iPod Nano Class Action Suit

[Takeo]

My thoughts...

1. The nano is expensive.
2. I've seen the nano in person and the plastic is very soft.
3. This soft plastic covers the screen as well... the LCD screen itself would be a lot more scratch resistant than the soft plastic that covers it.
4. Apple had to know that the nano would be put through a TON of abuse by it's target market (kids, teens, students, etc.).
5. Punative damaged and a share of the profits is ridiculous, but a discount coupon or something might be fair.

So overall, my thoughts are that although suing for scratches seems insane at first glance, the nano is a high end and very expensive item as far as MP3 players go. Apple should use something tougher... at least over the screen area. The plastic used is extremely soft and not AT ALL suitable for it's application... anything less than a dampend silky soft lens cleaning cloth is SURE to scratch it. Just one more case of Apple putting aesthetics above function. This soft plastic is fine for the iMac case... since you're not throwing your iMac in your front pocket or your backpack or whatever... but it's not suitable for something like the iPod nano which simple BEGS to be pocketed. You shouldn't have to buy a case to protect a $200 product that is, let's face it, meant to be carried in pockets and backpacks.

By the way... on another note... I had an idea for protecting an iPod without putting it in an ugly case. Flamenco guitarists always use a thin, mylar self-adhesive pick guard on their guitars. It's not thick like a pick guard on a regular guitar. You should be able to buy these stick-on clear plastic pick guards at any good musical instrument store. Mylar would be a LOT more scratch resistant. I don't know how well it would remove... but given how polished the iPod face is, I'm guessing you could get the skin off and replace it fairly easily. The other option would just be to live with the scatched on the face itself, but buy a stick-on protector just for the screen area from purplemoo.com. Purplemoo really should make a new protector that covers the entire face plate of the new iPods.

 

[puckhead193]

what about the regular ipods? This may delay my future purchase of an ipod
As this been talked about i don't feel like reading through 12 pages

 

[~Shard~]

Here's an idea . . .

This thread could easily go on forever. Some are complaining about scratches, while others are saying those people are just whining. Well, let's just not post anything new against the suit. Those with complaints can post all they want, but perhaps the rest of us shouldn't humor them with a response until they produce a couple of photos.

Yeah, like that'll ever work...

 

[Photorun]

I have some minor scratches on my 1yr old 2004 Dodge Stratus R/T Coupe, does that mean I can sue Chrysler and get it fixed or repaired for free? No!

LOL! Exactly! Do people NOT expect wear and tear? I truly believe Apple is being held to a ridiculous, or double, standard.

Value is subjective, and by my book these are all great excellent MP3 players... way better than the Nano because they actually go into the pocket, and live to tell the tale.

And you know this because of Amazon reviews? Are you a humor writers or just disingenuous.

My first MP3 player by Rio wasn't an iPod and appears to be made the same way they were until recently and it was scratched to hell after being used to work out with, the same as my iPod. But I didn't whine like you and others did, I realized, hey, it's a product, I'm not expecting it to be perfect for 20 years. I'm living in the real world, not the sue-happy delusional one. See how a Dull DJ or any other MP3 player would hold up to identical conditions. Which is my point about a double standard, you and others probably wouldn't balk at another product of low quality, you're an Apple hater, admit it. And unless you want to buy some other players and use them for four weeks under identical conditions and post pictures of each with their wear and tear, including a Nano, you don't have a case.

 

[SPUY767]

How come you were invited to Apple's funeral, and I wasn't?

I agree with your point that all iPods scratch (the mini less so). But the PSP scratches, too, and so do cell phones. It's not an Apple problem, it's not even just a portable electronics problem. It's an inherent property of plastics and of life. When something harder than something else collides with it, the result is a scratch. It could be a grain of sand or an M1 tank. No practical difference.

In a fake Word. . . Pwned.

