iPod Nano Class Action Suit

[Loke]

But whatever the case, very few devices you can put if you pocket are scratch proof.

Ive got a Siemens SX1 mobile phone. Its screen is not "sunken" (?) into the device, and does in fact cover over half of one side of the device. The screen "touches everything" if the phone is carried in a pocket. And yet, after 2 years it hardly has a scratch. And before you ask, I do not care for it particularly. I use it as a mobile phone is supposed to be used every day. Better yet, this isnt the only phone Ive had which displayed similar resistant screens.


The morale of the story: If Siemens can produce such screens, so can Apple.

I agree with you... the powerbook I bought back in April is still in its original box stored in a bank vault.

HEY! At least it doesnt get scratched!

 

[EricNau]

My hypothesis...
Once people heard about the flaw in .10% of the screens they thought of it as a good time to get some quick cash.
I'm sorry if your iPod got scratched, but I also wouldn't be surprised if you took your keys to in in hopes that you could sue Apple.

 

[dfig]

Just Wait for the Other iPod Lawsuit!

Scratches, Smatches -- just wait until they are sued from customers put into the hospital by walking in front of a car while watching Desperate Housewives on their iPods!

Seriously! I wouldn't condone such a lawsuit, but I bet it will happen. I read two different iPod reviews, ars technica and David Pogue, and both reviewers had incidents of walking into things while engrossed in some video.

Maybe as long as the iPod isn't scratched in the accident, people will be willing to put up with a broken leg, and give Apple the benefit of the doubt!!

Cheers,
dfig

 

[giveup]

They didn't have to buy one. Apple didn't force it upon them.

U saying does really hurt me. God dam it. Something is not right. You are defending Apple.

 

[killr_b]

these people must be insane

hey all intelligent mac users!

So, I never quite had the urge to post before, even durring the quad-core upgrade waiting.
But after viewing the articles and comments on this and other rumor/ news sites regarding the iPod nano "scratching problem" I just can't help it.

I see people saying that iPod nano's and 4g's are made of a different "more scratch resistant" plastic and I can't stop laughing my a** off.
I of course have an iPod, 3g- no reason for a new one yet, and I just spent 20 minutes rubbing three differnt brands of paper towels on the screen.
NOT ONE NEW SCRATCH HAS APPEARED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only thing I have noticed is the chrome backings scratch easily. And when in the first ten minutes I scratched the crap out of it I said, with acceptence in my voice, "this is what happens. New things only 'look' new for about 10 min."

I also had no complaint on battery life (depending on who you ask this can be confused with run-time, when it actually means NUMBER OF CYCLES- which lithium ion's only have about 250 of). ALL RECHARGABLE BATTERIES ARE SUBJECT TO CYCLE LIFE!

Any one who thinks iPods scratch easy or have "bad batteries" OBVIOUSLY can't afford the $300 to begin with.
But this isn't news. Most people are experts at avoiding reality! So it's no wonder they don't want to ACCEPT THE LIMITATIONS OF MANUFACTURING and love their beautiful, perfect, scratched iPod.

I love apple products and they respect us as customers. They're not out to screw people, it's just an occurance of REAL LIFE.

Cheers my brothers and sisters!
B

 

[maya]

I believe many of you are forgetting and masquerading the point in the lawsuit in regards to the screen and the iPod surface scratching easily. Apple "markets" the Nano to fit in your change pocket in your pants, if that is so then the Nano should withstand the day to day use of being put in and being pulled out several times a day without it actually scratching much.

Plus, it has a bright, hi-res colour screen, which is small. A few scratches on that and it renders the screen unreadable, which defeats the purpose of the Nano to begin with.

Don't get me wrong the Nano is great, however you are paying quite a bit for a music player and most of that is going towards its look and interface navigation, if you cannot navigate and keep this thing looking half decent then why even bother with the high price tag.

Does the Shuffle scratch this badly?

Some of these claims are pure greed, which others are legitimate. This king of over exaggerating will always pollute legitimate claims. That is how class action lawsuits work unfortunately.

I have yet to understand why Apple cannot just have a diamond coat on it, instead of the user spending more on a 3rd party solution. This is a case of Apple being cheap and they deserve what comes with it.

