iPhone battery fee?

[robphelan]

what a rip. you pay a ginormous amount of $$ for a phone and after the battery goes out, you must send it in to Apple (iphone is sealed) for a battery replacement at a cost of $79 plus a $6.95 shipping charge!

Replacements take 3 days... can't live without your iPhone for 3 days? no problem - Apple will rent you a spare for a measley $29.

msnbc link

 

[Genx87]

I knew this phone was a ripoff when they forced you onto AT&T's old edge network which is slower than their 3G network. Then I read about the battery situation.

Yet people just cant get enough!

I bet if Apple came out with an iPoop and gave it an authentic smell and texture people would line up around the corner to buy their very own.

 

[GoPackGo]

Originally posted by: Genx87
I knew this phone was a ripoff when they forced you onto AT&T's old edge network which is slower than their 3G network. Then I read about the battery situation.

Yet people just cant get enough!

I bet if Apple came out with an iPoop and gave it an authentic smell and texture people would line up around the corner to buy their very own.

iPoop FTW!!!!


:laugh:

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

How is this news? There are multiple iPhone threads in the appropriate places, and this information has been available since launch day.

 

[robphelan]

in case you haven't noticed, the iPhone has been in the news for weeks.

I quickly glanced at the other iphone posts (most were in OT) and none mentioned battery life.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: robphelan
in case you haven't noticed, the iPhone has been in the news for weeks.

I quickly glanced at the other iphone posts (most were in OT) and none mentioned battery life.

FYI, here is an entire thread specically about the battery replacement program.

 

[steppinthrax]

That is why whenever new tech comes out I wait at least a year for them to refine it. Instead of standing in line like an idiot to buy an experiment that you have to buy again when they come out with version 1.1.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
That is why whenever new tech comes out I wait at least a year for them to refine it. Instead of standing in line like an idiot to buy an experiment that you have to buy again when they come out with version 1.1.

I agree. I doubt this particular issue will go away with subsequent releases, though, as Apple tends not to use user-serviceable batteries. The iPhone's battery is only unusual in that it is soldered in place (and obviously this is a more glaring issue with a phone, which is pretty much constantly on, than it would be with an MP3 player).

 

[nageov3t]

par for the course with apple.

Planned obsolescence is pretty much apple's company motto.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: loki8481
par for the course with apple.

Planned obsolescence is pretty much apple's company motto.

That seems a little melodramatic. I still use a first-gen 10GB iPod that is more than 5 years old - it gets 22 hours of battery life with an aftermarket replacement battery. I actually have a first-gen, 128K Mac in the trunk of my car, and while it really isn't a viable machine nowadays, it's a whole lot closer (and more fun to play with) than a PC of similar era (1984 or so).

 

[Trevelyan]

I'm sure aftermarket battery replacements will pop up...

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I'm sure aftermarket battery replacements will pop up...

The battery is soldered in place, and the iPhone autopsies posted online (including the one by Anandtech) make it look very tricky to get the case opened without damaging it.

 

[f95toli]

You do realize that 300-400 charges means that the battery will last for something like 2-3 years (depending on how much you use the phone)?
The mean lifetime for a phone nowadays is something like 18 months so for most users this will not be an issue.
I am not a big fan of Apple, but there are worse problems with the iPhone than the battery lifetime.

 

[Jadow]

can't a phone just be a phone?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Jadow
can't a phone just be a phone?

Clearly, yes, but some people want more features than that, and Apple is able to integrate them in a very user-friendly package, so to each his own.

 

[Phokus]

the iphone will be the downfall of the Bush administration yet, mark my words!

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: Genx87
I knew this phone was a ripoff when they forced you onto AT&T's old edge network which is slower than their 3G network. Then I read about the battery situation.

Yet people just cant get enough!

I bet if Apple came out with an iPoop and gave it an authentic smell and texture people would line up around the corner to buy their very own.

Apple and Harley Davidson are quite exceptional when it comes to their markets, you really don't see this kind of fanatical devotion with other companies. And this fanaticism rubs off on normal people as well - if you read Anand's review, he gets really frustrated with the keyboard (to the point of wanting to smash the unit), but then decides to try again the next morning and really really tries to get into it. Doubt you'll find such attitudes to any other product...

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: Jadow
can't a phone just be a phone?

It was, back when it was analog and attached to your wall. There is no logical "stopping point" when it comes to technological progress. Of course that also means you'll have to deal with technologies that seem like a step back because they do the new AND old features poorly, but that tends to smooth out as time goes by. Remember the first mobile phones? They weren't very mobile and they weren't very good as phones, but things improved.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: Genx87
I knew this phone was a ripoff when they forced you onto AT&T's old edge network which is slower than their 3G network. Then I read about the battery situation.

Yet people just cant get enough!

I bet if Apple came out with an iPoop and gave it an authentic smell and texture people would line up around the corner to buy their very own.

Apple and Harley Davidson are quite exceptional when it comes to their markets, you really don't see this kind of fanatical devotion with other companies. And this fanaticism rubs off on normal people as well - if you read Anand's review, he gets really frustrated with the keyboard (to the point of wanting to smash the unit), but then decides to try again the next morning and really really tries to get into it. Doubt you'll find such attitudes to any other product...

An interesting comparison, because while their products are very different, the thing that makes them similar is that they market largely by fostering a consumer image. Not an image of the company that the consumer has, but an image of the consumer himself that potential buyers want to have. Having an Apple or Harley Davidson product (allegedly) says something about you in a way that having a Kawasaki or a Dell product does not.

