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Author	Topic: Ipod's Dirty Secret
unregistered	posted 12-27-2003 05:22 PM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16540-2003Dec19.html IP: Logged
my2cents unregistered	posted 12-27-2003 06:33 PM That was hilarious. Thanks for posting! IP: Logged
dick unregistered	posted 12-27-2003 08:56 PM As if Apple did not know the battery would die precisely in certain time. . .Just so they can tell you to go buy new ipod. I smell rotten conspiracy. It is no wonder it's designed purposely impenetrable. IP: Logged
? unregistered	posted 12-27-2003 10:36 PM http://www.ipodbattery.com/ it's not hard, unless you're a MORON! IP: Logged
Who is the moron NOW?!!! unregistered	posted 12-28-2003 03:03 AM quote: Originally posted by ?: http://www.ipodbattery.com/ it's not hard, unless you're a MORON! Apparently you must be the moron, didn't you read the whole story? Those are third-party accesories, and the story's point was that Apple did not intend to have a replaceable battery in the ipod, forcing users to buy another. And now that their scam has been outed, all Apple did was offer a mail-in service to have a new battery installed for $100 (twice the cost of the battery). IP: Logged
my friend unregistered	posted 12-28-2003 03:09 AM My friend owns a old iPod and the volume tuner spins freely, means when he's driving the vibration will spin the volume tuner. Apparently the newer ones doesn't have such problem, but he called Apple and he cannot get a replacement. I say he should at least be offered a discount for a new one or something. It is a flaw in design( battery and volume tuner), and Apple should be responsible to compensate for the lost. Just like any car recall. IP: Logged
>< unregistered	posted 12-28-2003 01:44 PM That is a problem with all battery related products - batteries have a built-in lifespan and then companies try to force you to buy a new product when they run out. Thank god there are third parties and OEM's! My recent dissappointment was with AT&T - similar situation. The battery in my cellphone died out and I tried to get a replacement. AT&T customer support f-uckheads and assholes told me that the phone model has been discontinued and that my warranty was expired. I told them that I'd buy a new phone in place. So, they tell me that I need to sign up for 1 year contract or pay double the new phone's MSRP price. I didn't feel like being under 1 year contract with them again and I certainly didn't feel like paying $200 for $100 (MSRP) phone. Switching service providers would have been an option, but that was prior to new rules regarding switching numbers. I found a replacement battery on a website and didn't have to do any of those things. Another wireless product scam - and I think a BIGGER scam - is the invasion of privacy. Example: In Finland, they plan on releasing phones with TV technology. It all sounds wonderful until you find out what the catch is: http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031215.gtcell1215/BNStory/Technology/ TV technology sounds nice, but if I am going to get annoyed with commercials on my cell phone then no thanks. With GPS location technology, companies will be able to track your wireless devices anywhere - and beam you with all kinds of spam depending on your location. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if next ipod had somekind of wireless connection to internet for that very purpose. . . . also, now that we're under Homeland security rules, it will be alot easier for BIG BROTHER to watch you. IP: Logged
MORONS! unregistered	posted 12-29-2003 11:52 PM http://ipodbatteryfaq.com/ IP: Logged
hey nitwit unregistered	posted 12-30-2003 10:09 AM Q: Is the iPod's battery user-replaceable? The iPod's case is not designed to be opened, so, in that respect, it's not what would generally be referred to as "user-replaceable". Apple's warranty is only a year. The battery life can last up to 500 charges. Can you do the math? It's likely your warranty would end before the battery dies out. IP: Logged
Dell boy unregistered	posted 12-30-2003 10:37 AM It's funny how dell just copies everything. IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 12-30-2003 11:06 AM you can either: 1. Have the battery replaced for free under an extended warranty - pretty advisable because hard drive based MP3 players aren't known for being sturdy and they cost a good chunk of change 2. Send the unit back to Apple and have the battery replaced for $100 3. Send the unit to a third party battery replacement place and have them install a new one for ~$70 4. Buy a new battery and install it yourself, for $49 5. If you're still too cheap to pay $20 over the cost of the battery to have somebody install it for you you can resort to buying an add on battery pack that takes regular AAs. It looks like crap but hey, you can pick up batteries at WalMart. It's not like Apple ever claimed the battery was replaceable and then changed their mind. There's no conspiracy here - the Dell DJ, Rio Karma and iRiver players all have non-replaceable batteries, but only Apple offers the battery replacement service. If you really want a replaceable battery, go buy a Creative player. The Apple battery replacement service for $100 was available before the "ipod's dirty secret" website went up. Nothing to see here, just a couple of mediocre filmakers putting a contencious website up in order to get some publicity. Don't beleive everything you read, or be so quick to jump on an Apple hating bandwagon. This is not a big deal. MORONS IP: Logged