 

[scratchy]

i'm very interested in the result of this process: if there is a law in the u.s. that makes you get paid for breaking things, i'll have to apply for a green card...

p.s. :my nick is a coincidence!

 

[maya]

U saying does really hurt me. God dam it. Something is not right. You are defending Apple.

Many people here not only like, however love Apple Computers. And treat it like one of the family.

People do not factor that Apple Computers is a company looking to make a profit. A simple case of being jaded.

 

[rendezvouscp]

It seems like a lot of people are sick of nano users, but as a nano user I have to speak up.

I received my nano last Monday knowing that it could get really really scratched up. However, I decided that I would be careful with it but not worry too much—it's just a music player, after all, and I bought the nano to fit my lifestyle. Well, it's almost two weeks later, and yes, my nano has scratches that are very typical for iPods (I've owned one since the first generation). I'm not surprised, and there are a few scratches that, while don't inhibit my use, are disappointing. However, I don't think that the nano scratches any more than any other iPod that I've owned; it may be different for others.
-Chase

 

[dp351]

I'm sorry but this law suit is the biggest bunch of bull hocky I've ever heard of. The Nano does not scratch any more than any othe iPod. I can't imagine how one could scratch the surface to the point where it's not usable unless you used sand papaer.

I went to Best Buy tonight and while I was there I checked the screen of the display model, you know the one that every little kidthat sees it picks up and thrashes around. I even tried to scratch the screen with my thumbnail and it was fine.

These lawyers need to get a life and iPod users need to as well. Yes my iPod Mini has a scratched up screen, but that's because I've never bothered to buy anything to protect it. It still works perfectly and I can see the screen no problems.

 

[devilot]

I'm sorry but this law suit is the biggest bunch of bull hocky I've ever heard of. The Nano does not scratch any more than any othe iPod. I can't imagine how one could scratch the surface to the point where it's not usable unless you used sand papaer.

Do you own one? I own a 3rd gen and a nano... I feel like the nano is more prone to scratching.

I went to Best Buy tonight and while I was there I checked the screen of the display model, you know the one that every little kidthat sees it picks up and thrashes around. I even tried to scratch the screen with my thumbnail and it was fine.

Have you ever worked sales retail? Others have already mentioned, but I'll echo them-- those display units are often 'defected out' meaning if they look beat up, if they don't function properly, a sales associate will have it signed off by a manager and a new one put out on display. If it was significantly scratched, that store could have easily put a 'fresh' one out on display-- it is not necessarily indicative.

 

[AP_piano295]

hey all intelligent mac users!

So, I never quite had the urge to post before, even durring the quad-core upgrade waiting.
But after viewing the articles and comments on this and other rumor/ news sites regarding the iPod nano "scratching problem" I just can't help it.

I see people saying that iPod nano's and 4g's are made of a different "more scratch resistant" plastic and I can't stop laughing my a** off.
I of course have an iPod, 3g- no reason for a new one yet, and I just spent 20 minutes rubbing three differnt brands of paper towels on the screen.
NOT ONE NEW SCRATCH HAS APPEARED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only thing I have noticed is the chrome backings scratch easily. And when in the first ten minutes I scratched the crap out of it I said, with acceptence in my voice, "this is what happens. New things only 'look' new for about 10 min."

I also had no complaint on battery life (depending on who you ask this can be confused with run-time, when it actually means NUMBER OF CYCLES- which lithium ion's only have about 250 of). ALL RECHARGABLE BATTERIES ARE SUBJECT TO CYCLE LIFE!

Any one who thinks iPods scratch easy or have "bad batteries" OBVIOUSLY can't afford the $300 to begin with.
But this isn't news. Most people are experts at avoiding reality! So it's no wonder they don't want to ACCEPT THE LIMITATIONS OF MANUFACTURING and love their beautiful, perfect, scratched iPod.

I love apple products and they respect us as customers. They're not out to screw people, it's just an occurance of REAL LIFE.

