Author Topic: IPod Battery Settlement  (Read 1579 times)

Venerable Bede

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IPod Battery Settlement
« on: June 02, 2005, 02:26:00 pm »
Apple offers $50 credit for iPod batteries
 
 RACHEL KONRAD
 Associated Press
 
 SAN FRANCISCO - Consumers who had battery problems with older versions of the popular iPod digital music player will get $50 vouchers and extended service warranties under a tentative settlement in a class-action lawsuit.
 
 Lawyers representing consumers in the state court case said Thursday that the settlement could affect as many as 2 million people nationwide who purchased first-, second- and third-generation iPods through May 2004.
 
 Apple confirmed the settlement but deferred immediate comment.
 
 In the fall of 2003, eight consumers filed a suit against Apple Computer Inc. claiming the iPod failed to live up to advertised claims that the rechargeable battery would last the product's lifetime and play music continuously for up to 10 hours.
 
 Thousands of consumers complained that the battery - which cost $99 to replace - lasted 18 months or less and they could only play music for four hours or less before recharging it.
 
 The iPod debuted in 2001, with early versions costing up to $400.
 
 According to the terms of the settlement, people who fill out a claim form are entitled to receive $50 redeemable toward the purchase of any Apple products or services except iTunes downloads or iTunes gift certificates. They can redeem the voucher within 18 months of final settlement approval at any bricks-and-mortar Apple Store or online.
 
 Consumers who had battery troubles can also get their battery or iPod replaced through the lawsuit.
 
 Apple currently replaces or repairs defective products that are returned within one year but the class-action settlement extends the warranty to two years, plaintiffs' lawyers said.
 
 A judge in California's San Mateo County initially approved the settlement last month and consumers began receiving notifications by e-mail and letters this week.
 
 A judge will hold another hearing in late August to give final approval.
 
 "We think all the terms of the settlement are going to stick," said Eric H. Gibbs, a partner at San Francisco-based law firm Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo LLP, which represented several plaintiffs.
 
 "We think it's a very good settlement, basically providing relief to the majority of the class that had failures. ... The negotiations with Apple were hard fought and at arms length and took quite a long time, but at the end of the day, the process worked like it was supposed to."
 
 ON THE NET
 
 Settlement terms: http://www.appleipodsettlement.com/
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