Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPod Family
iPod owners actually sue Apple
File this one under "completely ridiculous." iPod nano owners have filed a class action suit against Apple Computer over the nano's susceptibility to scratches. Is it just me, or is this like suing Kodak because your photos got fingerprints on them? Now hold on to your hats, because here's where it gets really silly. The owners named in the suit are demanding that customers get their money back (because the thing got a scratch on it), as well as a share of Apple’s profits on iPop nano sales. Because it got scratched.I don't know whether to laugh my head off or be ashamed of the blatant display of greed. Come on, people. Your Mp3 player got scratched. Lighten up.
[Via iPodNN]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
John said 4:34AM on 11-16-2005
This goes to show how stupid some people in America are. sadly there are many just like that person trying to sue apple. Stupidity at it's best.
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Dan said 6:12PM on 12-01-2005
All I have to say is if anyone knows how I can jump on the lawsuit bandwagon, EMAIL ME!
I juggled a minimum-wage job with full time studies for months to be able to afford an mp3 player with replacable battery, so I could effectively have it for life. 24 hours after purchasing it I can't stand to look at the thing because - and here's my crime - I put it in the same pocket as my phone and walked down a hill.
The phone looks fine (as would any normal piece of equipment) but the *black* video iPod is scratched to hell! To the degree that it not only looks TERRIBLE but under certain lights the scratches on the screen make it illegible.
My email address is bulletproof.cupid@gmail.com and if anyone has any advice on getting a replacement cover or ipod or just wants to set up an anti-ipod campaign website please email me because I'm more than up for it.
~ Dan
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Roman said 3:12PM on 12-07-2005
I bought a Nano for my wife and a 30GB Video model for myself, mine is scratched beyond belief. But it's my fault. I bought the iPod because it is prepossessing, appealing, gorgeous, delightful, winsome, and magnificent. Not to mention I have a season and a half of lost and a dozen other shows on it along with 1,500 songs. I can't bring myself to leave it anywhere, this thing goes more places than my Visa card! And I also did not do anything to prevent scratches. I keep it in my pocket, lay it in the floor of my car when I am driving and it sits on my desk. If I has used the little sleave Apple provided or purchased a third party case it would be a lot better that it is. But again, this is my fault. I would never sue Apple for somethis this trivial.
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Doug said 2:02PM on 12-10-2005
I got my nano and it was already scratched out of the packaging... even with all that silly clear plastic stuff all over it. I just dealt with it...but now it just plain stopped working...however they are replacing it for me. I was a little miffed when they came out with the NANO and I liked it but then like 2 months later they come out with the video unit and for $50 more I could have had 6500 more songs..and video. But that's again like buying a car then complaining that the newer model is better. I was just miffed because I am usually up on this techy stuff..and that one got by under the radar...
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Justin Belcher said 2:12PM on 10-21-2005
That's what happens when you let Windows users buy Apple products. :-)
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mommy said 2:12PM on 10-21-2005
i think we should get something out of this, no less than 2 hours after unpacking it and putting it in my pocket it got scratched. maybe sending it back and having the face replaced and being given a cover for it.
a class action lawsuit is a lil ridiculous, but $200+ for something so beautiful that gets scratched when you use it, thats rediculous too.
thats my two cents.
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mommy said 2:16PM on 10-21-2005
i think we should get something out of this, no less than 2 hours after unpacking it and putting it in my pocket it got scratched. maybe sending it back and having the face replaced and being given a cover for it.
a class action lawsuit is a lil ridiculous, but $200+ for something so beautiful that gets scratched when you use it, thats rediculous too.
thats my two cents.
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KB said 11:00PM on 10-21-2005
Look, this is exactly what happened when the ipod batteries starting dying.
Personally, if the nano scratches so easily that it hampers the user experience (for no fault of theirs) then Apple should replace the nano. I think they are already doing that.
So, the lawsuit might just be baseless if Apple is already solving the problem through customer service.
Share of the profits? Greedy. And not going to be successful.
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Kasei said 4:25PM on 10-21-2005
And we wonder why other countries laugh at our judicial system.
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Chris said 2:17PM on 10-21-2005
I have a 3 and half year old ipod Im going to replace with a video ipod. I couldn't even dream of counting the scratches.
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Michael Hall said 2:20PM on 10-21-2005
*agrees with Justin Belcher*
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Scott said 2:24PM on 10-21-2005
It's the same as suing GM because your corvette got scratched; unfortunate yes, GM's problem no.
if you can't take care of stuff, don't wine to others about it.
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djones said 2:27PM on 10-21-2005
Yes, because the product is called the iScratchProof. *rolls eyes*
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Brady J. Frey said 2:40PM on 10-21-2005
I bought a case for my last ipods right away (Agent 18 shield), everyone should know better when you buy a high end, delicate product... it's just the way it is no matter the design company.
No less, I scratched my 4th gen 20gig within a couple days right on the screen before I put on the casing - but that's my own fault for not protecting it.
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Greg said 2:38PM on 10-21-2005
This is pathetic. Victim syndrome abounds. Oooh, ooh, I'm a poor unfortunate from a wealthy country, and now that my luxury item has been scratched I deserve shares in the evil company that sold it to me because I can no longer feed myself.
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Chris L W said 2:38PM on 10-21-2005
This is just another result of the courts decision on what I like to call "The-Idiot-Holding-Coffee-In-Her-Lap-While-Driving vs. McDonald's Corp". Remember THAT landmark case? It's also another reminder of our lawsuit-happy culture. For shame!
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Juan-Antonio Garcia said 2:41PM on 10-21-2005
What a great idea! Now I can sue BMW because my car got dirty or better yet, I got a DING on the side in a parking lot!!! Mmm, endless possibilities, shame some smart guy already won me to suing McD for not labeling the top of the bun of their fat food or each individual french fry can cause cancer.
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phi said 2:43PM on 10-21-2005
on the flip side, why isn't apple using this to make their plastics for their ipods
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1760191565608645/
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ValkRaider said 2:52PM on 10-21-2005
OK, so this lawsuit is BUNK. But stop quoting the McDonalds coffee lawsuit as a bad lawsuit. That was a real issue, and no one ever seems to get all the details. That woman was SERIOUSLY hurt and the company had a DOCUMENTED HISTORY of burning people with coffee.
http://lawandhelp.com/q298-2.htm
That's only the first of hundreds of Google links on the McDonalds coffee lawsuit.
No one (yet) has had an iPod cause 3rd degree burns requiring skin grafts and week long hospital stays...
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Peter Koritschan said 2:53PM on 10-21-2005
Yet another great display of the U.S. legal system, people can come up with a completely ridiculous reasons for suing, and make absolutely exagerated demands.
I mean hello people! I got an iPod photo 60GB, and while it's unfortunate, it got scratched within the first week too, but seriously, everything you use will get the used look, no matter what product by whom. Or should Apple suddenly make it's displays out of Diamond to be scratch proof?
I say everyone is responsible for his own scratches, and they will happen, no matter what.
I can't even laugh about that lawsuit, I just feel sorry for the weak minded person who came up with it. Or was it just a greedy idiot?!
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