RSSiPod Nano May Have Some Big Problems
By Ed Oswald | Published September 26, 2005, 9:56 AM
What some analysts have billed as the "top MP3 player this fall" may have just hit a potentially damaging roadblock - its own frailty.
Complaints have begun to circle on both Web logs and Apple's own support forums surrounding an issue with the polycarbonate plastic that covers the front of the iPod Nano. Some users claim the player scratches extremely easily, enough that it makes the screen difficult to read.
The problems have even led one anonymous Nano owner to set up a Web site to gather complaints of defects surrounding the diminutive player. flawedmusicplayer.com, was registered September 21 by Matthew Peterson of Hazel Park, Michigan.
While the site was originally created to demand some kind of recourse for what Park called a defect in the LCD screen that causes it to crack, in recent days reports of the scratching problem have become the primary complaint.
"My thoughts are that the nano is way too expensive to scratch so easily like this. In my case, the only thing my nano screen touched was the inside of my cotton shirt's pocket," a customer named Curt wrote.
Other users experienced similar problems to Park, with varying degrees of success in getting a resolution from Apple. "I have brought it down to the Apple Service Centre (and called Apple Customer Care Australia) and was told by them that this problem is not covered by Apple's warranty," a Nano owner named Ed wrote.
But some had their units replaced. "Went to the Apple store... and as clearly there was no sign of external damage, they agreed to replace the unit," Amanda from New York reported.
Microsoft even took time in an internal meeting with employees on the company's reorganization to mention the Nano issues. "I have to tell you that I did get the iPod Nano the first day it came out and it only worked one day," Windows chief Jim Allchin said. "True story. I think they have a moisture problem."
Apple has yet to make any public statement regarding the scratching issue or cracks in the Nano's screen. BetaNews had a request out for an official position on the matter, however no response was received as of press time.
I had a Nano for 3 days when i noticed a huge cracked screen! Apple wont replace it! Im so mad! If you are like me, go to brokennano.com and complain!
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I'm a ipod nano user for almost a week now - the first 3 days (ipod was just in my pocket without anything else in it) the metal cover is completly scratched to front white cover was allright, I've got mad cause this little beauti cost me 207 € and made a stupid cover myself, Apple is working very clevar make a expensive fashion mp3 player that's get easy screwd and after selling that trow some covers on the market for 30 €...you know what apple kiss my big fat smelly *ss - greetz
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i do not know if i should still but an ipod nanonow or if i should wait 3-4 weeks to see if they fix the problem or if i should even get one. After hearing everyones nano problems i dont know if i can trust apple if it is not covered in there warrenty.
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Well it's about time. Of course they scratch easily. All iPods do. I am sure that everyone who owns an iPod wants it to be a little more rugged. I wish that I didn't have to keep mine in a case and could go around with it like they do on the commercials, but that isn't going to happen...unless I don't care about seeing the screen anymore. IMO this is the worst thing about the iPod. Apple -- fix this please!
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mine hasn't scratch OR cracked yet, it seems like only some of the nano has this defect. if mine cracks, i am going to refund this SH** right away and if they put me with 'nano isn't looks, its for music', i am going to sue them to hell
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The idea that there is only a certain number of iPod Nanos with defects is possible. The Nintendo DS had a similar issue upon its release, and only those with a certain serial number were affected.
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How 'bout some solutions instead of complaining for someone to fix your problems, take some action. Make a cover, create a plastic protector sell it, become rich! Find a need and fill it and you make money, not crying over everything 'cuz I scratched my toy I have to blame someone...... makes me sick.
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Hey dont even breath on your nano it will scratch. I suggest finding a laboratory clean room, showering 12 times, and then putting on rubber gloves oh wait you'll still probably scratch your NANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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umm, well i have a nano, but i have not been able to get my hands on a case so it is really easy to scratch. I still have it in its original plastic case. I looks ugly in there but that is the only way to prevent scratch until apple and other companies ship the protective cases. Carrying it in your pocket with your keys is not a good idea :P
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We humans are imperfect by nature, so why do we still demand perfection on products designed by our fellow men (and women)?
