Generous Replacements for 5G iPods?

[kirk26]

I hope that Apple will do something about it. I don't know how to take care of my iPod like the rest of the forum and need a replacement. STAT!🙄

 

[nagromme]

I see what you're getting at and I kind of agree. Interestingly I was about to buy a nano from the Uni shop at UCSD when I was over there on business (I'm from the UK). The two display models both were covered in scratches. Maybe a bad example but it was enough to make me think twice.

I dunno, I want Apple to have got this right but I'm beginning to thinkthey haven't.

A bad batch is at least possible, but I really doubt the material on every new iPod is different when Apple says it's the same.

However, the negative hype that snowballed causes two things, even if the problem (meaning iPods that scratch more easily than others) is rare or nonexistent:

1. It makes people LOOK for scratches up close, and notice more scratches than they would have.

2. It makes people TRY to scratch models on display! The display models I saw were fine, but I wouldn't judge by any display model. Especially when people say the SCREEN especially was all scratched up on the one on display. You know that scratches concentrated right on the screen were intentional, not just random handling by shoppers--it's not like the screen is made of something different from the rest of the face.

My guess is that the clear facing material (which used to be limited to the LCD, but now covers the front of the iPod)

Actually, I'm pretty sure ALL full-size iPods have always had a clear casing that covers the entire front, NOT just the screen. The type of clear plastic may have changed over time (I doubt it--and we know the 4th and 5th gen/nano are the same), but the iPod has always been white-under-clear.

I believe the reason some people think that's a recent change is that the newest iPods (like the first very ones) have a hard corner around the front edges. That helps you SEE the clear shell that was always there. My 4th gen has rounded edges like your 3g, and it's not as easy to tell the shell is clear--but it is. Your iPod surface isn't made of white plastic with a clear screen, it's a whole clear shell--over top of white plus the screen. No matter which gen you have. (Black instead of white might show more scratches of course.)

What happens down the line when i try to use this thing and the hardware fails but I'm out of Apple's Generous replacement period this is BS if its true.

The warranty would always cover problems that are Apple's fault (if any such REAL issue should emerge). Now Apple is offering support BEYOND the warranty, covering abuse. That's nice of them, whether it lasts a week, a month, or a year. ANY time period is above and beyond what they have to do. Things are better for customers today than they were before this decision. So what's the problem?

It's like if Apple gave away a free charger to iPod buyers this month. Special promo. Does that make it BS if the promo EVER ends?

Remember, this isn't something Apple is promising or advertising--this is inside info that has been intercepted. Apple's decisions like this ARE subject to change. There's nothing surprising about that.

What DOES happen when this runs out or if it comes out that apple is at fault with a scratchable screen? I havn't seen any yet, but if they are bad then that sucks because then i'll be stuck with a faulty piece of hardware with no generous replacement.

Something makes me think this rumor will spiral into strange and surreal new places for a long time 😛

IF "it comes out that Apple is at fault" then your warranty is likely to apply, or a new decision is likely to come from Apple to rectify the situation. No such fault has emerged YET (and there may BE none) so how you can you criticize Apple's response to it?

You don't NEED a "generous" replacement for a faulty device. Only if you plan to abuse your iPod. The included case is a more convenient solution for that 🙂

Is there a trend of problems with the video ipods - dead pixels on a large number of them?

If you're thinking that because two people have posted, remember this: who would BOTHER to post and say "I have no dead pixels"? Very few would. But if you DO have them, it's human nature to complain. Thus, ANY online forum will make the product in question seem more trouble-prone than it really is. 1% of people with a problem will post ten times as much as 99% of people who have nothing to complain about. Nothing wrong with that--it's human nature, and sharing problems/solutions is actually very useful. (And bad pixels on LCDs are an occasional fact of life--otherwise they'd be insanely expensive. 5g iPods of course have many MORE pixels than any previous iPod.)

 

[tny]

and in one swift movement, pissing every left hander on the planet off....

anyway, it's not so good with the two handed operation. that's where the ipod's always shined, easy, onehanded operation.

I'm left handed. As you can see, I was assuming, for those lefties who can't hold something in their right hand (most of us can; too much living in a right-handed world) that you would want to be able to reverse the screen and the click wheel somehow. And I'm still talking about one handed operation, try it.

 

[LimeiBook86]

Bad pixels on LCDs are an occasional fact of life--otherwise they'd be insanely expensive. 5g iPods of course have many MORE pixels than any previous iPod.)

