James Delahunty
3 Jun 2005 21:23
Apple has settled a lawsuit brought against it by eight customers in 2003, which claimed the iPod failed to live to advertising claims about the battery life. The claims stated that the iPod could play music up to 10 hours straight. However, thousands of customers complained that the batteries began to run out after 4 hours or less after about 18 months. The batteries cost $99 to replace. Now customers whose iPods had bad battery life will get $50 coupons.
However the $50 coupon cannot be spent on downloads from iTunes or gift certificates. To get a coupon customers just have to fill out a claim form. "This settlement helps me have confidence again that if I'm going to sink a bunch of money into their stuff, they'll do the right thing," said one of the people who took action against Apple, Andrew Westley. The settlement could affect as many as two million iPod owners who bought theirs on or before 31 May 2004.
Customers who had battery troubles can also get the battery or iPod device replaced. The settlement also extends Apple's current one year warranty, to two years.
Sources:
Wired
BBC News