Frustrated fans of the Apple iPod are a little happier this week.
The iPod kingpin will distribute $50 vouchers and extended service agreements to nearly 2 million iPod owners. The goodies
come as part of a tentative settlement reached to satisfy complaints from owners who said that the device's battery needed to be replaced or didn't completely charge.
The settlement
goodies extend to consumers who purchased the iPod through May 2004. There have been many complaints about the device's battery life. Take it from one who knows. The Minute encountered her first
blackout with the device two weeks ago when the thing just quit working. It completely blacked out despite coming off of a fresh charge. And on Monday, the damn thing stopped again, this time, at the
start of a jog around the Central Park Reservoir. Hey, the run is hard enough let alone having to go without music.
The Minute purchased her iPod through some Amazon-related store. Not
even a year old, we don't know if our troubles are due to the battery or not. Luckily, a friend and colleague showed us how to jumpstart the thing--switch the "Hold" lever back and forth, then hold
the "Stop" and "Menu" buttons down as hard as you can with your thumbs--simultaneously. Viola! The software restarts.
Sheesh.
Apple promotes battery life of up to 12 hours on
its 20-gig model.
Consumers who qualify can complete a claim form and are entitled to receive $50 redeemable toward the purchase of any Apple products or services with the exception of
iTunes downloads or iTunes gift certificates. Consumers are allowed to redeem the voucher within 18 months of final settlement approval at any Apple Store or online.
Consumers who've had
problems can also get their battery or iPod replaced. Apple sells replacement batteries for $99 and replaces or repairs defective products that are returned within a year.
On another note,
we are San Francisco-bound. MediaPost's OMMA-West show begins Monday, June 6. For everyone attending, we'll see you out there, for everyone else, you'll have another chance to attend our jam-packed
media-infused event in New York, September 27-28.