Apple acknowledges iPod nano screen issues

scratched and cracked - the fate of an MP3 player

30 September 2005 11:31 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Apple has finally confirmed that there maybe a problem with its latest player - the iPod nano. After a barrage of complaints from customers about cracked and scratched screens the company has put its hands up to the fault.

"This a real but minor issue involving a vendor-quality problem in a small number of units", Apple said in a statement, adding that it has affected "less than one-tenth of 1 per cent" of the nano units that have shipped. A company spokesperson would not say how many nanos had been shipped but did stress that the defects were not the result of a design issue. He also said any nano user with a defective screen should contact AppleCare to arrange for a free replacement.

Sold with a marketing campaign suggesting the player would be happy to sit in your pocket, some users have complained that taking the nano in and out of your pocket can result in scratches so severe that the display becomes unreadable. The company has denied that the nano's screen is more susceptible to scratching than other models and suggested using a case to protect the player.

Matthew Peterson posted his gripe on FlawedMusicPlayer.com (previously known as iPodNanoFlaw.com), which inspired other angry purchasers to send him more than 30 e-mails an hour about the issue, he said, with some users complaining about screens conking out within hours of purchase.

Peterson said his Nano's screen shattered 4 days after he bought the device when he sat down with it in his pocket, leading him to think that the latest iPod is too fragile. Once Apple agreed to replace the defective units, Peterson took down the photos of defective nanos that visitors had sent in and posted the headline "Apple does the right thing".

Peterson wrote that he was "delighted to see Apple take this issue seriously. It is sad that it took a website and a lot of publicity before they finally investigated, but at least future Nano users with the same problem I had will not be subjected to the same treatment that I was. This was a real issue, and most people tried to ignore it. I know a lot of people are going to complain that they still have to spend extra money on a case to prevent scratching. Especially with the Nano, its main selling point is that it is small, and adding a case to it will make it much larger, but at least we have the completely unusable iPod nano issue fixed".

Full tags

Audio, MP3 players, Apple, iPod