 

[Takeo]

what about the regular ipods? This may delay my future purchase of an ipod
As this been talked about i don't feel like reading through 12 pages

The regular iPods are identical in design to the nano... just bigger... so the same potential issues would apply.

I think the problem is, the plastic is very soft and it covers not just the blank portions of the face, but the screen as well. Personally, I would get the iPod but just buy a screen protector from purplemoo... or better yet (maybe)... custom order one sized to cover the entire front face of the iPod... with a hole cut out for the click wheel.

Above, I suggested using a sheet of sticky-backed clear mylar pick guard material available from any instrument shop or guitar maker (this stuff is .005" thick and mylar is very tough)... but I don't know if removing it would damage the iPod or not. It would probably leave residue that might be hard to clean off without some alcohol or something... which might also cause damage.

Also, with both suggestions above... the plastic guard might not even stay in place. The adhesive could get soft from heat and then you'd end up with a sticky mess and your plastic guard moving around. I don't know. I just think it's a shame to buy a beautiful iPod and then stick it in a butt ugly, bulky case.

As for people doubting that the things are overly scratch prone in the first place... just go to your nearest electronics store and check one out. You can tell how scratch prone they are just by feeling the plastic and playing with the unit and seeing how scratched up it is already. A matte finish and a harder plastic over the screen area would solve this... but then it wouldn't be as pretty... right... it wouldn't have that signature Apple look of a shiny white polished jewel

 

[~Shard~]

In a Word. . . Pwned.

That's not a real word.

 

[SPUY767]

You can actually do it. Of course, then Apple's target market would then have to be the Queen of England and Bill Gates. And an iPod would be a tough sell to either.

The queen already owns an iPod.

Click. . . Die. . . Your Choice.

 

[decksnap]

So the pic of the iPod that's been grinded into concrete by a car shows a still-visible screen.... interesting. I would love to see the rest of these pictures from people that are complaining! My guess is that the 99% are just cosmetically scuffed, and they can still see their screens fine.

I know my iPod (2G) looked odd with its first couple of scratches on it, because the surface was SOO smooth when I first bought it. That was in the first month- a few years later and I don't notice any of the scratches, because the overall texture is no longer 'factory finish' . I think once you settle down and the thing gets 'broken in', you won't even notice anymore.

 

[Spidermanjohn]

I am going to sue Apple for bad PowerBook screens

Every time I use a dry paper towel to clean my PowerBook LCD screen, I get scratches. Last time I used my fingernail to remove a dry booger left on the screen after I sneezed. Now I have a huge pit on the LCD face. I sprayed a bunch of Windex on my LCD screen and now my keyboard will not work. We should all sue apple for making these cheap PowerBook screens. I should be able to ram my PowerBook into sharp objects if I want to.

Who’s with me???

 

[Sdashiki]

Wow, what greed in this country. Sue me sue me sue me sue me.

Jeezus Crizzist people, calm down.

In court this will happen:

Defense Lawyer: "Will you please open this new sealed Nano?"

stupid greedy complainer: "Sure" - opens the nice box, removes the plastic wrap from the nano/screen

Lawyer: "Here, take this grade Z paper towel, $.99 for twenty rolls. So we know its not 'soft and lint-free', like the manual asks."

complainer: "ok"

Lawyer: "Now would you say the Nanos screen is blemish free?"

complainer: "yes, yes I would"

laywer: "now please take the paper towel and wipe the screen as if you would if it was smudged and dirty."

complainer: "Ok, sure"

you can see where this is going, anyone will see that the screen DOESNT scratch. Youd need an electronic microscope to see scratches.

IMO suing is a last resort when no one will listen to you. Why people who seem to LOVE apple (by buying an iPod) need to be listened to, is beyond me. Another frivilous lawsuit that will only draw attention to apple, whether its positive or negative is yet to be seen.

I rubbed my Mini with a nasty non soft paper towel (nasty school grade brown one) and all it did was CLEAN THE SCREEN OF SMUDGES. Like I expected.

