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Apple to settle Canadian iPod lawsuits

Associated Press

Latest comment posted at 6:31 PM EDT 13/05/08

Pair of class-action lawsuits alleged company misled customers about the staying power of their iPods ...Read the full article

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  1. Albin Forone from Canada writes: My theory is that these pricey or even irreplaceable Li batteries are an industry plot to destroy the functionality of $300 devices for which, in Apple's case, the consumer has also bought mega $ of downloaded files in a proprietary format that can't be imported to a cheaper device. The gadget starts to need recharges every hour and half and so you replace it with another even more battery hungry model. I'm still using my old Sansa MP3 player/fm radio for workouts and walkabout, getting ten hours from budget AAA nimh rechargeables, twice that if I spring for one use Duracells. New model Sandisk players have moved to the Li format, too. No sale.
  2. Matt C from Canada writes: Hey, G&M, is there a link to this info on the Apple site?

    I've got a 3rd generation iPod I bought back in 2003 and would love some money back. No one really expects battery life to stay great forever, but Apple's devices seem to have particularly terrible batteries.
  3. Matt C from Canada writes: Nevermind, I found this:

    http://www.apple.com/ca/ipod/settlement/
  4. Jeff Kelly from Kitchener, Canada writes: Wow, talk about the suing just to sue... Who expects rechargeable batteries to last forever? Obviously these guys. My iPod is over two years old, but still works great. No, the battery isn't as good as when I bought it, but that's batteries for ya. I could buy a replacement one online and install it for less than $50, but it hasn't been bad enough yet. These guys are just whining. Maybe they should sue bathing suit manufacturers because the pool is only open in the summer, or it wasn't sunny enough to go to the beach for a few days last summer...
  5. Delta J from Canada writes: There are a number of aftermarket iPod batteries to choose from, most have higher mAh (milliamp hour) ratings than Apple's stock batteries, which means they can run longer. All it takes is a little bit of googling and know-how to tinker with the iPod's innards.

    Just to reiterate a common tip from Apple, it's best not to let it drain completely on a regular basis. True, iPod Li-ion batteries do not suffer from "memory", but once a month is all you need to get all the Li ions in it to go through their redox reactions and stay "limber".

    Not that I'm too big of a fan of the iPod. My old portable CD player (from a company that shall remain Sony) was able to run for AT LEAST 80 hours on two AA batteries! No joke! That's a good 2-3 weeks' playing time.
  6. Tom Randall from Winnipeg, Canada writes: I have an ipod mini that had the battery problem and am now on the 3rd battery for the thing - I don't know why Apple doesn't have a customer-replaceable battery for the unit, they would sell lots of replacements since many of the Apple sheeple will only buy apple products. With the current battery it is not that easy to replace without scratching your player and essentially gutting your ipod.
    This would be something so easy to fix but for whatever reason Apple won't.

    Still this is nothing to sue over - it only makes lawyers happy and rich
  7. slapdash dapoint from Canada writes: a battery a day,
    keeps your ipod at play

    ...?
  8. Borys Nijinski from Canada writes: Guess what batteries hate (ie reduces their capability of holding a charge)...constantly charging and discharging them. Just by using the batteries in the manner in which they are intended to be used wears them out...not rocket science (maybe a bit of chemical engineering science).
  9. Adrian Howell from Toronto, Canada writes: Who needs to tinker? Several independent repair shops will upgrade/replace your battery for a reasonable charge. In fact, the Apple store I went to gave me the name and location of a shop they recommend in Toronto.
  10. Steve Lee from Toronto, Canada writes: I am extremely naive at this but was gifted an iPod nano and would appreciate someone answering the foll.
    -how much playing time should I expect from the battery?
    -how do I charge the battery?
    -is the battery replaceable and for about how much?

    Thanks
  11. Rain Couver from Canada writes: The people complaining about the battery life of the iPod the same people who think their cell phone batteries will still carry the same charge a year latter.

    I am currently on my 3rd iPod (since part of our business is to make podcasts), but my mother-in-law is still using the first generation one I bought and it holds its charge, 4 years later. Meanwhile, our classic video one is still going strong 3 years later. Nothing wrong with our iPod Touch. It is much better than the BlackBerry I had to get rid of.
  12. Gordon Murray from Canada writes: As if it wasn't risky enough to let someone use your iPod, the ear germ sharings if without own earbuds, the chance at a fight that ends up fatal if not returned, the excessive noise and hearing loss, the copyright infringement in some jurisdictions, NOW there's this TWISTED class settlement agreement in which some REPAIRED and/or other version of your iPod might have been attesting to less than 5 hours of freshly charged life that a FRIEND(???) might, perhaps inadvertently, have to turn you in for:
    "I know I signed that for the $50 credit and it lasted 5.3 hours while in your possession, but that does not mean anything.
    Maybe it just got better...healed or something.
    Maybe there's iPod fairy, like the tooth fairy, maybe a parent or expert sibling, that snuck in during attention lag and REPLACED the iPod battery that was in it AFTER the class settlement document signing.
    It HAPPENS."
  13. Albin Forone from Canada writes: Rain, I got my $50 Nokia 2275 dedicated (emergency use) cell phone end of 2004 and it hasn't lost any battery - still lasts 2 months off, and 3 days on and whups "smart" phones at rural reception. (I sometimes wish it would die so I can justify a switch to a cheaper pay-go plan.) Not comparing it to active cell users, but it has a replaceable battery - I can't imagine paying $300 for a one-time gadget with a one-year Li-ar battery.

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