of this order, which is a binding contract to sell). They're in breach of contract if they start removing items from your bundled order.

OK, and breathe... ;-) I think I may well shelve my order if I get no joy on this. I have to admit I don't need a new 40GB iPod, as I'd really rather have a 60GB version due to my music library size. I was prepared to compromise as it seemed a very good deal when all the discounts I've obtained and accessories were taken into account. Removing the accessories from the equation reduces the justifiability in my eyes. Hey, this could be a blessing in disguise - if I soldier on with my 1st gen 10GB for a couple more months I might get the 60GB that I dream about... My little sister will be pissed though as she thinks she's getting my cast-off 10 gigger!

 

[zpapasmurf]

Ive noticed a lot of 3g owners are waiting for a firmware upgrade to make their menu the same as the 4g...

Being a 2g owner, i feel i am in the position to tell you that you will most likely get shafted.

Apple never gave us 2gers new firmware to make on the go playlists and all the other new additions to the 36 pod. This makes me think they wont release firmware with new stuff for the 3g pod either.

 

[raypang]

Damn, I'm really sorry mate. This doesn't bode well for me now either. Like you I got told on the phone that it was all OK and I'd get the accessories sent (although unlike you I didn't get a follow-up email), but they still haven't updated my order. There's no way they're taking me for a ride on this one. If you really want the 40 gigger I'd either tell them to stuff it, or threaten them with Trading Standards if they won't change their minds. The inconsistency of their policy is not on, as you say. We ordered what was advertised (and I got a second confirmation of this order, which is a binding contract to sell). They're in breach of contract if they start removing items from your bundled order.

It's a real shame, as I've been waiting for a new release of the iPod before taking the plunge. Unlike yourself, I haven't got an iPod or other MP3 player, and I start work soon, and really need it for the tube!

So I've got a bit of legal advice, and it seems that the tech specs page is a collateral contract to the sales contract, and thus it is misrepresentation of the goods, which entitles you to pull out of the contract, i.e. for you to cancel the order at no expense, so no restocking fee if you've already had it shipped.

Now the situation about the website is that it is merely an invitation to treat, which means it is not legally binding that they must supply you with what they put on the website. However, querying them over the phone or by email forms part of the offer on your part to buy the item as you describe it (i.e. with the accessories) and thus their confirmation (even if by phone as it's a verbal contract) is an acceptance of your offer, and so their email to me today that they won't be supplying the bits is a breach of contract.

There are other bits about the torts and duty of care which I'm looking into should I need to back myself up further.

Or that is my understanding (and the understanding of a learned colleague!). That is the line I will be taking with Apple tomorrow morning, and I'll let you know how it went.

BTW I haven't got any personal problem with the Apple staff - the reason I got this advice was to see if I really was justified in my beliefs! Nor do I think this reflects badly on Apple - it's simply an error on their website which was unfortunate for them.

 

[Jono]

Did anyone who ordered yesterday (Tuesday) morning have their iPod shipped yet? Just wondering since mine hasn't shipped yet, hopefully by tonight 🙂

 

[drlunanerd]

BTW I haven't got any personal problem with the Apple staff - the reason I got this advice was to see if I really was justified in my beliefs! Nor do I think this reflects badly on Apple - it's simply an error on their website which was unfortunate for them.

Yep, my sentiments too. I was treated very well on the phone, and it was clear at the time they were trying to do the "honourable" thing in the customer's best interest. The fact we both got told they'd honour the mistaken specs, and then shafted afterwards by some rather less helpful jobsworth-types - well that's what's got me annoyed!

Don't worry though, I've got this all in perspective! That'd be my advice to anyone else in the same boat - if you really want a new iPod then go for it, irrespective of the fact that they now don't come with the extra bits and pieces. My 1G 10GB has been bloody great the past 2.5 years, and these new ones look good enough to me to (prematurely!) upgrade. You can always pick up a cheap remote from ebay; I'd recommend not bothering about the Apple carry case.

 

[gco212]

I ordered monday night, and mine hasn't shipped yet, but I got the laser engraving, so that might slow it. Also, when did they update their website and fix the accessory problem, and was it for the 20 gig as well. Because I will argue if so, but I honestly don't remember what was in it.