Yeah and lucky me I have a few dead pixels, I'd go to the Apple store but, then I'll have a chance to get more dead pixels, and maybe even in a worse place. Oh well, early adopter problems *sigh* 😛 🙄

 

[autrefois]

I have also seen half a dozen display-model nanos and 5gs, manhandled all day every day, and still looking good.)

If you disagree there is a problem with scratches, fine. But it was already pointed out to you in the that floor models are routinely switched if they become worse for wear.

Originally Posted by nagromme
I just looked at ALL the nanos (And 5G iPods) at my local Apple Store and one other store. The floor models that get manhandled and dropped face down on the counter all day every day.

Sigh. I reply to that the same way I did earlier in this thread and the same way other posters have as well-- if you have never worked sales retail this is what happens w/ floor displays:

Items get broken/scratched up/ whatever-- they get marked as 'defected,' the manager signs it off, and it disappears and a new one in its spot instead.

You can not necessarily get an honest gauge for a product based solely on the floor models.

Of course you're not going to keep some beat-up looking thing on display, who would buy it otherwise? So whether or not the display models look fine doesn't prove one way or the other whether there is a scratching issue.

 

[mongoos150]

Actually, Apple has a HISTORY of going above and beyond the warranty--both in specific individual cases, and as a matter of larger policy when it's the right thing to do.

You call the new iPods "faulty" but there's no evidence for that being the trend at all.

Apple has ALWAYS replaced faulty iPods. THIS policy is to replace iPods that YOU broke. And that does indeed fit the term "generous."

Apple's hardware reliability is the highest in the computer industry, and their service and support are the best too. By not one but several large-scale surveys.

So if you think Apple tends to make faulty products and then treat people unfairly, I HIGHLY recommend you don't risk buying from another company 🙂

Of course ANY company is staffed by people who can make mistakes. Any hardware maker will have customers who were turned away unfairly for a warranty issue. But that is NOT the pattern with Apple. It's the exception by far.

Word.

 

[nagromme]

Yeah and lucky me I have a few dead pixels, I'd go to the Apple store but, then I'll have a chance to get more dead pixels, and maybe even in a worse place.

I'd go anyway, because anything with an LCD has some kind of policy for replacement due to bad pixels. If you have more than one, you may be due an automatic replacement and never know it! Doesn't hurt to ask. (And if your screen does qualify for replacement, you can always open that in the store just be extra sure it's not worse.)

So whether or not the display models look fine doesn't prove one way or the other whether there is a scratching issue.

No it doesn't, I agree. But it DOES suggest that the worst case is unlikely: that you can't just give an iPod a terrible, blatant scratch with a single soft touch of a finger, like some have suggested. If that were the case, they'd have to be replacing the display models on the hour.

 

[LimeiBook86]

I'd go anyway, because anything with an LCD has some kind of policy for replacement due to bad pixels. If you have more than one, you may be due an automatic replacement and never know it! Doesn't hurt to ask. (And if your screen does qualify for replacement, you can always open that in the store just be extra sure it's not worse.)

Yeah I guess it doesn't hurt to find out, in order to see if there are any dead pixels I'd have to have a black video or a black image to make sure, otherwise it's very hard to see the dead pixels on a while background. I'll probably head to the Apple store when I get a chance and see what they can do.

EDIT: I just got a nice PM from otoloui, it read:

I had the same issue with my screen and I took it back to the store. They told me that it wasn't actually a dead pixel but a defect in the plastic covering the screen. I'm wondering if this is what all the huss is about.

He may be right, I'll go to the Apple store soon and find out what's going on.

-Thanks 😀

 

[DaftUnion]

People are starting to get ridiculous (as if they weren't before🙂 ) but seriously, people seem to be more concerned about keeping their iPod's perfect...and care less about their car getting slight scratches which cost magnitudes more than an iPod. Just to put things in perspective. Use a case, simple. Or if your paranoid about it getting scratched IN a case...then don't use it😛 I promise it'll stay perfect then.

 

[MmmPancakes]

// ** hugs 4th gen color iPod a little tighter after reading this thread **

 

[snowmoon]

People are starting to get ridiculous (as if they weren't before🙂 ) but seriously, people seem to be more concerned about keeping their iPod's perfect...and care less about their car getting slight scratches which cost magnitudes more than an iPod. Just to put things in perspective. Use a case, simple. Or if your paranoid about it getting scratched IN a case...then don't use it😛 I promise it'll stay perfect then.