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Striving toward perfection is not the same as demanding it. The desire for perfection helps drive innovation and progress.
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I've got a Nano. A 4Gb black one. Yes, it's scratched. Already.
Am I bothered by this? No.
Why not? Simple.
The same thing happened to my 15Gb 3G iPod. Scratched pretty much the day I bought it. My Rio Karma looks awful, and I've only had it 5 months. On top of that, the Karma's scroll wheel is broken, and the joystick interface wobbles out of position and requires microsurgery once every couple of weeks to fix it.
In summary, yes, they scratch easily. As does anything with a screen. My O2 XDAIIs scratches easily, too. I just live with it.
I'm not convinced that anyone who claims their Nano "just broke" is telling the truth though;it's far more robust than my Karma.
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someone take another hardrive based player n throw it around run over it put it in a pool tie it 2 a dogs leish n let the dog run down the street n then see how much comes back! SEriously the ipod does good for what you did to it if you took one of those plastic ones from some other company it would be in 200 pieces!
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Hehe.... Check this out fellas.
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/nano.ars/3
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this website almost made me cry :p
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All the ipods have screen "frailty" issues. I can't believe Apple sells them without covers, because they scratch terribly easily.
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I love it. First Firefox has security issues, then Sony PSP devices have failed pixels. Now Apple actually has some QA issues, sweet!
Gee maybe now you people will realize that Microsoft is actually a good company, and you will quit bashing them. Now you see other companies experience the same issues and Microsoft is not so evil after all.
Finally, Microsoft is off the front page, even for a week.. This is great, I love it!
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Er....
whatever, dude.
Not to make any comments regarding pro/anti MS, but as a point of logic:
Minor failures of many do not correct major failures of one.
That 3rd sentance...gave me a good laugh, though. Thanks, man.
You new here?
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Funny thing that...
Years after the release of Windows 95, MS still have yet to deliver what they promised they would in terms of features, stability, or usability. They're pretty darned close, but they're about 10 years behind on what they promise.
Apple, Mozilla, and Sony?
They tend to fix problems and update products several times a year, and they deliver the things they promise with far less than a decade time frame.
If Microsoft was Sony, they'd still be fretting about getting the Walkman cassette player working properly.
If Microsoft was Apple, they'd still be putting the finishing touches on the Newton
If Microsoft was Mozilla, they'd still be trying to figure out how to brand the browser, and then they'd buy Opera and use the Opera code instead - not because it's better, because it would be easier than writing their own code, and the Spyglass code from Mosaic is archaic and badly coded.
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Windows 95 was very stable for its time. My dad still uses 95 and has had few complaints. I myself use XP and don't have many either. I have used Apples Tiger OS, and their iPod and have more complaints about both of them then I did with all of MSFT OSs 95-XP including nt4 and ME.
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RIGHT ON! I love it too!
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I don't recall saying they weren't usable.
I said that MS never delivered to the level they promised - they promise the moon, and then deliver a ladder.
OSX is more user friendly and more powerful than any MS Operating system by default, but the kicker for most people is available software... and while Apple has a lot more than people realize, it doesn't have a lot of specific programs that people want, even if it has equivelant software that is more than people need.
In the end though, if you're happy with the OS you're using, awesome.
It's not that Windows isn't useable, it's that it has never lived up to what MS promised it would.
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>> Windows 95 was very stable for its time.
Erg, so untrue! Look at OS/2. I've heard it was a brick that never sank. It also had more capabilities than windows 95(such as being able to natively run executibles from just about any OS of that time)...but meh.
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So...when did Firefox last delete your C partition for fun? :)
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"I have to tell you that I did get the iPod Nano the first day it came out..."