Cheers my brothers and sisters!
B

Like I said before the 3rd generations are far more scratch resistant then the Nano (and though I have no first hand expirience I belive the same thing is probably true for the 5g ipod) I think this is because of the CLEAR RESIN THAT THEY HAVE COATED THE NEWEST IPODS WITH. HAS NOBODY HERD OF THIS CLEAR COVERING YET THIS IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 4G IPODS AND ALL OF THE REST.

 

[Have.a.nice.Day]

I own a white nano and now after 5 weeks is the back starting to get marked up. I have to say after about 2 hours my 4g and 3g were already scratched up so the nano took a lot longer to show wear and tear.

As for the screen. Ever since my 3g had a scratch on its screen on the 3rd day I had it I've covered all ipods with a PDA micro thin sheet. You can buy a 10 pack for like $5-10 and so longas you put it on right away screen scratches should never be a concern.

As for the rest of the nano front,yeah,holding it in the light I see all kinds of scratches and on the black it would suck as you' see every one of them. But,it's an mp3 player. It's in your hands,on table tops and in pockets all the time...it's part of the deal. They aren't gonna look pretty forever. It isn't like a VCR that sits in a cabinet. If the scratches really ruin the experience for you....don't buy a new ipod til AFTER the case you want is released.

I will say though that,given that Apple knows it takes companies 4-6 weeks to get new cases on the market Apple should have included a clear ' nano-tube' with every nano as a stop gap case. Sure,I can order a Lajo skin today but at this point who cares? After 5 weeks uncovered,,,why bother?

Also,agaisnt Apple. How come cell phones can be made scratch resistent but ipods an't be? My Samsung cell went SIXTEEN months w/o one LCD scratch.

I've had irivers and Creatives that didn't need to be covered either. It was a joy using a Zen micro and being able to enjoy it's looks w/o worrying about scratches. Too bad the software sucked so bad I had to return it.

So,Apple has two choices. Find out how the cell companies make thier phones so durable or include a decent case (and not that slip one that come with 5G's.I mean a skin or a real case).

Heck,walmart is now selling basic skins for $1. They have shuffle,4g's and mini skins all over the electronics department. Why couldn't Apple toss in a cheapo skin just to give us a break til real cases are released? It would add a dollar or 2 max to the ipods cost (on Apples end,not ours).

There is no reason why Apple could not do this.

 

[Bozola]

I went to the apple store yesterday, prior to the suit and was surprised to see how scratched up ALL of their nano's were. It was really noticeable and worse than ANY ipod on display (even the old 4G). One nano screen was completely unreadable.

I thought to myself... maybe there is SOME truth to the durability of the screen....

 

[trailblazer]

I don't take my BMW back to the dealer when a scratch appears on my car. Or a paint chip for that matter.

 

[AP_piano295]

I went to the apple store yesterday, prior to the suit and was surprised to see how scratched up ALL of their nano's were. It was really noticeable and worse than ANY ipod on display (even the old 4G). One nano screen was completely unreadable.

I thought to myself... maybe there is SOME truth to the durability of the screen....

WOW you actually went and looked at some nanos that had been used. That makes you different from 95% of the angry posters who are just happy to say apple makes it that means its an excellent product that is tougher than nails. Show of hands how many of you have actually seen a nano?

 

[~Shard~]

I don't take my BMW back to the dealer when a scratch appears on my car. Or a paint chip for that matter.

Exactly - it's all part of the fun of using and enjoying your purchase. If you really want to protect your nano, get a case - if you really want to protect your car, don't drive it. Seriously though, if there are significant defects, of course Apple should be held accountable, but I think there are definitely some individuals out there who have unrealistic expectations or are too picky. I don't really think one side is right or wrong in this situation...

 

[~Shard~]

Show of hands how many of you have actually seen a nano?

I've seen a nano. Although they're so small you have to get up real close to get a good look.

 

[NVRsayNVR]

my $.02

Here's my 2 cents about the matter...

I have a black nano and by just touching the front of the thing with my finger left hair scratches. These can be buffed out. No problem. Now, if you are NOT going to use a protective case and a paper towell to wipe your little precious gem clean, you deserve scratches!

C'mon people...Use your head!!! Common Sense is FREE!!

Why litigate? Oh....And please don't put ANY iPods in your pocket with other items that might harm it's lustrious finish. Treat it rather like contacts and put them in protective cases! DUH!

