IPod

iPod is a brand of portable digital audio players designed and marketed by Apple Computer. (Hewlett-Packard also markets the product under the name Apple iPod + HP, but announced on July 29 2005 they would stop reselling it in September 2005, when existing stock is projected to be depleted). Devices in the iPod family offer a simple user interface designed around a central scroll wheel. Most iPod models store media on a built-in hard drive, while the smaller iPod nano and iPod shuffle use flash memory. Like most digital audio players, an iPod can serve as an external data storage device when connected to a computer.

Battery life

Apple designed the iPod with an internal lithium ion battery that users cannot easily replace. Like most lithium-ion batteries, the iPod battery lasts roughly 500 full recharge cycles. In other words, the battery will continue to have a useful life through the equivalent of five hundred complete discharges and recharges; through time and use, the life of the battery will generally decrease until eventually it is not able to power the iPod for more than a few minutes. Apple has published guidelines on its web site for maximizing the life of an iPod battery.

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The battery in all iPod models cannot be removed or replaced by the user without levering the unit open. This is unusually difficult for a consumer device, but at least half a dozen well-known rivals to the iPod have a similarly enclosed battery. Compounding this problem, Apple would not replace worn-out batteries either. The official policy was that the customer should buy a refurbished replacement iPod, at a cost almost equivalent to a brand new iPod.

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This situation led to a small market for third-party battery replacement kits. On November 14, 2003, Apple quietly announced a battery replacement program that initially cost $99 http://www.macminute.com/2003/11/14/ipodbattery (now $59), and one week later offered users the option to extend the warranty of their iPods for $59. http://www.macminute.com/2003/11/21/ipodapplecare/

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November 14 - 2003

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On November 21, 2003, a short film produced by iPod owners The Neistat Brothers hit the internet. The movie, apparently made before the change in policy, expressed anger because the battery on their early model iPod had failed after eighteen months and Apple refused to replace it. The movie depicted the Brothers vandalizing Apple ads in the New York City area with graffiti proclaiming that "iPod's unreplaceable battery lasts only 18 months." http://ipodsdirtysecret.com The movie was widely linked and viewed, with much of the commentary failing to mention Apple's recent change in policy. Some iPod users also defended Apple by pointing out that their iPods had lasted longer than 18 months, while other viewers suggested that the brothers had attacked Apple solely for the sake of publicity. http://www.billpalmer.net/com000047.html

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November 21 - 2003 - Vandalizing - New York City

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