Neistat brothers irked over 18 month iPod battery life
Posted on 27/11/03 02:59 by Dan Bell                             
Neistat brothers irked over 18 month iPod battery life

When these two talented video editors 18 month old iPod battery went dead, they gave Apple support line a jingle. Imagine their surprise when they found out the proprietary battery was going to be so expensive to replace $ 255- the support person suggested just buying a new iPod! Yeah sure, they had a better idea.

Well, these two took proactive consumers took matters in their own hands and began an anti-ad campaign, stencilling all the iPod posters they could find in New York. Takin' it to the streets with a two man education program.

Brothers Casey and Van Neistat, who collaborate on video projects using Mac editing software, said they were told by a technical support representative at Apple Computer that the cost to replace the dead battery in an 18-month-old iPod would be $ 255 comparable to the cost of a new device. Irked at what seemed to be the early obsolescence of the music player, the brothers trekked around New York City stenciling the words "iPod's unreplaceable battery lasts only 18 months" on all the iPod posters they could find.

Now the Neistats claim that the video they created of their exploits is getting 50,000 hits a day on the Web site Ipodsdirtysecret.com. As of Wednesday afternoon, the site's traffic counter indicated it had seen more than 194,000 visitors.

Now, if you read the rest of the article , you can see how to get the battery replaced for as little as 70 dollars. But, this quicktime video the brothers made to demonstrate the situation they encountered is not bad! Forget about the battery issue, these guys are really talented film makers. You can see it here. 

Source: C|Net

Reactions
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By x43, Thu 27 Nov 2003 03:23
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i dont no if there traffic counter is right or what but when i was on the page i refreshed it a few times when looking at the traffic counter and the numbers was going up like in 20's at one time. is there really that many diffrent people looking at the page at the same time?
By Crabbyappleton, Thu 27 Nov 2003 03:34
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CrabbyappletonI think so- it is all over the net. type iPod dirty secret into google. Smilie
[edited by Crabbyappleton on 27.11.2003 03:38]
By Sherrif, Thu 27 Nov 2003 14:37
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I had a cordless drill and the rechargeable battery finally bit the dust....rang the distributors (as it was a discontinued model it appears) wanted $ 115 for a new battery....I only paid $ 85 for the drill, battery and case brand new....one would think being a discontinued line they would be glad to get rid of old stock...last ryobi tool I purchased.......moral of the story??...well there probably isn't one but now reading the story re: the ipod...it sure reaffirms my disgust at shonky corporations and their shady business practices......I guess some people never realise it's the consumer that pays their salary.........just thought I'd share that with ya...........cool
[edited by Sherrif on 27.11.2003 14:38]
By Kafoopsy, Thu 27 Nov 2003 15:42
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Why don't they design portable stuff like this to use standard batteries? Same thing goes with other portable stuff like digital cameras.
By emocean, Thu 27 Nov 2003 16:20
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Because then you're little ipod wouldn't be little anymore. Lithium Ion batteries are used because they are light, can be various sizes, and have no memory effect. Not to mention that they provide much more power than your regular 'AA' batteries in todays high drain CE products. ::
By Truman, Thu 27 Nov 2003 19:43
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TrumanProviding more power is upto the manufacturer. E.g. In the old mobiles comparing nokia with samsung batteries - samsung lasted only 1/2 a day - and they're bigger! It's a ploy for manufacturer's to make more money. They sell more accessories than the units themselves.
[edited by Truman on 27.11.2003 19:44]
By aviationwiz, Thu 27 Nov 2003 22:24
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aviationwizThe maker of the video admitted to me in a PM on the Dell Forums that he did not have an iPod, and made the call, and video to insult Apple, as was my suspicion, considering the tone of voice used did not sound very real for being told it would cost $255 to fix the battery.

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