sum unregistered	posted 12-30-2003 02:50 PM The issue really isn't about the battery itself. Were the consumers aware of all other facts? Like the provided warranty isn't long enough to cover the shortcomings. That you had to pay $100 for additional battery to get replaced. And for something that were never meant to be replaced may not behave the same way after its been altered. Face the truth, all ipod really is a pricey (disposible) fashion accessory. The real music lovers don't care about "prettiness", but capability. I keep all my mp3 files on desktop computer, and I burn them on cds, because the fact is I rarely have the need for the portalbility. How much time do people realy spend time "away" from the main source (stereos, computers, etc.). Perhaps while commuting to and from wherever that might be, but that still dosn't justify the price of ipod ($400) that can last only upto 18 months and then take chance of reviving it. Had Casey Neistat known the fate of his ipod, would he have still purchased it? IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 12-30-2003 04:15 PM if you don't even like the frigging concept of taking your whole music library with you on the road, to work, to a friends, on trips...then why the hell are you bitching about a battery that needs replacing 2 years down the line? Do you like to bitch? If "real music lovers" only care about capability why would they not want the capability to carry more of their music with them? Do you know how many CDs worth of music an iPod will hold? MORON!!! IP: Logged
hmmm . . . unregistered	posted 01-02-2004 11:20 AM just adding fuel to the fire: http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=BS5YA320DOBZUCRBAELCFEY?type=technologyNews&storyID=4062623§ion=news IP: Logged
Voice of Reason unregistered	posted 01-02-2004 01:20 PM The iBook thing I can understand, but they're suing Apple because the batteries don't last forever? Is this a real suit or just rumblings, because if it's real, I've got a laptop and a cellphone with dodgy batteries, therefore I must sue. IP: Logged
Mr-914 unregistered	posted 01-02-2004 01:38 PM I just finished reading Steven Levy's "Insanely Great". It's clear to me that Apple is like the German computer company. They don't want you to EVER open their products! The first Mac had absolutely nothing that could be modified by the user inside the box, and had a warning sticker about opening it on the back. Now the Ipod is the same way. With Apple, this is just the price of admission. IP: Logged
hmmm . . . unregistered	posted 01-02-2004 02:37 PM quote: Originally posted by Voice of Reason: Is this a real suit or just rumblings, because if it's real, I've got a laptop and a cellphone with dodgy batteries, therefore I must sue. Cellphone batteries are easy to replace. From what I've read, that is not the case for ipod. IP: Logged
Voice of Reason unregistered	posted 01-02-2004 02:59 PM It's not that hard - Apple does it for $99. Most laptop batteries cost more than that to replace. It's a bit of a bitch, but in two years time we'll all be watching movies on our watches anyway, as we fly to work. IP: Logged
hmmm . . . unregistered	posted 01-02-2004 04:21 PM quote: Originally posted by Voice of Reason: It's not that hard - Apple does it for $99. Wow..only $99 - like they couldn't include a port for a triple-A battery. IP: Logged
MORON unregistered	posted 01-02-2004 11:03 PM You can buy one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009KAPW/104-9806707-0096764?v=glance MORON IP: Logged
hmmm . . . unregistered	posted 01-03-2004 01:38 AM quote: Originally posted by MORON: You can buy one: [URL=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009KAPW/104-9806707-0096764?v=glance]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009KAPW/104-9806707-0096764?v=glance[/UR L] MORON WOW! Only 50 bucks.... and that's on sale and then you still have to install it yourself. I bet that the 50 dollar battery costs them a dollar (or less) to make. Come now... triple-A batteries would have been so much better. IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 01-03-2004 08:12 PM Yeah - and triple A batteries would be great in a cellphone, a laptop, a car, a portable defibrilator. Of course you can't recharge them, they dictate the form of small products and you need four of them to equal the performance of one lithium ion battery, but hey, they're AAAs! Of course, replacing four AAAs 500 times would cost MORE than Apple's battery replacement service, but they'd be AAAs! MORONICON!!! IP: Logged
