iPod iPod Video Scratches

[protocol5757]

I think I'm going into business!

I have come up with a great idea that would solve all this scratch business stuff. I want to propose something apple should have done from the very first Ipod. Everyone knows that shiny material is going to reveal more scuffs and blemishes then something that is flat or brushed. I believe someone could make a killing if they offered a brushed or flat ipod, nothing tacky just enough to dull the shiny finish but in a tasteful way. Give the ipod a kind of industrial look. I saw somewhere that someone had already done this to the back of the ipod, I thought it looked pretty good. To be honest with you I dont really like the glossy look anyway. I can’t imagine that I would be alone in this. I know most of you bought the ipod for the shiny exterior, you know for the Bling Bling effect. I believe it would make more since to have the ipod brushed or flat so that all these damn blemishes won’t show so much.

 

[absurdio]

I think this blog post says it all: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1866938,00.asp

Even more surprising... it's from PC Magazine!

Duh! Plastic scratches people... Deal with it or buy a case.

The intro of that article is dumb as paste. There's no paradox inherrent in the love of OSX and displeasure with an easily-scratched screen (if, indeed, it is). As we all know, one is made by Mac, the other by Apple. One is software, the other is hardware. Is it hypocritical to say "Mac makes a very fine operating system, but Apple occasionally exercises questionable judgement in their choice of plastics"? Hell no. Get your **** together, PC Mag.

Aside from that idiocy, the article makes a good point: it still seems like a comparatively small proportion of 5g owners are experiencing unprescedented scratching. Even if it is a serious problem for many, it doesn't seem like it's a problem for most. I don't mean that to detract from the plight of those that are affected, but I'm guessing that if you get a new ipod now, your chances of having it turn into a scratchy nightmare immediately are pretty low.

 

[flymach1]

Here is a picture of mine

I don't have gouges, just lots of these fine scratches as you can see in the picture. It has been stored in the case Apple sent me. I have gently wiped it with a clean microfiber cloth to remove fingerprints, and that's it. I had these kinds of scratches the second day I owned it. I know the first ones came from putting it in the case and some came from cleaning it gently with my microfiber cloth. It has not been abused in any way. It should not scratch from this kind of treatment. There is no question that mine scratches easily, maybe yours doesn't, but mine does. Some people's Nano screens cracked and some didn't. Because many didn't doesn't make it any better for those people who got one that did.
No need for bashing me here in this forum, I'm just a guy who bought an iPod for the first time and am disappointed in the quality of the material used on the cover. Apple told me they had not heard of any scratching problems when I called and I asked if maybe I had one from a bad first production run or something. I asked if I could return it for another one and they said no becuase I used their free engraving offer and have it personalized now, which is an interesting way to avoid returns in my opinion. Then they told me if I had called with 14 days of receiving it, I could have swapped it out. When I said it was within 14 days they told me to call technical support. When I called them, they told I would have had to have called with 10 days. This is not the kind of support I expected from Apple.
Yes, I'm a newbie here. I am new to Apple product ownership. I didn't know I had to buy an industrial grade plastic cover to protect this thing. I did plan to buy a skin to fit it, but there were none that fit the video window in any of the stores I could find. I thought I could use it safely for a few weeks until some were available. I was wrong. I haven't even used it in the past few days because I don't want to damage it further before I get an aftermarket product shipped to me, which is a pretty sad way to reap the rewards from my purchase. I'll spend a few hours buffing this thing with some Brasso and will stick a invisible shield on it before I use it again.
To those of you who also have problems with yours, good luck. To those non-newbies here who are so terribly rude to the rest of us, I hope you are never treated as poorly as you have done to many of us here. There is no value in that and you should be ashamed.

 

[matticus008]

The intro of that article is dumb as paste. There's no paradox inherrent in the love of OSX and displeasure with an easily-scratched screen (if, indeed, it is). As we all know, one is made by Mac, the other by Apple. One is software, the other is hardware. Is it hypocritical to say "Mac makes a very fine operating system, but Apple occasionally exercises questionable judgement in their choice of plastics"? Hell no. Get your **** together, PC Mag.