Can someone who owns a Nano and thinks this lawsuit is stupid, take a paper towel to it and give us a before and after photo?

Paper Towel vs LCD screen = scratch = lawsuit

if any part of that equation is proved to be false, the whole equation is wrong.

 

[~Shard~]

Every time I use a dry paper towel to clean my PowerBook LCD screen, I get scratches. Last time I used my fingernail to remove a dry booger left on the screen after I sneezed. Now I have a huge pit on the LCD face. I sprayed a bunch of Windex on my LCD screen and now my keyboard will not work. We should all sue apple for making these cheap PowerBook screens. I should be able to ram my PowerBook into sharp objects if I want to.

Who’s with me???

Careful, you might be surprised how many people will jump on that one as well.

 

[autrefois]

We've been waiting for pictures for five or six pages now. And outside of this forum, waiting for weeks. There haven't been any. There are some photos of "scratched" nanos on the internet, but mostly they're products of poor lighting and convenient angles to attempt to overstate the effect. And even those are not scratched to the point of being unreadable.

I personally haven't seen any photos on the web of scratched nanos (apart from the ones run over by a car a couple times which were posted here earlier ). I would definitely welcome someone posting pictures of their scratched nano. I'd even like to see the controversial ones you mentioned, just to get an idea what is out there, and I might better understand why people are so up-in-arms against nano users who are complaining of scratches.

I have seen a nano in person that was noticeably scratched after one or two days' usage. It's owned a person who is in general very careful with her Mac products, so I highly doubt she did anything with it that would justify the noticeable scratches on the screen. She did order a case and an armband, but they arrived later than the nano. She didn't think that a couple days of very gentle usage while waiting for the case and armband to arrive would scratch it, but it most certainly did.

The problem is that you do have to have it in the right light to see the scratches. The same thing with my 3G iPod, which has a case but which with time has acquired a couple of scratches. Sometimes you can't see them at all, but in the right light they are very noticeable.

At least in her case, unlike what others are claiming, the scratches on her nano do not make it inoperable, they just are very noticeable and distracting. I'm sure people who find out she's only had it for what, two weeks now, and it looks like that, they must either think she is careless or Apple made a faulty product. Since I know the former isn't true...

EDIT: I'm not saying the nano is necessarily a faulty or "shoddy" (the word I originally wrote) product. But after a couple of days there were scratches on her nano, so people are either going to assume she did something wrong, or else that Apple did something wrong. A product shouldn't have noticeable scratches on it after a couple of days of careful usage. Since there are other people reporting similiar problems, I think it is a problem with the nano. In which case, Apple should include a protective case with the product or else redesign it so its beautiful product isn't blemished after minimal usage.

Lawyer: "Now would you say the Nanos screen is blemish free?"

complainer: "yes, yes I would"

laywer: "now please take the paper towel and wipe the screen as if you would if it was smudged and dirty."

complainer: "Ok, sure"

you can see where this is going, anyone will see that the screen DOESNT scratch. Youd need an electronic microscope to see scratches.

On what do you base this?? I guess you think that other people are making up their claims, so you can make up a court case as well. But how can you flat out say that wiping the nano's screen with an abrasive paper towel will not scratch the nano—just because you did the same to your iPod mini (which was obviously manufactured differently) and your mini lived to tell the tale?

I agree, we would need to see photos to be sure. But I don't get why people seem to automatically assume people are lying, overreacting, or mistreating their nanos. Yes, they are greedy (or their lawyers are) for wanting a share of nano profits, but we see this same sort of attitude towards any possible Apple product default, even long after Apple has settled or done repairs or recalls on a product.

 

[jjd]

In a fake Word. . . Pwned.