 

[raypang]

I ordered monday night, and mine hasn't shipped yet, but I got the laser engraving, so that might slow it. Also, when did they update their website and fix the accessory problem, and was it for the 20 gig as well. Because I will argue if so, but I honestly don't remember what was in it.

The UK website was fixed early on Tuesday morning. The 20gb one did not include the dock, remote or case. The 40gb on had the dock, remote and case.

 

[raypang]

Yep, my sentiments too. I was treated very well on the phone, and it was clear at the time they were trying to do the "honourable" thing in the customer's best interest. The fact we both got told they'd honour the mistaken specs, and then shafted afterwards by some rather less helpful jobsworth-types - well that's what's got me annoyed!

Don't worry though, I've got this all in perspective! That'd be my advice to anyone else in the same boat - if you really want a new iPod then go for it, irrespective of the fact that they now don't come with the extra bits and pieces. My 1G 10GB has been bloody great the past 2.5 years, and these new ones look good enough to me to (prematurely!) upgrade. You can always pick up a cheap remote from ebay; I'd recommend not bothering about the Apple carry case.

Oh absolutely, it still represents (in my eyes) good value for money, and it still is the must have piece of kit. If I hadn't ordered on Monday, I'd still order, but as you say, it's the fact that they changed their line that isn't on.

Anyway, good luck on your quest to get the accessories in the 40gb bundle!

 

[drlunanerd]

Oh absolutely, it still represents (in my eyes) good value for money, and it still is the must have piece of kit. If I hadn't ordered on Monday, I'd still order, but as you say, it's the fact that they changed their line that isn't on.

Anyway, good luck on your quest to get the accessories in the 40gb bundle!

One last thing - could you email me your screenshot of the specs page? I'd be grateful for any extra ammo in this battle!

 

[JGowan]

I just went to the website to look at this thing, ... the accessory page comes up and offers the dock as an accessory. Are you kidding me? This thing doesnt come with a charger??!! ... Either way thats ridiculous

It will come with an AC adapter and a firewire cable for you to charge & connect to your computer. The dock is a little sleeker as it allows the user to just sit the ipod in it standing up. Not really a huge deal.

It's good (mainly) for the simple fact that you don't lay the unit down on the precious scratch-happy silver back of the ipod.

 

[Dreckins]

Did anyone who ordered yesterday (Tuesday) morning have their iPod shipped yet? Just wondering since mine hasn't shipped yet, hopefully by tonight 🙂

Jono,
I ordered a 20 gig (w/out engraving) Tuesday morning over the phone and have had some problems arise with the shipping. It seems that Apple failed to deliver the package before the FedEx cutoff time, so instead of the sucker going out on the 21st it moved to the 22nd. The real bummer is that i had it sent 2nd day air, but because of the delay, that gets carried over the weekend, and i wont be getting my iPod till Monday or Tuesday! Should have just gone with free Standard. Apple wont credit it either, since my accessories went out on time 🙄

Im not saying that everyone's order coming out of Shainghai around that date is in the same boat as i am....but i am sure that my little box didnt fall off the truck and was lying alone on some random runway without some friends.

Hope the weekend goes by fast.

 

[BeanTownBrawler]

WOOT I got mine! 😀

I called my local store and they had 700 ipods, so I canceled my online order, headed over and picked up this baby. Its SWEET

 

[smegdude]

I've got me a new 40gb!!

There was one small problem, i wanted to transfer all the files from my old 2g 20gb ipod to my new one, i plugged my old one into the firewire port and new one into the usb2 port (on new 15" powerbook) When transfering files i kept getting error messages (error -36 transfer error) and the transfer would stop. I thought it might be the fact two ipods are plugged in, so i transfered the files to the powerbook, then unplugged my old ipod. I tried again (still plugged in via usb2) the same errors kept happening. They only stopped when i plugged the new ipod into the firewire port, it worked fine. Anyone else having this problem?? Is this an flaw in the new ipod or have i got a bad cable or something??

 

[raypang]

One last thing - could you email me your screenshot of the specs page? I'd be grateful for any extra ammo in this battle!

Just to let you know that Apple were updating my order as I called them at 9:25am. My complaint via email was dealt with before I even had a chance to use any of the legal stuff!

On the negative side, estimated ship date is now 03/08/04. I guess they have a supply problem here in the UK.