Sorry? Apple makes both. OS X and the iPod are both made by the same company and carry the same brand name. They're different products with different targets and different advertising, but there's nothing hypocritical in the article.

What's hypocritical is what the article points out: that people praise Apple to every corner of the earth, but then raise up in arms against it when it suffers so pedestrian an event as a casual scratch. It points out the inherent logical flaw in many people complaining here.

You have one group of complaints, claiming that they bought the iPod because of its brilliant design and aesthetic appeal (but then complain that it's made of the wrong materials or has a bad design because of all the scratches). Then you have another group, that bought the iPod for functional reasons or because of features or capacity, but are then complaining that it scratches (even though not a single iPod has been functionally damaged because of scratches). Then, there's a third group, who bought the iPod for some other reason (despite being irritated that it's "expensive" and having some delusions that it's a $500 Tag watch), and who are complaining about scratches because the iPod's $8 plastic shell isn't holding up like a $500-1500 watch.

People are complaining because they believe, on some level, that Apple has let them down, even though their iPod isn't broken or defective. What they don't seem to realize is that they're expecting more out of Apple than they've been promised. They've bought into the (consumer-driven) hype and failed to realize that it's just a piece of plastic with some electronics inside. Apple knows a thing or two about making it pretty, but pretty doesn't mean "magically more bulletproof."

The ideology that Apple makes the best-designed products is countered by the anger at the higher prices and the compromises of that superior design. People hoping to do damage through a lawsuit or forcing millions of dollars in frivolous returns are only contributing to higher prices and a move toward less aesthetic designs. Fortunately, this hasn't happened because the angry minority is so small (a few dozen here, a couple hundred at Apple, maybe several thousand unvoiced opinions--all still just a fraction of 1% of iPod customers). I hope Apple stands firm, because I don't want anyone to cater to an irrational and litigious minority and be forced into accepting an ugly, dull iPod just so people would stop whining about scratches. I bought the nano because it was small and sleek. I had the common sense to realize I'd need to spend an extra $10 to keep it looking that way if I decided its shiny quality was so tremendously important. Instead, I chose just to use it and lo and behold!--a few minor scuffs, just like what happened to that brand new CD I put in my car stereo (but strangely, my older CD of the same artist is still unscratched! I say, the new album must be defective!). Both work fine.

If the iPod isn't good enough, don't buy it or return it and buy something else. But of course people just like to complain. There's good reason to complain for lots of people, but it's no one's fault and no one should have to pay for your misfortune...it's not the complaining that's bothersome, it's the assignment of blame to anyone other than one's self and the universe (or God, as it were).

 

[cheekyspanky]

Oh man..he's brought "god" into it...or do you mean Steve?

 

[matticus008]

Oh man..he's brought "god" into it...or do you mean Steve?

Haha. Some might say so. I actually just didn't want to exclude our religious friends, for whom "fate" and "the universe" might not be adequate forces.

EDIT: and by the universe, I mean "chance."

 

[cgratti]

If people would take better care of their iPods, then they wouldn't have scratches, plain and simple.

You can't drop it out of a moving vehicle and expect it not to get damaged.

 

[Scruge]

dummys

Am i the only one that notices that the white ipods barely get scratched and the black one get HORRIBLY scratched? AND that most of the ppl complaining have black ipods and the rest have white ones?
the thing is that ALL the generations of ipods get scratched badly but the problem is just now surfacing because u can see the scratches better with the black ipods and nonos.
i had a 40 gig 4th g ipod and ive used it since last christmas and if i look carefully i see ALOT of scratches on the body and on the screen.

matticus008:
People are complaining because they believe, on some level, that Apple has let them down, even though their iPod isn't broken or defective. What they don't seem to realize is that they're expecting more out of Apple than they've been promised. They've bought into the (consumer-driven) hype and failed to realize that it's just a piece of plastic with some electronics inside. Apple knows a thing or two about making it pretty, but pretty doesn't mean "magically more bulletproof."

ABSOLUTELY

 

[Crypty]

If people would take better care of their iPods, then they wouldn't have scratches, plain and simple.

