Ipod Nano Color Display Scratches Easily

[Kevster]

Apparently it gets scratched if you even breathe on it...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09...no_scratching/

iPod Nano owners in screen scratch trauma
By Charles Arthur (feedback at theregister.co.uk)
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 (http://discussions.info.apple.com/we...pD.0@.68b94d61) 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 (http://www.mtv.co.uk/mtv.co.uk/news/...cleId=30127102).

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 (http://www.macintouch.com/ipodnano.html) (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 (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/09...e_is_cracking/) - 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?"

[tupacboy]

hmm... just put clear tape over it... lol... goo gone can be used later to take off the residue and re apply new clear tape!!

[Kevster]

Maybe Apple did it on purpose so they could make $$$$$ selling Ipod Nano screen protectors on the secondary accessories market? That wouldn't surprise me, considering the battery lifetime fiasco.

[Itsme]

Customers complain that the LCD screens are too easily cracked and scratched.
By Antone Gonsalves
TechWeb News

Apple Computer Inc. is getting complaints from customers that the LCD screen of the recently released iPod Nano, the latest mini-version of the popular digital music player, is easily cracked.
In addition, consumers have complained that the surface of the player scratches with normal use. Complaints have been posted on the Cupertino, Calif., computer maker's own support forum and on a Web site called flawedmusicplayer.com, which was set up by an anonymous user.

Apple officials were not immediately available for comment.

On its own support forum, users complained of having scratches on the diminutive player, despite handling the device gingerly.

"I think Apple is going to have a major problem on their hands when enough of these are sold," wrote a customer identified as Richard Spangler. "They chose a poor material for the Nano ... I have treated mine like a king and it already has a few scratches."

On the anonymous site, customers complained of cracking the Nano screen, despite what they considered normal use.

"I had my iPod Nano for exactly four days before the screen cracked on it ... The iPod was placed in my pocket (alone) and into a backpack over the last four days. The unit was not exposed to what I consider harsh treatment," one customer wrote.

People complaining of the device said they were told the damages were not covered by Apple's warranty. That, however, could not be verified with the company.

Apple announced the thinnest version of the iPod music player nearly three weeks ago. The device, which has earned high marks from reviewers, is 0.27 of an inch think, weighs 1.5 ounces and holds as many as 1,000 songs. Pricing starts at $199.

[PrObLy]

Luckily you can repair it pretty easily with some Brasso or toothpaste and some elbow grease....but that's only a temporary fix.

These things are so small, I can't believe that they didn't consider that people would be putting them in their pockets and then choose a screen material accordingly.

I think they're made of polycarbonate which is pretty strong but extremely scratch prone. They'll have to switch to something better, maybe like what the higher end watches use (quartz?).

Or, of course, the Nano owners could buy cases/covers. The problem with this is that the whole selling point of the Nano is its size...even a relatively thin case would probably increase its thickness by maybe 25 percent or so.

[eSDee]

Meh. I don't really trust that people were treating them gingerly. In my experience most low-techs treat electronics like crap.

[cheapie]

if there's no place to put a lanyard, then they are going to be placed in pockets w/pens, change, keys, etc.

[ribitch]

is it news that ipods in general scratch easily?!?

My 60GB ipod was all scuffed up after wrapping my headphone cord around it.

My biggest complaint against the nano is its flimsiness. When you go thin, you usually give up structural rigidity. This is what happened with the nano.

I think apple was dumb for making the nano so thin, but at the same time, thats what people want. Regardless of manufacturer, things like this will happen.

[cheapie]

http://homepage.mac.com/matthewdotcom/flaw/


his page with other accounts

http://homepage.mac.com/matthewdotcom/flaw/cracked.html

[Cubsfan]

http://homepage.mac.com/matthewdotcom/flaw/


interesting read

He sure is a jerk about it to the girl in the store. This seems like a pretty good product:

http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2...dFirstLook.htm
(Just saw that this morning on digg)

[cheapie]

kind of. but i'd be pissed if my nano broke that quickly.

nother link

http://discussions.info.apple.com/we...M4.3@.68b95456

[LPMiller]

it's the same plastic on the regular ipods, and they scratch up easily too. It's only happening faster here because of the size and where people are putting them.

[Cubsfan]

http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/09...reen/index.php

[eSDee]

I heard that Apple is going to introduce a new iPod soon. It's gonna be called an iStopputtingmeinyour****ingpocketwithyour****ingkeysPod.

[cheapie]

what else are you supposed to do with it? hold it the whole time? there's no lanyard unless you buy the extra headphone/lanyard set.

[LPMiller]

Yes, you mentioned that.

[cheapie]

thanks sunshine. i was asking him what the alternative to putting it in your pocket is.

[Itsme]

Scratch that iPod nano?
Report: After buyers complain online, Apple agrees to replace devices that have broken screens.
September 28, 2005: 11:03 AM EDT

Apple Computer reportedly has agreed to replace iPod nanos with broken screens in response to customer complaints.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Apple Computer reportedly has agreed to replace defective screens that cracked too easily on its sleek new iPod nano music player after complaints from consumers.

The Wall Street Journal reports Wednesday that Apple has agreed to the replacement in answer to complaints on its own Web site and sites devoted to iPod enthusiasts. Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, told the paper a "vendor quality problem" caused cracking on "less than one-tenth of 1 percent" of the devices Apple has shipped.

Schiller said Apple's iPod nano warranty will cover devices with cracked screens. But the Journal talked to one iPod nano buyer, Matthew Peterson, who brought his nano back to the Orange County, California, Apple store where he bought it and was told that the warranty did not cover the cracked screen.

After he started two Web sites devoted to complaints about the device, he said an Apple representative contacted him to say the company would make a "one-time warranty exception" and send him a replacement for his iPod nano.

In addition to the cracked screens, some iPod nano buyers are complaining about what they term excessive scratches on the casing that houses their iPods. Some have posted pictures of their scarred devices on Web sites devoted to complaints about the device, the paper reports.

Apple expects the iPod nano, which went on sale three weeks ago, to be its biggest-selling portable device this holiday season, according to the paper.

[eSDee]

Updated it for you cheapie.

[cheapie]

lol. nice.