she said,

"the iPod was designed to last FOUR EARS"

(meaning through two owners)

My very lovely and wonderful 1st Gen - 5GB Mac Only iPod is still humming away with no issues. You want crazy - I haven't even replaced the battery yet and it still holds a pretty good charge.

dw9

I phoned Apple on Thursday, July 27th, one day before this post (07/28) and spoke to Tom Neumayr because Natalie Kerris was unavailable.

Concerning the death dates of iPods, Mr. Neumayr [ tneumayr@apple.com ] responded by spelling out the word F - O - U - R for me.

He struck me as a man with some integrity and credibility, so it might be worth asking him what exactly he meant. I mean to. Any one interested could also ask Natalie Kerris herself...Here's her e-address: [ nat@apple.com ]

Apple is now involved in a class action lawsuit --its second-- in California over the durability of iPod Nano's. Their formidible former legal counsel -- a woman known for her integrity -- Nancy Hinen resigned last month after bringing them a victory in a lawsuit with the Beatles' parent company "Apple".

Perhaps American Apple is now deliberately sewing a little confusion into the publicity mix: if so, they'll find that it is a trick that will backfire on them.

Sad to see this day at Apple. My first love was an SE-30.

Giles Slade author: Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America member: PEN USA

People treat iPods like they do their free-with-contract cell phones, and they wonder why they get scuffed and scratched. I have NO sympathy for these liars. I have 4 iPods in my household, and NONE of them "just scratched". I accidently put the earbuds of my 2nd gen in my pocket, and the iPod itself in the felt bag that used to come with iPods, but i accidently sat on this combination, poking the screen with one of the earbud parts. The screen and cover should be made of a harder plastic, not one that can flex, and more importantly, can withstand the bumbles and fumbles some thoughtless folks will undoubtedly will throw at their little iPod. I for one have no issues with the iPod plastics, nor the battery. My 2nd gen iPod still gets a full charge, and lasts about 4-5 hours non-stop. Then again i've not used it in about 8 months for music, but i store it with a 50% charge. My current iPod, a 5th gen click wheel color iPod has one of those rubbery clear skins. I feel that it is safer in the skin than in my pocket naked. Then again, i do sweat as i typically go biking with it in my pocket, so the waterproof skin is ideal to prevent tarnish/fade on the metal. People need to treat iPods like the premium devices they are, and not like a 2 dollar pocket calculator.

Most electronics, including those in the iPod, last about 50,000 hours... which incidentally is a lil more than 5 years... of being on and used non-stop. If you want to get really mad and your panties in a bunch, fuss and fume over LCD and plasma panels/backlights only lasting 5-7 years if turned on all the time non-stop. vs tube displays, which have a nack for lasting a really long time depending on the individual unit itself of course. Am i mad that my iBook LCD may not last as long as my clear 17 inch apple studio display from 2000 (7 years ago) which is indeed on most of the time? No. Because electric panel displays can be refurbished, and recycled. Tubes can't because they are lined with lead and phosphorus. I say good riddance. Get over it, your 400 dollar magic music dongle isn't going to last forever, and be un-damaged when it finally gives out. That's not built-in obsoleteness, that's called current technological limits. Sheesh.

Just goes to show you how these reporters like to twist things, and sensationalize them into a totally different story.

That's right. An honest misunderstanding in an interview, and its all about how reporters are twisting words for sensationalism. Maybe you need to realize that iPod stories are not the kind of thing that gets that much play, so to speak. Sure, mac users read them, but after that, most people could care less and skipped it. If they wanted to sensationalize something, they would've done something bigger, like Bush controlling the weather or something.

People treat iPods like they do their free-with-contract cell phones, and they wonder why they get scuffed and scratched. I have NO sympathy for these liars. I have 4 iPods in my household, and NONE of them "just scratched".

Yeah, and I hate people who make generalizations and assumptions about the entire world based on their own extremely small life. Just because YOU have not had an iPod scratched from non misuse does not mean all people who claim that to be liars. I mean, out of the millions and millions of iPods apple has sold, you take a sample of '4' and claim that no ipods scratch?

I still have a first-generation iPod. Bought it for $400 new about 4-6 months after it was released. It still works, the battery still charges fine, it //still// has the cool factor and, heh heh, it actually holds more music than my iPod nano (5GB vs. 4GB).

Not only do iPods last for years, they are useful for many years.

The plastics and metal are the same. So, what would scratch mine, would scratch any iPod! I guess my "small life" doesn't include the hundreds of iPods i look at a month. People who have damaged iPods, generally, in my personal experience, don't know how to care about small electronics, and they pout when they drop their ipod down some stairs and it ends up with a scratch, or worse, a dent in the metal. That said, i think apple needs to make the surfases less scuff-prone, especially on the nano. I guess polycarbonate plastic isn't the most rugged when it comes to surface resiliance. I'm sure you realize that most other plastics either discolor over time, shrink over time, and become brittle over time. I think i'll live with polycarbonate, and the responsibility of owning a device with such materials on it forming a screen or viewing portal. Mindless people end up with iPod scratches. Of course, it happens by complete accident too!

Has anyone out there seen the videos of what the staff at MacAddict do to test new iPods. They run them over, drop them out of speeding vehicles, throw them up in the air and let them hit solid concrete, they even put it through the wash and turned it on as soon as it was done, the only damage was scratches and some condensation on the inside of the screen. I'd like to see a compeditors product that is built so well. How many electronic gadgets can you put through the wash in your house and they would still work, i'm guessing not many, if any.

Reminds of: "What is that, a head in the road?"