Mac parts and repair company ResQ Systems LLC has been offering PowerBook and Power Mac users a special 24-hour repair and shipping service for some time. With all the talk of iPod batteries failing to hold a decent charge outside of their warranty, perhaps it’s only natural that ResQ Systems LLC would turn its attention there, as it has with its new iPodResQ program.
For US$79, iPod users whose devices aren’t holding as much juice as they used to can now send their systems in for an overhaul. That price includes 3-way overnight shipping in the U.S. — ResQ Systems LLC sends you a special shipping box via overnight courier, you pack up your iPod and return it, and 24 hours from the time they receive it, ResQ Systems LLC replaces the iPod’s battery and gets it on its way back to you. It’s called the “iQ” Battery Replacement, and ResQ Systems LLC said the $79 is a special introductory price.
If your iPod has gone kaput all together and you don’t know what’s wrong, $29 will get you the shipping and the iBox, along with an initial diagnostic service. The company can also upgrade iPod hard drives and do other repair work as necessary, according to information on their Web site. ResQ Systems LLC offers a 90-day warranty on its work.
The service may be a good value for some iPod owners. By comparison, Apple’s own AppleCare Protection Plan for iPod costs US$59. That plan extends warranty coverage to two years after the iPod’s original purchase date, but it can only be purchased while an iPod is still within its one-year factory warranty. Third-party resellers on the Internet offer replacement batteries for iPods for $50 – $70, but it’s up to users to install the batteries themselves, or to find someone who can.