 

[EricNau]

I believe many of you are forgetting and masquerading the point in the lawsuit in regards to the screen and the iPod surface scratching easily. Apple "markets" the Nano to fit in your change pocket in your pants, if that is so then the Nano should withstand the day to day use of being put in and being pulled out several times a day without it actually scratching much.

Plus, it has a bright, hi-res colour screen, which is small. A few scratches on that and it renders the screen unreadable, which defeats the purpose of the Nano to begin with.

Don't get me wrong the Nano is great, however you are paying quite a bit for a music player and most of that is going towards its look and interface navigation, if you cannot navigate and keep this thing looking half decent then why even bother with the high price tag.

Does the Shuffle scratch this badly?

Some of these claims are pure greed, which others are legitimate. This king of over exaggerating will always pollute legitimate claims. That is how class action lawsuits work unfortunately.

I have yet to understand why Apple cannot just have a diamond coat on it, instead of the user spending more on a 3rd party solution. This is a case of Apple being cheap and they deserve what comes with it.

If "a few" scratches make the Nano's screen unreadable for you, My Unc is an optometrist, and he can fix that for you

The Shuffle's don't have screens, and if I understand correctly, most people are complaining about the screens (as you discussed in red), so it is hard to make a comparison there.

I would like to point out that, Apple is providing cases with the video iPods now for a reason. I'm not saying that I agree with people suing apple over some scratched iPods (or even complaining about it). But Apple knew they had to protect themselves with this new one.

 

[Cinch]

Charges has been file in a class action law suit, accusing Apple Computer of creating a defective product. Plaintiffd charge that the color screen of the new iPod Nano scratches repeatly. Longer use will render the device useless, well before its "intented" lifespan. The merit of the class action suit is strong, because the number of people who have joined is growing by the day. However, the greatest strength that this suit has is its lack of large compensation demanded by plaintiffs. Most plaintiffs simple want this problem resolve to a point where they feel that they got their money's worth.

Apple responds to this class action suit has been calculated. They are taking full advantageous of all the legal trick that is available to them. I believe, that they have a two plan strategy: 1) tackling the suit with all the legal road block that they can harness in the hope for a small settlement and 2) the accounting department is assessing options e.g. the cost of a total recall or the cost of settling the law suit with each individual. My feeling is that they will produce a plan where they will recall the iPod Nano but with one big caveat i.e. they will leave it to the customer to initiate this process. This plan had worked in the past e.g. the power pack of the Titanium Powerbook was done this way, and the results is perhaps the least expensive option that Apple could have chosen.

Many of the people involve in the suit undoubtably have unreasonable positive scenarios opf the final outcome. In all likelihood they will have their demand meet. It it certainly cheaper to pay for repairs than it is to finance a school of lawyers. The really interesting question on everyone's mind is, will Apple go out of their way to service their customers. I think they will do what I stated above, and perhaps a little bit more. They will most likely design a fix for this problem and quickly roll out a new version. All is will have benn forgotten when newer bling floats in front of our eyes.

Like many product litigation cases, those few who voices their compaint will get serve. Although, most of them will feel disappoint in their reward in light of their hard effort. Apple is a large company with a 50billion market cap., and like most large company, it will deploy the best legal fight and create the best possible outcome for itself.

 

[ericschmerick]

So, I've never been involved in a lawsuit in my life, and I'm not involved in this one, but I wouldn't mind a free replacement nano. My is scratched to hell from "normal use".

I own an ipod mini that's maybe 2 years old (? I dunno - I bought it when they came out), and it has essentially zero scratches. I bought the nano a few weeks ago, and it got its first scratch about 90 seconds after I owned it.

I thought I saw a small smudge or tiny fleck of somehting on the screen, so I used a soft cotton cloth to wipe it, and there was a single small but noticable scratch as soon as I did. I thought "damn, brand new and I'm such an idiot - there must have been some hard little piece of dirt on there."

About 6 hours later, I put the nano in the cloth (I think soft) pocket of my shorts, all by itself, while I worked out. 20 min on the stairmaster, 20 minute of simple stuff like situps. At the end of that, when I pulled my nano out of my pocket - to my horror - there were about 100 microscratches on the screen.