The words "eulogy" and "eulogize" do not apply only to funerals, you morons.
-------------------
eu·lo·gy P Pronunciation Key (yl-j)
n. pl. eu·lo·gies
1. A laudatory speech or written tribute, especially one praising someone who has died.
2. High praise or commendation.

eu·lo·gize P Pronunciation Key (yl-jz)
tr.v. eu·lo·gized, eu·lo·giz·ing, eu·lo·giz·es

To praise highly in speech or writing, especially in a formal eulogy.

 

[BillHarrison]

Plastic item + real world use = Scratches.

Please demonstrate 1 item, that one expects daily use from made of clear plastic that does not get scratched?

I have plenty of scratched cell phones, a scratched ipod, glasses, goggles, etc.

Welding mask. The list goes on.

Sue sue sue, its becoming the american way, and quite sickening at that.

Where did apple claim these were indestructible and scratch proof? Somehow I missed that.

If they never made this claim then what can the "whiners" really do?

I have plenty of scratched CD's that have been rendered unuseable, should I sue the record manufacturers because of that? AND ask for a cut of the profits?! How does a scratched LCD equal ANY lawsuit?!

Ok, here we go:

Man: My ipod scratched, I am not happy, I paid 299$ for it

Court: Ok, no problem, APPLE, refund or replace mans Ipod

End of story. Man is out 299$, I see no way this caused any "Suffering" or pain on his / her part, wtf is with a lawsuit plus wanting profits from a "Alledgedly" defective product?!

I am no lawyer, but I am thinking of becoming one to defend corporations from these things!

 

[bbyrdhouse]

Where is the common sense?

Well, I just recently bought a 5G Ipod and when I was unpacking it I noticed that it came wrapped in some sort of clear plastic that you could peel off. But, since I read this forum often and KNEW that there could be a problem with the screen I simply and carefully tore off the plastic protecter all the way up to the screen and then very gently used a razor blade to cut the protective plastic off nice and neat. So I have a protective sheet over the screen.

When this wears out I figure I can go to ANY office supply store and buy some protective covers for a PDA and cut it to cover my IPOD screen.

A little bit of brains go a long way. The stupidity of people never ceases to amaze me.

 

[~Shard~]

The words "eulogy" and "eulogize" do not apply only to funerals, you morons.

Who ever said they didn't? Regardless, there is no need to insult people.

Oh, and nice edit job SPUY767, but I caught your original post in my reply above.

 

[bbyrdhouse]

forgot...

I forgot to mention that I have finished encoding the entire first season of The Andy Griffith Show for IPod. Each episode is around 92 Megabytes.

 

[devilot]

As I said in one of the first 4 pages... I did that w/ my nano. I left the wrapping on my nano until I could get my Martin Fields cover on but I still got scratches on it in the time span of an hour. Very minor, but still, scratches.

Well, I just recently bought a 5G Ipod and when I was unpacking it I noticed that it came wrapped in some sort of clear plastic that you could peel off. But, since I read this forum often and KNEW that there could be a problem with the screen I simply and carefully tore off the plastic protecter all the way up to the screen and then very gently used a razor blade to cut the protective plastic off nice and neat. So I have a protective sheet over the screen.

When this wears out I figure I can go to ANY office supply store and buy some protective covers for a PDA and cut it to cover my IPOD screen.

A little bit of brains go a long way. The stupidity of people never ceases to amaze me.

 

[bbyrdhouse]

As I said in one of the first 4 pages... I did that w/ my nano. I left the wrapping on my nano until I could get my Martin Fields cover on but I still got scratches on it in the time span of an hour. Very minor, but still, scratches.

I am not trying to a jerk or obnoxios, but I just find that hard to believe. I guess it could happen but I just don't see it happening under "normal" circumstances in such a short time.

I guess when Apple sells these things they need to define very expressly what "normal" circumstances are.

 

[h00ligan]

If rubbing a nano with a paper towel renders the screen unreadable, then something is wrong. But I have a sneaking suspicion that they exaggerated a bit.

honestly its not. I cleaned fingerprints with a 100 % soft cotton tshirt and it left scratches. Something isn't right. I made a case (eyeglasses microfibre) the first day i got it - it stays in there all that time - and i still ahve fine scratches all over. I just can't fathom why they haven't moved to a completely aluminum line.