It's the perfect marketing ploy... one to use and one to leave on the shelf next to your computer to show off.

 

[oskar]

I don't think this means the quality of the 5G iPod is inferior to any previous iPods. Apple's probably just trying to avoid those dumb lawsuits and people who want to screw them. They let it happen with the nano. But not with whats sure to become the holiday's best seller. 😉
This news won't affect my already-made decision on ordering a black 5G iPod this week. 😀

 

[fudgebrown]

so what's the quickest and easiest way to get a replacement (I simply want to trade my white for the black, but already opened the box)...

 

[Stridder44]

See, here's a good example of the "in the eye of the beholder" point that was just mentioned. I saw a nano up close for probably the second time ever, at a store display yesterday. It looked beautiful in my eyes. Worried about the scratching everyone keeps talking about, I looked very closely. When I brought it right up to my eye, and in the correct angle, I saw tiny scratches.

And I said "THIS is what everyone is complaining about???"

My 3G iPod scratched about that badly, especially on the metal back. I didn't care then, I won't care now. It's no worse than any other product I'd buy. My cell phone is in worse shape. The bottom of my Apple Pro Keyboard is scratched up far worse than that.

Unless there's something I'm missing, this to me is a non-issue.

Thank you! All you @#!$% complaining about scratches and junk.....the guy who is suing Apple should be put up against a wall and shot. Its only $99!!! A car, which is many thousands of dollars, gets scratches too! So what? Lets all sue the car companies! Maybe you should buy a damn protector for your iPod. I bought the often seen as "useless" iPod Socks, and they are kind of just for looks but you know what!? My 40Gb iPod doesnt have a single scratch because of them (not that it probably would anyway).

Sorry, but this topic is so weak sauce. It reminds me of the days when some people used to argue over how "10.3.9 could NEVER possibly go to 10.3.10...etc."

 

[nagromme]

people seem to be more concerned about keeping their iPod's perfect...and care less about their car getting slight scratches

You made me think of a good test: I dragged my iPod nano hard across the side of my car, from front to back. Guess what? They BOTH scratched! 🙁 😱

He may be right, I'll go to the Apple store soon and find out what's going on.

You can probably test that in the same way you can test a laptop LCD for bad-pixel vs. surface-defect: tilt the iPod back and forth and see if the defect shifts at all. Easiest to tell if there's some pattern or image on the screen, maybe a dark grid or something.

 

[splintah]

apple

make all your ipods with either ipod shuffle or ipod mini material

and deliver them with a removeable screen protector

and you will probably sell a lot more of them
and have happier users

 

[Ja Di ksw]

Boo hoo! I brought my Discman to school everyday. The hall is not class and it should be ok. Lunchrooms and maybe the Library too. Class however is understandable that it doesn't need to be used.

It's sad when a kid can't go for four minutes (passing time) without needing to have something entertain them.

That being said, they ARE being used in class. I'd say about 15% of students (try to) listen to music during the class.

 

[jjd]

They already did ... that's what "the press" and Apple haters aren't reporting. Or, if they are, they report it like this:

"It was just to cover a screen cracking issue"

No, Apple is replacing just about any Nano owner's NANO that has reasonable complaint about any issue. But the catch is, there wasn't really an issue, and those that don't buy a case for a $200 investment, or can't figure out that they can simply get some scratch remover and then polish this with a wax coating - are just idiots!

If you bought a Nano when they were first released, there were no cases available. That did not make you an "idiot". The idiocy here is that Apple was too cheap to include a $2 case to accompany their beautiful but absurdly scratch-prone device. They told people to buy a 3rd party case when there were no 3rd party cases. Whereas, they included a case with the 5G.

I cannot believe how the Apple sycophants will justify ANYTHING Apple does. Not even Apple is as one-eyed about this stuff! Apple is not perfect. Apple acknolwedges that. Why can't you guys?

 

[susannahyork]

I wonder if this return policy is a 'do over' for people who messed up their ipods the first time, or if apple actually changed the formula of the surface so that the scratching problem isn't as severe the second time around....

also, I have a psp, which seems to have a similar coating as the ipods do. It smudges easily, but doesn't seem to scratch as much as the nanos... Does anyone know what sony uses to protect the psp?

 

[susannahyork]

It's sad when a kid can't go for four minutes (passing time) without needing to have something entertain them.