 

[drlunanerd]

Just to let you know that Apple were updating my order as I called them at 9:25am. My complaint via email was dealt with before I even had a chance to use any of the legal stuff!

On the negative side, estimated ship date is now 03/08/04. I guess they have a supply problem here in the UK.

OK, good news that they saw the light for you. They're quoting a 6-8 day lead time on the remotes, so that's probably what's put your order back.

Sheesh, I don't know what to do about this now. I'm either going to a) keep quiet and wait until it's delivered (current ship date is tomorrow), then kick up a fuss if the remote isn't with it. That way I get it in my sweaty hands sooner, but with the risk of not ever getting a "free" remote or being able to send it back if I start throwing my toys out of my pram about it; b) cancel the order and wait yet another few months for a mythological 60GB version to be available.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't ;-)

As a related aside, my real problem is the sheer size of my, ahem, collection. I've got too much encoded music to ever get on a current iPod. The solution is for me to better manage it I suppose, but I just naively wanted to feel the joy, if only for a short while, of having the whole shebang in my pocket to take wherever I go. I mean, I've already cancelled a green iPod mini order when I got twitchy about updated iPods coming out (and I was proved right on that one). I keep swinging between going for a mini and compromising on the storage and going for the biggest capacity available at a reasonable physical size - i.e. the 4G 40GB.

I'll never be happy, ha ha. I really need to forget about this for a few hours and get some work done ;-)

 

[CmdrLaForge]

I have ordered a 20 gig iPod and a iPod mini (pink) on monday. The expected ship date is August 18th !!! And thats because they ship both together. Grrr. That means 5 weeks waiting for my new iPods.

Would be great if someone who receives his new iPod could give a review and post some pics.

Cheers

 

[JFreak]

I have ordered a 20 gig iPod and a iPod mini (pink) on monday. The expected ship date is August 18th !!! And thats because they ship both together. Grrr. That means 5 weeks waiting for my new iPods.

Would be great if someone who receives his new iPod could give a review and post some pics.

Cheers

cancel your order and order them separately. you will get free shipping for both.

 

[Trekkie]

As a related aside, my real problem is the sheer size of my, ahem, collection. I've got too much encoded music to ever get on a current iPod. The solution is for me to better manage it I suppose, but I just naively wanted to feel the joy, if only for a short while, of having the whole shebang in my pocket to take wherever I go. I mean, I've already cancelled a green iPod mini order when I got twitchy about updated iPods coming out (and I was proved right on that one). I keep swinging between going for a mini and compromising on the storage and going for the biggest capacity available at a reasonable physical size - i.e. the 4G 40GB.

You didn't mention, but do you have an model of the iPod now or have you been obsessing over one for some time and just haven't ordered one?

I've got a 2G 20GB and a 4G 40GB on the way. When I originally ordered (here in the US mind you) the 4G 40GB was listed with all the trimmings but then it vanished. I emailed customer service and the remote/case were added for $0 and shipped out. They'll actually arrive before the iPod now (grr, my iPod comes Monday, everything else on Friday).

My collection is bigger than 40GB. I've not had it on my iPod since August of 2002. For that matter I even deleted a lot of it out of iTunes because I wanted to sync my entire iTunes list to my iPod vs. one playlist (a nice feature mind you, but I'm weird)

For her birthday I got my wife a pink iPod Mini. The thing is now a growth on her arm it seems for the amount of time she uses it. She's not found the 4GB to be limiting to her but then she only drags a song or two off of a CD (and has gone bonkers on iTMS buying songs here and there) so for her it works.

For me, my Powerbook only has a 40GB drive. I have a file server that has 4x120GB drives that are RAID-5'd into 360GB of space. For some time I kept my music on there and not copied to my loca hard drive. I've had a lot of problems with that where samba from linux / mac os x over wireless don't seem to get along when heavy I/O starts happening so I started copying things to my PowerBook instead.

Let me just say, when your iPod is as big as the laptop hard drive it makes it difficult to use the iPod exclusively as a music device when you can't fill the powerbook drive with music or you loose the OS 😉

Anyway, I would bet you'd be surprised how you'd get along with the 40 gigger or even the 20 gigger. I mean really 10 days of music on a 20 gigger, not sure how your tastes run but also it's pretty physically impossible to listen to *everything* unless you just want to listen to pieces of a song (like 1 - 2 seconds) before moving on to the next one...

