Coming soon for the Nano.
Posted on 09/24/2005 7:08:15 AM PDT by pending
iPod Nano owners in screen scratch trauma
Front panel scratches 'insanely easily'
By Charles Arthur
Published Friday 23rd September 2005 13:20 GMT
People slavering to get Apple's "impossibly small" iPod Nano into their sticky hands may want to pause a moment: those ahead of them in the queue have discovered that it's also unbelievably easy to scratch the screen, nixing its photo-displaying abilities.
Apple's discussion forums are already host to a 188-post thread on the topic, where people have spotted that the plastic used for the screen and front of the product is as sensitive as a Kate Moss sponsor.
Trouble is that a few scratches will quickly make the colour screen all but useless for viewing album art and photos stored on the machine. In which case you might as well have bought the cheaper, screenless iPod shuffle, hmm?
When the point was put to the head of Apple's iPod division, Jon Rubenstein - who in the past oversaw the development of the Titanium PowerBook - the one that killed off Wi-Fi reception, because metal cages do that - he replied: "Nah, you don't really think that? It's made of the hardest polycarbonate... You keep it in a pocket with your keys?"
Actually, not so for owners we've heard from. "I found that my black 4GB Nano scratched within minutes after peeling off the protective wrapper and wiping it with a cotton T-shirt. I put it in a pocket just once and it was inside the soft case that came with my third-gen iPod," comments poster number 188 in that monster Apple thread.
He's hardly alone: Register reader Matt Baker says "the plastic on the front panel scratches insanely easily", and comments that that hardly makes sense, "especially for a device that's sold in a large amount based on its appearance, and that launched at least a month before any cases for it will be available. Mine has lived either on a work surface, in a shirt pocket on its own, or (as demonstrated by Steve Jobs to be a suitable place when he launched it) in the change pocket of my jeans, again on its own."
You'll also find plenty of irked people at Macintouch (search for "scratch") who've rushed out, as commanded, to snap them up only to find that they're squinting through some sort of fog to see the song name.
So what's gone wrong? Although Apple's award-winning designer Jonathan Ive has improved various things about the iPod Nano over its predecessor - for example, the scroll wheel has texture, making it easier to use - he seems to have overlooked how people really use them. Consumer gear has to live in pockets with change and keys. Only the polycarbonate survive, or something like that.
Apple had similar problems with its ill-fated Cube, where some developed cracks in the plastic moulding - though Apple tried very hard to insist this wasn't so. The difference here though is that the Cube sold dismally, so nobody cared. Much more is riding on the success of the Nano.
Matt Baker, who bought his Nano at the Apple Store in Regent Street, said he went back and found that the assistant manager was "(a) fairly apologetic and (b) seemed to have been fielding the same comments all day, and getting rather fed up of them! He said there's no official company policy at the moment on the scratching, but that it is obviously an issue 'just from looking at mine', and that they'll swap it for me with no problems if I bring the whole thing back".
So if you see a long queue, it might be the returns. In the meantime, any Nano buyers are warned to leave the sticky plastic over the screen, if they want to keep seeing what's on it.
But perhaps this is just another step in the dastardly master plan. Next step, the diamond iPod, sold with the slogan "Impossible hard to scratch?" ®
A heads up to folks who might be considering the very sharp looking Nano. An apple.com thread linked to in the register story http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?14@823.1UXDaaTXUpD.0@.68b94d61 has many folks saying just putting the player in thier pocket scratches it up(!!).
Apple could have a real disaster on thier hands here. Hard to see how thery could let such a fundamental thing go wrong, especially with thier focus on aesthetics.
Could production problems cause this, or is it the materials?
Folks say Apple willingly exchanges them, but if the new ones do the same thing...?
Covering it with some kind of case seems to defeat the point of paying the Apple premium for the good looks...
Arrrg. Glad I am not dealing with that problem. Jobs has got to be ticked off. I have seen no comment from them yet.
Coming soon for the Nano.
A leather thong?! Oh, that ain't right.
iPodPeople.
Ipods are over priced, over rated, and too restrictive on their use. Why not buy one of the other dozens of MP3 players that can download songs from dozens of other sites for a fraction of the cost? Yahoomusic has just as many songs and is only $5 a month.
One with studs and chains won't be long in coming.
Uh oh, maybe I should wait for the second generation ...
Because there are so many people who have been brainwashed into thinking that Apple can do no wrong!
Wow, and our iPod only has a wardrobe of sweaters (lots of different colors, granted) but nothing as provocative as a thong, LOL.
Well, if you ever used one you would find out.
I really like my iPod (not a Nano). I own the music forever, don't just rent it, and the ease of use is just wonderful.
I have talked to three sets of parents who thought they could save a few bucks by getting some other MP3 player, only to discover that neither their kids, nor they, could get the fool thing to actually work. Possibly the alternatives have been improved, but 2 years go many brands were so complex even high school kids couldn't use them.
My awesome Palm Tungsten has disposable screen protectors. Anyone stupid enough to dish out $300 for a Nano and not get $15 screen protectors deserves what they get.
Once you have the songs on your portable they can not be removed by anyone. Only removed off your PC.
My neighbors 15 and 17 year olds just bout the ipod that holds 1000 songs. They are both having trouble with them. Their ipod claims it is full and won't accept any more songs. They only have less than 50 songs on them. On hold with support for 4 hours on sunday and still no solution.
Apple computers are for hippies, but my Ipod is the coolest music device since the invention of the electric guitar.
The Yahoo $5/month system requires special players that reauthorize each month.
Stop paying and the music stops playing.
You mean to tell me once I download a song to my iRiver or Creative portable, the song will actually disappear from it when I cancel my subscription? Does it have an expiration date if I don't connect to their service at least once a month or something? Any help is appreciated. Thanks. I realize I can't burn it to a disk without the .99Cent fee, but for it to disappear off my portable is something i,ve never heard of.
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