You can't drop it out of a moving vehicle and expect it not to get damaged.

I dont think anybody is gonna argue with that but damn, can we at least put it in it's own case without getting permanent streaks across the thing? Yes Ipods are made of plastic, yes plastic scratches, we all know this so (you know who you are) stop acting like everyone with a scratched up ipod is some dimwit who can't take care of his/her posessions. As a portable device it should be a bit touger than this(and by a bit I mean a LOT)

I probably carry more portable devices with me than almost anyone here and I have never seen anything like this. Something being marred by it's own accessories and normal use is ridiculous. Saying "It's supposed to scratch" or "You should have the common sense to cover it." is a cop out. The latter being particularly absurd. We should all know that we have to buy extra items(as scarce as they are at this point) just to keep the thing from getting scraped up in the first 5 mins of owning it?

Give me a break.

I'd like to direct attention to this part of absurdio's post. a) people saying "my ipod is scratched" and b) people saying "my ipod isn't scratched, and neither is yours"

Except there is one more...
c) Your ipod is supposed to look like crap 10 minutes after you buy it.

 

[neonart]

I want to thank the newbies who have written logical, constructive posts. (nimin, protocol5757, Beagleboy, even flymach1) The scratches in some of your photos are interesting. I think one big thing to avoid is wiping the ipod dry. I have only cleaned mine once, but used a plastic cleaner made for such things. Other wise I've used it just like all my other iPods or worse. You should see how NASTY the included case looks! LOL!

I can see your concern and can only tell you to try a good plastic polish, maybe one available for plastic convertible windows. Meguiar's #18 is a one step detailer that works well on plastics that are not heavily damaged. (This is what I used on my 5G) Their #10 & #17 combo is great for plastics that are more damaged. (Used this on my U2 iPod that was pretty bad before I sold it.) This should be done with a good quality lens cloth, or polish cloth. [Of course you assume responsibility for what and how you use these.]

Here is Meguiar's Site:
http://www.meguiars.com/estore/prod...arage>Home>Clear Plastic Care&sectionID=61101

I would try to polishing the iPod really good, then putting a front cover on. This should help in keeping a really nice and shiny iPod.

About a week after owning my iPod I pout a Martin Fields 2.5" screen protector. It fits ok, but they now have specific iPod video protectors. They are perfectly clear- it's hard to notice there is anything on.
Also there is a site called handhelditems.com. They sell a ton of really cool ipod stuff including some cheap protectors. I just received one, but have not used it. It does not look as clear and nice as the MF material, but is less than 1/2 the price. (BTW, they have a great $5.99 USB charger)

Anyhow, I hope this info has helped a little. Welcome to the forums, we hope you stick around. Everyone appreciates new members that have solid arguments and concerns.

(But people with iPods that look like a puck used for in street hockey game and blame Apple... thats just silly.)

 

[lolex]

I think those folks whinning over scatches on their new black ipod are spoiled a bit by Apple , I wish Apple would stop to produce any more Black Ipod, don't
let them have a chance to own an Apple classy black thing, they're not deserved to.

 

[nycbwayguy]

Thobday: I'm wondering the exact procedure you used to get yours replaced.. My 60gb 5g ipod (even with a screen protector) got scratched in the center of the screen by the 9th day I had it. After on the phone with Apple for more than an hour, they finally agreed to replace it. Only thing is, I have to send them the original iPod before they send me a new one and I'm concerned about how long this will take.

Thanks

I had my 5G ipod for exactly 6 days. I treated it like a god, only to have a screen full off scratches from day one. “I am not having any of this” I said to myself in a cockney wide boy fashion.

I called apple on Monday, explained the situation, and without hesitation told me they would send a new one out straight away. It will be arriving today. 5 days wait, Not bad considering it was built in Singapore.

I dont care what anyone says there is a problem and stevie needs to sort it out.

God my journeys to work are boring now!

 

[TurboLag]

I wonder if VW will take back my Jetta, it has scratches all over!

 

[absurdio]

I wonder if VW will take back my Jetta, it has scratches all over!