OMG! I thought buying iPods was practically illegal for Microsoft employees! Allchin better not meet with Ballmer anywhere there are loose chairs this week... :-O
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There was an article, posted here on Beta News, stating that Microsoft "may" own the rights to the iPod interface. Apple was slower to register for the rights to the interface amd Microsoft beat them to it. So it would be in Microsoft's interest that the more iPods sold, the more royalities they could get.
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That was Creative; not MS:
http://www.betanews.com/...th_UI_Patent/1125404963
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You know, I stopped by the Apple store the other night. Now I'm certainly no iPod fan, but the Nano is one hell of a nice looking player. That thing is tiny! It really looks so much nicer than the Mini and its size makes it look so much nicer than the regular iPod.
But all the while, I know that it doesn't have radio, forces you into iTunes (as great as it may be!), doesn't have a nice shape for holding it, and costs more than comparable players. Now apparently for a crap-load of people, paying the extra amount is worth the "respect" you get from owning an iPod, but I think I'll pass.
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The screen is damaged easily, looks like shorts and cracks in 2-4 places, two on the bottom, two on the top, but I haven't taken it apart to see where it breaks.
Now, my logic dictates that I take any LCD device out of my pocket before sitting down. I've gotten away with it exactly 3 times with my PPC, and I'm always nervous when I realized I just sat down on it because everyone knows that LCD's don't flex.
The problem with everyone who complains about something that is preventable is that personal responsibility has been wiped out of America by lawsuits [and it isn't the fault of the attorneys of the world, if people didn't file lawsuits, attorney's wouldn't exist].
I've been waiting to purchase a couple of these because there just had to be issues. Time to buy something other than image.
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"Time to buy something other than image."
'zakly
Of course, there's nothing wrong with buying something for the image. It's just that that's all you'll get...
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I certainly agree that responsibility has been thrown out the window in the US. Consumers don't take responbility for crap! And you're probably right about the cracking thing. But worse than that is the scratching. Most of the posts on this website have been users who say the inside of their pocket is scratching the screen! Obviously you'd expect scratches if your putting the player in the same pocket as keys or a wallet, but the lint that may be in the fabric of your pocket should not scratch a player, certainly not one that's intended to be pocketed.
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Puh-lease. I agree with you that personal responsibility is gone in America. This is plainly true. However, it doesn't change the fact that a shoddily made product is still a ripoff.
Apple has made many people very happy with various lines of iPods, and this time through, the units are what I'd call "defective" if they are scratching and breaking so easily, which appears to be the case. This is not lack of personal responsibility. This is people demanding a quality product, Apple purporting to have one, and then people breaking the unit and feeling misled. All fair in my book!
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Well, you knew the Nano couldn't be completely perfect, right? You gain smile size and amazing design, you lose screen quality.
Now the big question is, can the screen be replaced with a more durable one without increasing the size of the player? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Of course if Apple is forced to increase the size too much, it's main marketing feature is thrown out the window!
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Everyone chant with me! FUD! FUD! FUD! OMFUDG!!
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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FUD:
FUD: "Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) is a sales or marketing strategy of disseminating negative but vague or inaccurate information on a competitor's product."
1. Betanews isn't in competition with iPod.
2. The complaints are very specific.
I saw this coming actually; not this specific issue, but something like it. Apple seemed to just throw this one out the door to try to maintain their market share during the fall season. There had to be something that was going to break down...
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I really wish I could turn comments off.
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NO FUD man this has been known for a while now.
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wiki..
Does anyone else think of Fozzie Bear whenever they see a wiki link?
"wakka wakka wakka"
Or is it just me?
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I'm pretty sure that's just you... lol
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I will from now on... Fozzie RULES!
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Dunno. You, I think. I see 'wakka wakka wakka', I think of that noise that Pacman makes as he's eating those balls on the screen.
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Fozzie killed my parents.
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Yeah...can't say it suprises me.
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gaaaahh....
My wife plays Mrs. Pacman every damn night. Wouldn't be too bad, but after 2 years, she still can't get past 27900.
*sigh*
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