Also - why isn't my SE t610 cell phone that i have had for a year with no screen protector and no case scratched, at all.

 

[bbyrdhouse]

honestly its not. I cleaned fingerprints with a 100 % soft cotton tshirt and it left scratches. Something isn't right. I made a case (eyeglasses microfibre) the first day i got it - it stays in there all that time - and i still ahve fine scratches all over. I just can't fathom why they haven't moved to a completely aluminum line.

Also - why isn't my SE t610 cell phone that i have had for a year with no screen protector and no case scratched, at all.

Are you talking about the screen (the part that you view) or the case (the part that you hold)?

I don't understand what an Aluminum case would do for the screen?

PS. I have a SE t635 and it looks like crap but thats because I treat it like crap.

 

[tennisbum]

People need to learn to take care of their precious things....

I am sure more people are just putting the Nano in their pockets, handbags among with many other stuff that will definitely scratch any plastic. Come on, is there anyone out there with a mobile phone that doesn't have a scratch on it with heavy usage and logging around daily in the pocket or in the hangbags?

Another case in point, all those cd's and dvd's that we own. They all have a "protective" plastic on the outside. Yet with normal usage, we all have scratches on them. Should we all go and sue the record companies and movie studios for giving us such inferior discs that scratches so easily?

 

[AP_piano295]

And I salute you with my nano in hand! Waving it through the air might scratch it, though, so we should be careful. I wonder how many people that join the suit are just opportunists hoping for a free nano, and how many actually believe the nano is made of putty.

You'd think the internets would be able to provide a picture by now. (Photoshoppers, start your engines!)

EDIT: Actually, I rather like this one. This is from Ars Technica, after the iPod had been dropped six times from varying heights and speeds, and also it had been run over by a car. If the display were still working, it would still be readable.
View attachment 33239
View attachment 33240

Hmm I think you all have convinced me I can honestly say that I doubt i would have a problem reading the screen of that ipod if it was operating. And btw I dont expect any screen to hold up being run over by a car. I want to see some unreadable screen pics congrats you got me to change my opinion doesnt happen often.

 

[ZoomZoomZoom]

I doubt that most of the people posting here actually have owned a nano - or had experience with owning one through normal usage.

For the nano owners without scratches - that's great. But the thing is that the early adopters didn't have much of a warning of how scratch prone the nano was. For me, this was my first ipod, and I figured that I could put an ipod into my pocket without protection and not have it look like crap after a week. That's not much to ask at all. Even Jobs pulled the nano from his pocket, and it looked like the music gadget you could take anywhere.

If the nano requires a case for normal usage, then a case should have been provided. And yes, the nano does require a case for normal usage. It'd be nice to have a case to protect against body scratches, but preventing screen scratches is critical. The beautiful color screen is worthless if you can't read the text on it. So why hasn't a case been provided?

But I don't agree with the terms of the lawsuit. Reading it, it just looks like an act of greed. I'd rather have apple use their money towards developing more scratch-resistant materials. But if apple eventually goes towards improving their products due to this negative publicity, then I'm happy in the end.

I expected to get scratches on my nano, and probably for some more severe scratches after prolonged usage. But for those of you who actually own a nano, you probably know how brutally quick the nano scratches without a case.

I bought the nano the day it went out, as my first ipod. All I need is a small, high-capacity music player that I can stick in my pocket when I'm on the bus. I saw steve pull it out of his pocket without any sort of protection. I've mostly seen ipod minis, so I don't have any idea about protective cases as a first-time customer. In every other product I've bought, a "protective case" is only for rugged use, not for normal use. I get my nano, and put it in my pocket to listen to some music. By the same time the next week, my nano's scratched beyond belief. And this makes me a whiner?