Wow. I sure have gotten sick of hearing that argument. Maybe if the main purpose of a Jetta involved you looking at its paint, they would. Do scratches make your Jetta less driveable? No. Do scratches make videos less viewable? Yes.

On the other hand, don't let me come across like I'm taking the side of the people with scratched ipods. I still suspect if you take care of the thing and accept that some scratches will inevitably happen, you'll be alright.

 

[Pitchy]

Disappointed...

OK, I found this place by googling "scratched ipod video" because I now have one setting on my desk. I'm the IT Director for an ABC affiliate and ABC sent out 60gb iPods to all the GM's of local market affiliates to make amends over the furor of Lost / Desperate Housewives going to iTunes. I have an old 2g iPod and a Rio Karma. I've put that Karma through hell and back and in the 2½ years that I have owned my Karma, I have less scratches on it's display than I do on this video iPod that has only spent 99% of it's time in the case provided by Apple.

I love Macs... I'm no way in any shape or form a mac hater, but I really believe there is an issue with the screen on the new 5Gs. The only time this thing comes out of the Apple provided case is to charge and transfer songs. The only exception was to watch an episode of Lost. Sadly I don't have my digital camera at work or I would take a picture of the screen. Right now it's not as bad as what a lot of other people are saying, but for an iPod that is being sold for video, the screen is important. You are going to be looking at it way more than you would with previous generations.

Even though this iPod was a free gift, I do plan on buying one for my g/f this year for Christmas... I do not like the fact that I have to pay $400 for the iPod and then turn around and spend more money on something to protect the screen. You would think that for $400 the screen would not need protection or that a case or skin would be included.

I will definitely have to buy her one of the invisibleshields... was impressed by the video on here for that. But as far as the one I have on my desk, the damage has already been done and it was done by nothing other than the case provided by Apple and to me that is unacceptable, even for a freebie.

Guess there's some lucky folks out there who have yet to have any problems, but believe me, there are a lot of unlucky people who do have the scratches. Hopefully they will have something figured out by the time I order one and the scratches won't be so much of a problem. For $400, the thing should stand up to normal use, normal wear and tear... simply putting it in the Apple iPod case and having the screen scratched all over the place is not fair to the consumer.

 

[matticus008]

This is absolutely ridiculous. If nothing else, people should take away two things from this discussion:

1. There is ZERO relationship between money paid and resistance to wear, unless you are paying a premium specifically for increased protection. There is no magical shield produced by a higher dollar count. A pair of $10 Target shoes and $80 brand name shoes are both going to wear down, and if you walk through gum, it'll stick to both. If you take a key to a $20,000 car, it'll scratch just like a $50,000 car. A dollar store glass plate will be scratched by a knife just like a $25 Crate and Barrel plate. Lots of things are expensive and fragile, and almost everything expensive should be treated with care.

2. People need to take responsibility for themselves. It's not rare (and in fact is really just the opposite) for you to have to buy separate products to protect your investments. Apple doesn't include a heavy-duty case, just like it doesn't include a dock. Different people have different preferences and want to choose from a wide selection. Like ksz popularized the "table cloth" analogy, Apple now puts in a simple sleeve. If you want actual protection, you still have to go out and buy it. Tables don't come with table cloths, cars don't come with polishes and waxes, your dry-clean-only clothes don't come with rain gear, sunglasses don't come with hard cases. Protecting anything is an accessory market.

Whether or not you think the iPod scratches too easily, you should be able to accept those two facts of life and learn from them.


Even the comparison to other music players can be tenuous, because other music players aren't glossy, smooth plastic. If you spill tea on a glossy art magazine, you might be able to wipe it up, but a magazine of a more fibrous paper could easily be ruined by the same spill. You're not entitled to a new magazine because you can't read the old one. It's an environmental hazard, and a fairly common one. Once you take ownership of something, it's your responsibility to take care of it, even if it suffers abuse and/or wear the next day, unless it's defective. And the iPod is not defective in its purpose of protecting the electronics inside (nor do scratches cause any degree of visibility loss), QED, deal with it.