Or at least that's how the marketing goes, and it's very effective.

 

[theeedude]

iPhone, therefore iPay
This thing has ripoff written all over it. I've seen one in person, it was interesting, but after the gee whiz novelty factor is gone, what do you have?

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: robphelan
in case you haven't noticed, the iPhone has been in the news for weeks.

I quickly glanced at the other iphone posts (most were in OT) and none mentioned battery life.

FYI, here is an entire thread specically about the battery replacement program.

FWIW.. I only visit two subforums here This one and FS/FT - every once in a great while I venture outside of here.. but OT sees us as scary.. I likewise fear them :laugh:

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: f95toli
You do realize that 300-400 charges means that the battery will last for something like 2-3 years (depending on how much you use the phone)?
The mean lifetime for a phone nowadays is something like 18 months so for most users this will not be an issue.
I am not a big fan of Apple, but there are worse problems with the iPhone than the battery lifetime.

:laugh: Everyone ignores the lone logical point in the entire thread and keeps right on bitching. :laugh:

 

[StageLeft]

Everyone presumably knew it wouldn't last forever, didn't they?

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy

Originally posted by: f95toli
You do realize that 300-400 charges means that the battery will last for something like 2-3 years (depending on how much you use the phone)?
The mean lifetime for a phone nowadays is something like 18 months so for most users this will not be an issue.
I am not a big fan of Apple, but there are worse problems with the iPhone than the battery lifetime.

:laugh: Everyone ignores the lone logical point in the entire thread and keeps right on bitching. :laugh:

Yeah, it's logical that the mean lifetime for a phone is 18 months when you have a 2-year contract...

Second, 300-400 charges based upon what? What about decreasing life, which increases charge amounts? The iphone is touted as beign able to use Wifi, Edge, and talk while using media browsers. I don't know about you, but I think that when you start turning that stuff one you're battery is going to drain very quickly. I have a Sprint PPC-6700 and 2 hours of EVDO surfing killed my OEM battery. The charge life went from 12 hours to 6 hours within a year.

I finally got a larger battery, now the phone lasts 2 weeks without talk, a week with talk, and 4 days of heavy internet usage.

What fact is that Apple created an iPileofShite and sold it as a brick of gold. They touted minor features as revolutionary. However, everything the iPileofShite can do, my PPC-6700 can do or it can do it better. I can open PDF, XLS, PPT, DOC, mp3, mpeg, quicktime. I can get bluetooth GPS and plug in any number of GPS apps. I can use YOuTube, googlemaps. There are millions of programs written for it. I can watch videos in normal or widescreen.

I also have 802.11b, EVDO (which is what? 5-10x faster than EDGE?). a full-size QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen, USB-AA-battery charge cabability, user replacable extended life batteries, and unlimited storage capacity through 4GB MiniSD cards.

Yet, I paid only $75 for my device with a 2-year contract. Through that contract I get much better coverage and 3G. It's a $120 contract which gives both my wife and I 1400 anytime, 7pm nights/weekends, free sprint/sprint calling, unlimited text, unlimited data, complete phone replacement, free analog/digital roaming, free 411...etc.

So, go ahead, claim the iPileofShite is great. Phones have been doing the same thing for 2+ years. Apple just convinced the unthinking hordes that it was much better. They are nothing but the Bose/MonsterCable of the computer industry.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy

Originally posted by: f95toli
You do realize that 300-400 charges means that the battery will last for something like 2-3 years (depending on how much you use the phone)?
The mean lifetime for a phone nowadays is something like 18 months so for most users this will not be an issue.
I am not a big fan of Apple, but there are worse problems with the iPhone than the battery lifetime.

:laugh: Everyone ignores the lone logical point in the entire thread and keeps right on bitching. :laugh:

Yeah, it's logical that the mean lifetime for a phone is 18 months when you have a 2-year contract...

Second, 300-400 charges based upon what? What about decreasing life, which increases charge amounts? The iphone is touted as beign able to use Wifi, Edge, and talk while using media browsers. I don't know about you, but I think that when you start turning that stuff one you're battery is going to drain very quickly. I have a Sprint PPC-6700 and 2 hours of EVDO surfing killed my OEM battery. The charge life went from 12 hours to 6 hours within a year.

I finally got a larger battery, now the phone lasts 2 weeks without talk, a week with talk, and 4 days of heavy internet usage.

What fact is that Apple created an iPileofShite and sold it as a brick of gold. They touted minor features as revolutionary. However, everything the iPileofShite can do, my PPC-6700 can do or it can do it better. I can open PDF, XLS, PPT, DOC, mp3, mpeg, quicktime. I can get bluetooth GPS and plug in any number of GPS apps. I can use YOuTube, googlemaps. There are millions of programs written for it. I can watch videos in normal or widescreen.

I also have 802.11b, EVDO (which is what? 5-10x faster than EDGE?). a full-size QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen, USB-AA-battery charge cabability, user replacable extended life batteries, and unlimited storage capacity through 4GB MiniSD cards.

Yet, I paid only $75 for my device with a 2-year contract. Through that contract I get much better coverage and 3G. It's a $120 contract which gives both my wife and I 1400 anytime, 7pm nights/weekends, free sprint/sprint calling, unlimited text, unlimited data, complete phone replacement, free analog/digital roaming, free 411...etc.

So, go ahead, claim the iPileofShite is great. Phones have been doing the same thing for 2+ years. Apple just convinced the unthinking hordes that it was much better. They are nothing but the Bose/MonsterCable of the computer industry.

:thumbsup: