Even though Apple now offers battery replacements for out-of-warranty iPods as part of its AppleCare service, it’s an issue that refuses to go away. Now it appears that a San Francisco, Calif.-based law firm is getting into the act.
iPods were first introduced in October, 2001 and quickly became the item that almost everyone who was playing MP3s on their computer wanted — especially once Apple introduced a Windows-compatible version. Now that Apple’s iTunes software and iTunes Music Store works on Windows, demand is higher than ever. But some owners who have had their iPods for a while have noted that the diminutive device’s ability to hold an electrical charge in its tiny lithium-ion polymer battery can diminish over time.
The “iPod’s Dirty Secret” Web site documents the Neistat Brothers’ efforts to alert consumers in New York City about their own problem. In September 2003 the Neistat Brothers defaced iPod posters around Manhattan with messages that read “iPod’s unreplaceable battery lasts only 18 months.”
Apple has since begun to offer a battery replacement program that enables out-of-warranty iPod owners to get their batteries replaced for about $100.
Apparently Apple’s AppleCare efforts are not enough for the firm of Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo LLP. The company has posted a Web page on its site entitled Investigation of Apple’s iPod, where the firm indicates that it is “investigating a potential class action against Apple Computer, Inc. on behalf of iPod owners whose batteries have died or lost their ability to hold their charge.”
The firm encourages users who have experienced such problems to submit their information on a Web-based form on the page.
Update: After MacCentral posted the article, Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo LLP took down the Web page seeking information from iPod users. No further information was available.