Another problem with newbies is that, apparently, some can't be bothered to read before posting to avoid repeating things already stated and discussed.

 

[absurdio]

I agree with both points. The only marginally valid complaint I'll entertain is that if the 5g ipods are MORE scratch-prone than the older ones, something is amiss. If we've grown to expect a certain level of scratch protection from generations 2-4, I think it's a legitimate (albeit minor) disappointment if the 5g ipods don't live up to that expectation.

But I'm not yet convinced that the new ipods ARE more likely to scratch. Nor am i convinced that the scratching is SO much worse as to render the 5gs unusable.

Finally, even if the 5g ipods ARE more scratch-prone, this forum has made us all aware of it, so it's still our responsibility to take care of the things (perhaps more than we would have taken care of the 2,3, or 4g models).

The end.

 

[Eevee]

So, it's not just the Nanos, but the video iPods as well. This is a serious quality issue that Apple has to fix.

The good thing is that Apple is willing to replace them.

 

[protocol5757]

Just for the record!!

For those of you who think that apple is so willing to replace these scratched ipods I have news for you, they are not. I ordered my ipod from apple.com and have called on two different occasions and both times got the run around. You do have a 14 day return policy with a restocking fee, I can’t remember how much but it’s probably 20 to 30 bucks. Anyway don’t expect apple to do anything. This is my first Ipod and to be honest it is great for what it is designed for but the exterior of mine after three days of ownership looks like crap. You can’t tell me that there is not a quality control problem. This is the exact same problem the nanos have and now there is a class action law suit. I’m not sure about what to think about you guys that say you have had no problems but mine looks a lot like some of the photos in this forum and that is unaccepted in my humble opinion. Say what you will but I think there is a problem.

 

[Scratchpod]

People of the Scratch, Stand Up!

"For those of you who think that apple is so willing to replace these scratched ipods I have news for you, they are not. I ordered my ipod from apple.com and have called on two different occasions and both times got the run around. You do have a 14 day return policy with a restocking fee, I can’t remember how much but it’s probably 20 to 30 bucks. Anyway don’t expect apple to do anything. This is my first Ipod and to be honest it is great for what it is designed for but the exterior of mine after three days of ownership looks like crap. You can’t tell me that there is not a quality control problem. This is the exact same problem the nanos have and now there is a class action law suit. I’m not sure about what to think about you guys that say you have had no problems but mine looks a lot like some of the photos in this forum and that is unaccepted in my humble opinion. Say what you will but I think there is a problem."

Keep speakin' the truth brother! I have been saying it since the beginning. The fact that this thread exists is now 9 pages long, proves that their is indeed an issue with the Ipods scratching. Also, I'm tired of reading the completely nonsensical analogies! The Ipod is not a car... ok? WHEN Apple looses the lawsuit it will prove our points. The material used in making the Ipod is defective. Defective by definition means "an imperfection, flaw, or WEAKNESS." The material is extremely weak in holding up to normal use. It can't even be put in the supplied sleeve. The scratching renders the screen unviewable. This is a major product concern, considering we must look at the screen in order to view videos. How can this be argued with? The fourth generation is a lot more durable and does not have the same problems. That was the quality we were expecting.... I guess I asked for too much...

 

[AJ Muni]

This thread has gotten so old and boring and annoying getting all the bumps with people complaining....i wish one of the moderators would just close it already

 

[Scruge]

omg some ppl are so blind..
if anyone who has owned an ipod b4 lets say a 3g or 4g, u can tell that the screen gets scratched to hell really fast, u cant really tell with the body but if u pay attention to the screen ull see that the scratching is the same with all ipods.

 

[matticus008]

The material used in making the Ipod is defective. Defective by definition means "an imperfection, flaw, or WEAKNESS." The material is extremely weak in holding up to normal use. It can't even be put in the supplied sleeve. The scratching renders the screen unviewable.

First, by your definition of defective (which is incomplete, but let's ignore that for the moment), then every single material known to man is defective in some way. Nothing in the world performs perfectly under all expected conditions. There are several concerns with a material for this purpose, and it meets all but one of those criteria beyond any reasonable expectation. There exists no material that can correct this mild deficiency without introducing other, more serious ones. Within the realm of plastics, none can eliminate the scratch problem, so any given plastic is going to have at least one other weakness PLUS some (perhaps reduced) likelihood of scratching.

And second, your harm exists only within your head. There aren't any iPods that are "unviewable" with casual, everyday, light scratches. You can still view the screens on all photographed iPods unless there is a glare, in which case it's illegible anyway, so it's a non-issue. The kind of scratching produced by empty, clean pockets will not ultimately render your iPod illegible--that's a ridiculous, unsubstantiated, and illogical claim. Deep, extensive marring simply can't be caused by small particles and light pressure and a) hasn't been demonstrated, (only barely so even in the iPod run over by a car, another testament to the extreme durability of polycarbonate) and b) could not possibly be blamed on Apple, or Microsoft, or Banana Republic, or any other company.

You want something that resists scratching a little better? Okay, fine, but when that iPod scratches, too, you'll have a lot harder time getting it out, and man it would suck when you were the poor bastard whose iPod cracked or chipped or warped or discolored or didn't quite survive that accidental drop on your tile floor. Easy in, easy out. This light scratching is the most harmless of all the potential flaws, and it's outrageous want to introduce more weaknesses in order to correct a purely cosmetic one.

I get that you're disappointed about a scratched iPod, and I get that it scratches easily, but I don't understand how anyone could expect otherwise. Everyone knows the iPod scratches, everyone knows there's a huge case market, everyone knows shiny plastic attracts fingerprints and scratches. There's nothing new or insidious or unexpected going on here. You can't say it doesn't hold up to everyday rigors, because it still works just fine and you can still see the screen, and all the photographs on the internet demonstrate that unequivocably.

The fact that this thread is 9 pages long is due to people spreading the same nonsense repeatedly. It wouldn't be nearly this long if there weren't so many wild stabs in the dark.

 

[neonart]

This is absolutely ridiculous. If nothing else, people should take away two things from this discussion:

1. There is ZERO relationship between money paid and resistance to wear, unless you are paying a premium specifically for increased protection. There is no magical shield produced by a higher dollar count...

2. People need to take responsibility for themselves. It's not rare (and in fact is really just the opposite) for you to have to buy separate products to protect your investments...

Absolutely!

Just yesterday one of my customers brought in a Lotus Elise. He had and "Invisible Bra" on it that cost him about $1K. We were talking about it and he said something just like what matticus008 and others have stated.

"It's a beautiful car, but the body is fiberglass and the paint is thin, so you have to protect it."

This $40K Lotus is more delicate and likely to show damage to it's paint MUCH sooner than say a $10K Kia. Defective? Poorly engineered? I don't think so. Just because it's so great too look at it's made of whatever it's made of does not make it a problem.

I hope you guys with this issue find a solution you are happy with. Maybe that means getting rid of your iPod. I recommend you also do not buy a Lotus Elise.

This nine page thread with about 10 people really upset with their scratched iPod is peanuts to the MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of iPods being sold. But who knows, lawyers make out like bandits with class-action law suits.

I'm done with this thread! Gonna watch a new Gwen Stefani video on my iPod.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Wow. I sure have gotten sick of hearing that argument. Maybe if the main purpose of a Jetta involved you looking at its paint, they would. Do scratches make your Jetta less driveable? No. Do scratches make videos less viewable? Yes.

On the other hand, don't let me come across like I'm taking the side of the people with scratched ipods. I still suspect if you take care of the thing and accept that some scratches will inevitably happen, you'll be alright.

A better argument is if they had a 2001 Jetta that had no scratches after a car wash every week since its introduction. But ended up with scratches after just a few car washes. This is what some previous owners are seeing with their nano's and iPod Video's.

Add to that Apple felt the need to add a pouch to the iPod Video kit.

This thread has gotten so old and boring and annoying getting all the bumps with people complaining....i wish one of the moderators would just close it already

Just as with any thread here, you can choose to ignore it or unsubscribe from it.