You gotta be kiddin' me unregistered	posted 01-03-2004 10:44 PM quote: Originally posted by MORON: You can buy one: [URL=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009KAPW/104-9806707-0096764?v=glance]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009KAPW/104-9806707-0096764?v=glance[/UR L] That's not a replacemanent battery, it's a back-up battery that connects to the outside of an iPod. MORON IP: Logged
Moral of the story unregistered	posted 01-03-2004 11:10 PM MAC sux!!! IP: Logged
hmmm . . . unregistered	posted 01-04-2004 01:31 PM quote: Originally posted by dope: Yeah - and triple A batteries would be great in a cellphone, a laptop, a car, a portable defibrilator. Of course you can't recharge them, they dictate the form of small products and you need four of them to equal the performance of one lithium ion battery, but hey, they're AAAs! Of course, replacing four AAAs 500 times would cost MORE than Apple's battery replacement service, but they'd be AAAs! MORONICON!!! REALLY???? Then what is this: http://www.modfactor.com/reviews/sound/YP-35/Yepp1.html Please note that the above ^^^^ MP3 player uses only a single triple-A battery. Then there is this one: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2413278&cat=4532&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3983%3A4532 The above ^^^^ MP3 player claims that it can play for 18 hours on a single triple-A battery. Here are some more examles: http://www.xpcgear.com/128mbmp3sc.html http://itave.com/mp3_players/dah900.html Please note that these players are MUCH cheaper than iPOD and you can always get a battery recharger for your triple-A batteries. Here is one that has 10GB storage space and uses AA batteries (not AAA)... and its only $172.98: http://www.hotbuyselectronics.com/creative_nomad10gb.html Who is the MORONICON now ! IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 01-04-2004 07:41 PM you're comparing either non HDD with a fraction of the ipods capacity to the 20 gb iPod (all of your first examples). Sorry, there is a huge difference between the power consumption of a flash based player and the power consumption of a player that accesses a hard drive to load songs. You're final example player does indeed boast a hard drive. Unfortunately it runs for 4 hours with four NiMh AA batteries. Whoopideedoo. The iPod isn't much bigger than 4 AA batteries in the first place - that's kind of the point. The small form factor is a selling point - a design feature. There are other players out there with the same capacity but none so small with such an elegant user interface. As a design website I would have thought that this would have been given more kudos. If you really wanted to point out the iPod's biggest competitor you should have brought up the iRiver HDD player. It has a better battery life, but it's still not user replaceable. Here's the deal - if you really have to have the ability to use AAs, buy yourself a Nomad. If you feel that you can deal with the fact that your MP3 player will require a battery replacement one day - 2 years away (at least) don't buy an iPod. Suing over this is idiotic and doesn't seem to be going anywhere anyway. Here's the page from the law firm that was considering suing. It's down: http://www.girardgibbs.com/ipodad.html MORONS, SUING MORONS. IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 01-04-2004 08:07 PM and places with smarter posters than the rabble that gathers here have come to the same conclusion as me: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=90355&threshold=1&commentsort=3&tid=176&mode=thread&cid=7806549 IP: Logged
please unregistered	posted 01-04-2004 10:35 PM A great alternative to the iPod is the Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen. It comes in 20, 40, and 60 gig models. It's battery is removable and rechargable, lasting about 12 hours per charge. It's much cheaper ( $229 for 20gig vs $299 for 10gig) and is about the size of the first generation iPod. The world around you doesn't turn one color and you don't fall in shadow when you dance either. In my opinion the iPod's U.I. is a little better, but not worth what you lose in hardware. IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 01-04-2004 10:37 PM ??? Read my first post in this whole frigging thread. I suggested if you want a frigging replaceable battery, go and buy a Creative player! MORON IP: Logged
dick unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 11:03 AM quote: Originally posted by dope: ??? Read my first post in this whole frigging thread. I suggested if you want a frigging replaceable battery, go and buy a Creative player! MORON You're missing your own point. There are plenty of other alternative sources to go to when looking for mp3 players. What everyone else is trying to tell you is that the iPod is just not worth it. Apple has some sort of marketing spell over you; you can't even justify yourself. Why don't you tell us what is soooo great about the iPod that we should just all bow down? IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 11:22 AM I'm not saying anything of the sort. If you can find where I said that, please post it. All I am doing is pointing out that the whole "iPod's dirty secret" thing is baseless. When it comes down to it, though, I do think that the iPod has the nicest ID, packaging, user interface and it has the largest number of accesories and user forums out there. If you find it too pricey, don't buy one. Buy a Karma, a iRiver player, a frigging Nomad. I don't care. Ther battery issue is BS though. That's all I'm saying. Read what I wrote. MORON!!!! MORON!!!! MORON!!!! IP: Logged
>< unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 12:57 PM quote: Originally posted by dope: When it comes down to it, though, I do think that the iPod has the nicest ID, packaging, user interface and it has the largest number of accesories and user forums out there. If you find it too pricey, don't buy one. Buy a Karma, a iRiver player, a frigging Nomad. I don't care. Ther battery issue is BS though. That's all I'm saying. Read what I wrote. MORON!!!! MORON!!!! MORON!!!! I think that you DO CARE.... you probably dished out $500 for your iPOD and feel cheated. Now you have to justify your "MORONICAL" decision for buying one since there are cheaper and better alternatives out there. IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 01:03 PM You think? I'm just correcting the battery misconception. Sure I like the iPod. It's cool. I'm just not trying to get into any MAC$ ROOL AN PCEEZ DROOL crap. There's too much of that out there anyway, let alone for little MP3 players. If you do that you're a MORON. MORON. IP: Logged
dick unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 01:50 PM Okay, dopey dope. I think >< has hit where the truth hurts. It explains your tendency for bitterness. Just admit you flushed the doe down the toilet and we can all move the hell on. Aiight! IP: Logged
Dumb unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 02:10 PM "Adding an easily user-accessible battery door would (to my mind) break the seamlessness of the iPod's design and possibly require that it be larger as well (consider a door that's the size of practically the entire back of the device -- or whether the dimensions would change if some sort of snap-release tab-in-slot mechanism was added to the entire length and breadth of the current iPod back). Given that the battery lasts at least 18-months, I'd prefer to have a seamless design, and then have a little fun with a screwdriver when the time comes (rarely) to change the battery." (From dope's link) What a load of BS. Would rather have a "seamless box" (there's already a seam where the front and back come together) and it wouldn'r drastically increase the size to make the battery easily replace by an average joe. What loads of MAC lover dung. Dope you are definately the "dope" here. Spot on call by ><! IP: Logged
Voice of Reason unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 02:22 PM I own a 20GB iPod - it was a Christmas bonus. I doubt I would have spent the money myself, but it really is a nice product. There is zero, yup ZERO reveal between the plastic front and the metal back, and the touch sensitive scroll wheel and buttons are very cool. I can't imagine getting the engineers that work at this place to do what Apple did with the iPod. It is a real work of art. I like mine. IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 02:26 PM Dumbass. The metal back is for cooling puroses as well, these puppies kick out a fair amount of heat. If the battery door is such an easy addition why doesn't the Karma, iRiver HDD player and first gen Nomad Zen have one? Could it be because it's not such a big issue until someone makes a website making false claims about it? Apparently Apple managed to dupe a ton of people into it this Xmas, iPods were flying off the shelves. MORONS IP: Logged
Thee Glitz unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 02:35 PM I don't care about battery issues! Only NERDS care 'bout batterylife. If mine breaks down I'll upgrade to a new one... Until than I like to pose with my nice shiny iPod, talk to nice ladies and sip my nice cocktail IP: Logged
dope unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 02:57 PM Here ya go, design me a door that will look as nice as what they have now, stay closed, and won't change the size. Look at the size of the battery, it's as big as the iPod. Of course in a way it's kind of nice to have something this expensive sealed up tightly. If you keep the headphones plugged in there's no way that lint, dust and grit will get in there behind the screen, into the HDD...etc. If you can do that you're in danger of giving up yer MORON status. http://www.chipmunk.nl/iPod/ IP: Logged
dick unregistered	posted 01-05-2004 03:08 PM Forcing a screwdriver down the part line to pry apart would definitely leave a mark; if not unable to piece back together. That's hell of a risk to take for the price going for. Remember, it was never meant to be opened in the first place? It wouldn't even have to be a door to be easy access to replace the battery. What is wrong with few screws to hold it together? I'd prefer that way anyways. It's less likely to damage the product. For those who own one should go ahead try to open it since it's unavoidable sooner or later, if you're that confident in your model. IP: Logged

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