IPod Nano, Scratched Out of the Gate

...I firmly stick to my personal policy of not buying first generation Apple hardware (I say, whilst typing on my three-year old PowerBook, purchased as a refurb from Apple's site).

One gen of metallic PowerBooks had a problem with the finish, my old dual-processor G4 at the office went through THREE power buttons before Apple released one with the 'new' blue led that didn't fry the power supply (my boss bought that, not me!), the first gen iPods had those horrible batteries...

...Apple doesn't do the 'incessant pushing back of release dates' thing like M$ does with their software. They release their new gadget dead on-time, and clean up the mess in the warranty repairs dept. with v2.0. ;-)

The next generation Nanos will probably feature a better screen material. In the meantime, owners can buy a pack of screen protectors for their PDA and 'mod' a few of them with scissors to fit their Nanos, no? PDA owners have been bravely surviving the 'easily scratched' problem for years with their sticky screen protectors...

As for the blogites, let them bitch. Apple also seems to have a teflon skin where buggy hardware is concerned... people either forget all about it when the upgrade/next gadget comes out, or they -- like me -- avoid the problem by not buying anything from Apple's bleeding edge. ;-)

my macmini is a paperweight.

Really Bulldog?

I *love* my Mac Mini. It's a little workhorse.

I toyed with it for a couple of weeks, spent several hours with tech support, never could get their email client to download my email, tried several times to render video, and transfer files on the home network and finally gave in.

Gave it to my 12 year old who decided that a pc was far better and the same with the 10 year old who know refuses to use it.

So it has become a paperweight, and a darn good one too, it's heavy for it's size.

And I have to say, I found every control/setting etc... counter intuitive and not easy to use, (unlike the mac gospel of ease of use and intuitive controls) and got the mac version of the blue screen of death several times. /end rant

I have a gen 3, and the battery is crap after a while...it is a known bug with them...so much that they had a class action lawsuit, which would grant you an extended warranty, battery replacement or money towards new toys in the apple store.

Bulldog, if you are looking to sell the Mini let me know... I thought aout buying one, just to hook up to my tv.

the ipod's glorious reign is coming to an end shortly. unless they embrace ideas like user customization -- either the way dell does or the way open source developers do -- they are going to run into some big trouble. this is especially true since ipods are becoming more about fashion than about music, and fashion requires uniqueness in style and expression. when everyone has an ipod that looks the same, it'll be unfashionable soon enough.

I used to work for a large PC manufacturers and we effectively launched our products in limited numbers and then tracked the issues. Letting Joe Punter do our testing. Hence no bleeding edge stuff for me:)

DougS

Nokia outpaced Motorola to become the world leader in mobile phones. How? it realised that it was selling so many similar looking mobile phones, that people were going to have trouble figuring out who's phone was ringing. So they introduced changeable facias and custom ringtones.

Was the Mini so successful just because of it's size? Perhaps offering it in a range of colours gave people a way out from the dilemma faced by people buying the larger iPods, who were torn between buying an incredibly popular item, but one that would offer them zero individuality or chance of standing out. A successful status symbol offers the buyer a way to boost his social standing by buying an item which includes him in the stratum of wealthy people also buying it, but also gives him the chance, no matter how superficially, of standing out (by having a blue, a pink or a silver one). It's the feeling that counts.

Hence, as kidmercury said (albeit referring more to the software side of things), Apple needs to offer greater customisation to its customers. Oh, and not releasing a product with an obviously faulty battery, or in this case scratchable screen, would also prevent the backlash against apple that is currently mounting, and could kill it. A lot of its revenue - and brand image, hence future revenue- depends on the iPod range.

>would also prevent the backlash against apple that is currently mounting, and could kill it.

Rumours of Apple's death have been predicted for 15 years now and...

For those who have trouble with scratching, check out a company called Radtech that sells a product called Ice Creme. It has some kind of stuff that helps on the white plastic and screen, as well as something that buffs and takes out scratches on the chrome. The stuff isn't perfect, but it really can fix up a beaten up IPOD if you really care.

Otherwise, I don't know why this is news. IPODs scratch just by looking at them. I think more people are careless with the smaller versions as well. I don't see this as a huge problem for Apple, as most people who complain about a few scuffs on their IPOD seem to be the ones buying it to "look cool".

...if you're interested in selling that 'paperweight' of yours, I have a desk with a stack of loose paper on it.

that's a moot point, since all that proves is that apple reinvented itself in the past to overcome a downturn, and suggests it could in future. That doesn't say anything about the present, or that there isn't a mounting backlash that apple needs to be wary of (once again?)

nobody here is predicting their downfall. just pointing out bananaskins on the road before them that need to be dealt with

..or they may not

This morning's Register Report says Apple will (perhaps) replace scratched screens and recognise there is a problem (well, perhaps)

This guy has the story of the iPod Nano going through the washing machine.