That being said, they ARE being used in class. I'd say about 15% of students (try to) listen to music during the class.

I think there can be a difference between music and needing "something to entertain them". Music can be an art, which adds to ones quality of life... though I'm not sure middle school kids would understand this.

 

[nagromme]

I cannot believe how the Apple sycophants will justify ANYTHING Apple does. Not even Apple is as one-eyed about this stuff! Apple is not perfect. Apple acknolwedges that. Why can't you guys?

Just wondering who gets to justify all the MILLIONS of other devices that are able to be scratched and shipped without cases 😉

The nano would be better with a case than without, but then again, Apple has shipped that same plastic without a case in the past. Some people bought cases for it, some didn't, and it wasn't a huge issue. Now, with the same plastic (unless Apple's lying or they received a bad batch) it IS an issue.

So is something truly different this time? Or is it "the power of Internet buzz" creating a big "new" problem from a small problem that existed for years: the fact the plastic can be scratched.

Some are claiming to know which. I don't--but I do see evidence suggesting the latter. My second guess would be a bad batch. As for Apple intentionally using a different material just to screw users, and then lying about it... I rate the chances of that near zero.

Now, who here has been suggesting that Apple is perfect? I didn't catch that from anyone 🙂

 

[clayj]

Just wondering who gets to justify all the MILLIONS of other devices that are able to be scratched and shipped without cases 😉

It would help if Apple didn't seem to be using cheaper materials to drive down their costs and simultaneously make iPods more "disposable".

The nano would be better with a case than without, but then again, Apple has shipped that same plastic without a case in the past. Some people bought cases for it, some didn't, and it wasn't a huge issue. Now, with the same plastic (unless Apple's lying or they received a bad batch) it IS an issue.

Something has changed. Perhaps it's the same polycarbonate, but the nano is DEFINITELY more scratchable than my 4G iPod was. Cases were NOT available on Day One for the nano... it's easy to say "buy a case", but what do you do when there are NO cases available?

So is something truly different this time? Or is it "the power of Internet buzz" creating a big "new" problem from a small problem that existed for years: the fact the plastic can be scratched.

I truly think it's more easily scratched now than it used to be.

The solution, I think, is obvious: Concentrate on making iPods that are more durable, even if it means they're more expensive. (Watch-face crystal!) And make sure cases are available the SAME DAY as the iPod is.

 

[Yoyodyne]

Originally Posted by Stridder44
Thank you! All you @#!$% complaining about scratches and junk.....the guy who is suing Apple should be put up against a wall and shot. Its only $99!!! A car, which is many thousands of dollars, gets scratches too! So what? Lets all sue the car companies! Maybe you should buy a damn protector for your iPod.

If one more person makes an idiotic analogy about a car and an iPod I’m gonna scream. You cannot compare two objects that have completely different functions. The issue with a video capable iPod scratching is that you will be staring at the screen in order to use it. The scratches will then affect the function. You do not stare into the finish of a car to use it. Scratches on a screen are not aesthetic issues, but functional.

I agree with the case issue, but only people in the in-crowd know that they must buy a case at the purchase of an iPod. I would never buy an iPod if it didn’t have a case already in distribution. That is pathetic.

 

[~Shard~]

If one more person makes an idiotic analogy about a car and an iPod I’m gonna scream. You cannot compare two objects that have completely different functions.

Can someone at least compare them if they're talking about devices which have wheels, click or otherwise? 😛 😀

 

[pixelize]

My New 5th Gen is Being Replaced...

I got my 5th Gen (30gig White) on Tuesday, and last night I noticed an issue... The battery seemed to wear out very quickly. So, last night I left it plugged in for 8 hours, and it STILL said the battery was drained. Did all the trouble shooting I could think of, and when none of that worked called Apple to see what they could do for me.

They were really nice about it, and I'm getting a new one from them. I guess in a couple of days a box will arrive for me to put it in and send it back to them... then in a few more days the new one will arrive.

Kind of sucks that I won't have an iPod at all for awhile (I sold my 3rd Gen already)... I use it for about 8 hours a day between walking, work and the gym.


To note, I've only heard a couple of people on other boards say that their battery won't hold a charge (I didn't notice any in this thread)... and in the couple of days I've had my iPod I've kept it in the soft case they send with it and treated it only slightly more carefully than I would if it had a silicone case or something... and so far, no scratches.