Since then it's pretty much leveled off.

Now, I really don't care that much. The screen is usuable - but it's not that great any more. But I really do think the fragility of the screen is ridiculous. I wasn't expecting something I could throw around and scratch with a paper towel, but gee I also wan't expecting something so fragile that I HAD to buy a protective case. I want to use JUST THE DEVICE - I like the size and look of the nano just as it is. If the device can't stand alone without being damaged, then there is something wrong.

Those on this board who are having the "gee, you shouldn't beat up your nano then" reaction either don't own one, or are anal retentive enough to avoid scratching this very fragile device.

I have utterly no knowledge about whether the nano scratches more or less than the other similarly constructed ipods, I just know this is ridiculous.

 

[EricNau]

Charges has been file in a class action law suit, accusing Apple Computer of creating a defective product. Plaintiffd charge that the color screen of the new iPod Nano scratches repeatly. Longer use will render the device useless, well before its "intented" lifespan. The merit of the class action suit is strong, because the number of people who have joined is growing by the day. However, the greatest strength that this suit has is its lack of large compensation demanded by plaintiffs. Most plaintiffs simple want this problem resolve to a point where they feel that they got their money's worth.

Apple responds to this class action suit has been calculated. They are taking full advantageous of all the legal trick that is available to them. I believe, that they have a two plan strategy: 1) tackling the suit with all the legal road block that they can harness in the hope for a small settlement and 2) the accounting department is assessing options e.g. the cost of a total recall or the cost of settling the law suit with each individual. My feeling is that they will produce a plan where they will recall the iPod Nano but with one big caveat i.e. they will leave it to the customer to initiate this process. This plan had worked in the past e.g. the power pack of the Titanium Powerbook was done this way, and the results is perhaps the least expensive option that Apple could have chosen.

Many of the people involve in the suit undoubtably have unreasonable positive scenarios opf the final outcome. In all likelihood they will have their demand meet. It it certainly cheaper to pay for repairs than it is to finance a school of lawyers. The really interesting question on everyone's mind is, will Apple go out of their way to service their customers. I think they will do what I stated above, and perhaps a little bit more. They will most likely design a fix for this problem and quickly roll out a new version. All is will have benn forgotten when newer bling floats in front of our eyes.

Like many product litigation cases, those few who voices their compaint will get serve. Although, most of them will feel disappoint in their reward in light of their hard effort. Apple is a large company with a 50billion market cap., and like most large company, it will deploy the best legal fight and create the best possible outcome for itself.

But look at the numbers they've sold. That would take a lot of money. Well, at this point either way they are going to be bad one someone's list. If Apple recalls all of the Nanos, there will be some who say "Ha! Apple admitted they made a faulty product." On the other hand, if Apple doesn't recall them all the other people will say "look at the faulty product apple has made."

 

[swingerofbirch]

Right before Apple announced the extended logic board repair program for the iBook, I spoke to someone very high up at Apple, I can't remember her name but she was the rudest person I've ever spoken to, she said she worked directly for Steve Jobs. Anyhow she told me that they would not fix my iBook that had a fourth broken logic board. So anyhow, I said well there's a pending class action law suit, it looks like a lot of people have this problem. "Lies. All lies," she said. She said something to the effect that she was sick of people like me and the others filing frivolous lawsuits. She said Apple had no knowledge of systematic iBook failures, three days later, they apparently did.

Ironically, Apple has filed a fair share of its own lawsuits, just Google: "Apple files lawsuit"

Apple makes great products in general, support is good in general, but every once in a while the ego of the company and Jobs runs up against reality, which is good for both Apple and consumers.

 

[EricNau]

Apple makes great products in general, support is good in general, but every once in a while the ego of the company and Jobs runs up against reality, which is good for both Apple and consumers.

I think maybe people expect more from Apple? Lets face it, if one of the many other mp3 players out there got scratched, we probably wouldn't care (infact it might make them look better ). But really, Apple makes such beautiful products that people like to keep them that way.
I really am debating with myself if I agree with the lawsuit or not. Part of me says "get a case and leave Apple alone," but the other half of me says "if I had a Nano, and it got scratched, I would probably be upset also."