Evidence of iBook flaw

A groundbreaking decision by the Denmark Consumer Complaints Board could have crucial consequences for Apple and thousands of Apple laptop users on a global level. The board says it has evidence of a hidden original design defect in Apple's iBook G4 systems which the Cupertino-based company repeatedly denied. Thousands of users all over the world have tried to get Apple to acknowledge the fault and agree to take back the computers, according to the board, but all have failed. The Consumer Complaints Board now claims to have documentation proving the existence of a design fault, and decided in April that Danish consumers must be able to return computers with this fault to Apple.

Affected iBooks lose power and the screen goes blank after just over one year's use, but notebook owners were told their warranty had expired and that they would have to pay for repairs performed.

Despite this, Apple has already settled numerous cases in Denmark on the basis of the investigation report, according to the board, but it remains unclear whether the company will continue denying that the fault exists in the same type of computer outside of Denmark's borders.

by MacNN Staff