 

[Trekkie]

Im not saying that everyone's order coming out of Shainghai around that date is in the same boat as i am....but i am sure that my little box didnt fall off the truck and was lying alone on some random runway without some friends.

Hope the weekend goes by fast.

Hopefully they're on the same plane, not the same boat.

Same happened to me. I ordered Monday, it shipped tuesday (or didn't, missed the cutoff time at 2PM??? Come on)

At last look it wandered through Anchorage, AK at about 2PM Alaska time I'm guessing. It's kinda funny because it's the same day it shipped meaning if you look at the tracking the anchorage entries are lower than the shipped from china entries because of the time difference.

It's not landed anywhere from Anchorage, so that probably means it is on a truck outside a door waiting for someone to come to work on the west coast. Those lazy bums, won't probably be to work until 10 or 11 my time 😉

 

[allisonv7]

My ipod just shipped from China. I did the regular free shipping, any ideas on when it may arrive?

How long is everyone else's taking?


allison.

 

[Jono]

I wonder if my iPod being shipped to Canada has anything to do with mine shipping later than others who ordered at the same time as me. In the e-mail it says: "These Products are Licenced by the United States for Ultimate Destination - Canada and may not be exported without prior written consent from Apple Canada Inc." The iPod is listed as "IPOD 20G W/CLICK WHEEL-USA"

But I see a lot of other iPods have shipped to people that aren't from the USA. Just hoping it ships by today, since I ordered Tuesday morning.

 

[drlunanerd]

You didn't mention, but do you have an model of the iPod now or have you been obsessing over one for some time and just haven't ordered one?...

[Takes deep breath]

OK, I want to reply at length to give you a bit of history on my situation, but I don't have much time cos an engineer has just turned up and I'll have to go and help him with some video conferencing stuff soon!

1. I bought a 1G 10GB iPod the moment it became available in the UK - in March 2002 I think. I've also used a 2G 20GB (aka iHouseBrickPod) that I got my flatmate at the time (he paid, I'm not that loaded unfortunately!).

2. I managed to get hold of a blue iPod mini a couple of months ago that I gave to my girlfriend as a present. She loves it, all her friends and colleagues go loopy over it, and I really like it too for it's diminutive size and durable alu finish.

3. I'm lazy/spend far too much time using computers as it is. I don't want to be micromanaging 50GB of music to be able to cram it onto a tiny iPod mini. However I don't want a brick in my pocket.

4. I like to set shuffle on, press play and go. I don't spend hours crafting funky playlists. That's why for me having my entire library on an iPod is the holy grail. Part of the justifcation I gave myself for getting the 10GB iPod in the first place was that I had so many CDs that I didn't listen to as it was a pain to dig them out. I started using a 300CD Sony CD multichanger for a while, but that wasn't doing it for me. Then I, along with my flatmate, discovered the iPod, and suddenly spending weeks ripping our CD collections made sense when you could actually listen to it on the move away from a computer. The key point here is that I wanted to get better value from the massive amounts of dough I've sunk into my record collection over the years. I thought that it would also help to stop me hoovering up new CDs at the rate I had been, and that did actually happen (but then I discovered allofmp3.com and that's another story...!)

5. I have realised that even if I could get a 60GB iPod, at some point in the near future even that wouldn't be enough to hold my burgeoning music library. What I plan to do is make better use of the features of iTunes. I still want to set the iPod in auto-sync mode, but can use the check/uncheck feature to turn off say whole genres that I know I'd probably end up skipping past if they popped up in shuffle play on the iPod. I just want to get more of my collection on than I can at the moment with the 10 gigger, but not have to spend ages choosing.

6. I know I will feel sick when Steve undoubtedly says those immortal words "..and one last thing", and he produces an 80GB hyperPod or something in Paris. But at the moment I'm getting a good deal on the 40 gigger (charity discount, evoucher discount, and hopefully the remote/case thrown in too), so I can live with it when the 60GB comes out and it's £100 more. But... if they take away the remote (which I really do use and need) then the deal starts to sour a little, and makes me think of holding on for that utopian day when Steve makes my little life that bit brighter!

I need help. It's up to you guys to talk sense into me!