“Don’t get me wrong: I’m not a blind Apple follower. I seem to get on their nerves often enough (but that’s another story); still, I’m wondering if the hubbub over the ‘easily scratched’ iPod nano screen is much ado about nothing—or at least about very little. It seems that lawyers are the biggest beneficiaries of the legal shenanigans,” Dennis Sellers writes for Macsimum News.
“As Macsimum News noted on Friday, consumers who claim that the iPod nano screen scratches too easily have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, saying they want their money back plus a share of the company’s profits on the music player’s sales. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California in San Jose on Wednesday, was filed on behalf of nano owner Jason Tomczak and others who have purchased the device. The lawsuit alleges Mr. Tomczak rubbed a paper towel on his nano’s face and ‘that alone left significant scratches.’ The plaintiffs are represented by law firms Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and David P. Meyer & Associates,” Sellers reports.
“Interestingly, Steve Berman, one of the managing partners of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, has done some intensive work for Microsoft. As noted here, ‘more recently, Microsoft recognized Mr. Berman’s experience and expertise when the company retained him to be part of the core national team representing the company in antitrust class actions arising from Judge Jackson’s Findings of Fact in the Department of Justice antitrust case against the company.’ I guess it makes sense that a pro-Microsoft attorney would be involved in an anti-Apple lawsuit,” Sellers writes.
Full article here.
Advertisement: Apple iPod nano. 1,000 songs. Impossibly small. From $199. Free shipping.
Conventional methods of competition have failed to dent Apple’s iPod juggernaut. Can’t compete, litigate? All iPods (including nanos) scratch the same, from the many units we’ve seen. iBooks and iMacs, too, by the way. Black plastic shows scratches more than white. The scratches, however, are the same in our experience. If you want your iPod to remain scratch-free, buy a case. Should Apple change the iPod housing to a pebbled plastic or some other surface that won’t scratch or show scratches? Should Apple use a glass crystal screen face (like a watch) that’s scratch-resistant? Would iPod’s cost to consumers increase if such changes were made; more than the cost of a protective case? Should Apple include a cheap protective sleeve for iPod nano units in the box, as they do with the new iPods? As Apple reaches a mass market, is a lack of common sense in the general population magnified? If Joe and Jane Six Pack all bought Power Macs, would they sue Apple because their coffee cups snapped off their CD/DVD trays? How many iMac G5s would be in the shop because envelopes were shoved in the CD/DVD slot? Do people today innately understand that glossy plastic can be scratched? Have Apple’s competitor’s ginned up the FUD level on the iPod nano because it’s their last resort? What kind of idiot gets an iPod nano, doesn’t protect it, scratches it all up, gets a new iPod nano from Apple for free, and then doesn’t protect it and scratches it all up again? Where’s the line between “scratches too easily” and “can get scratched,” exactly? Will that nonexistent line hold up in court? We have many questions, do you have the answers?
Related articles:
Will iPod nano scratches lawsuit hurt Apple? – October 24, 2005
Class-action lawsuit filed against Apple over iPod nano scratches – October 21, 2005
PC Mag’s Ulanoff on iPod nano scratches: ‘I could see a jealous competitor planting the story’ – October 06, 2005
Mossberg: Apple iPod nano scratches easily, get a case to protect it – October 06, 2005
Apple iPods have always been far too scratchable, protective cases required to keep iPods pristine – September 30, 2005
invisibleSHIELD offers rugged, clear protection for Apple iPod nano and other iPod models – September 30, 2005
Got some nano scratches? Restore your iPod nano to new condition with a $4 can of Brasso – September 29, 2005
The Motley Fool: Apple did the right thing in quickly addressing cracked iPod nano screens – September 28, 2005
iPod nano ‘screen issues’ really just FUD? – September 26, 2005
Apple responds to iPod nano screen issues – September 27, 2005
I work at an electronics store that is an apple reseller. I’ve only seen one of these come back with significant scratches on it, out of about 1100 that we have sold so far.
I smell Micro$oft Money & I’m not talking about the program.
Courts often utilize a test for what is “reasonable”. Would a reasonable person expect to scratch a device by using a paper towel or cottom cloth? I think not. Would a reasonable person expect to scratch a device placed in a pockey with car keys and spare change? You bet.
Yeah, if a manufacutring defect or poor Quality Control made some nanos less scratch resistant to “reasonable” methods of cleaning then sure, Apple should replace them. If people think the nano should be indestructable, they should replace their brains.
MDN word: young
I also want “a share of the company’s profits on the music player’s sales”
gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.
Isn’t it strange that Joe Six Pack, who has a ‘scratched’ nano, found one of the largest, most prestigious (expensive) law firms in the Silicon Valley to handle his case? How would he know to call this firm?
This will blow over. In doing so, I hope the law firm accrues a great many large bills, and receives nothing from the suit.
MDN Word = full, as in full of it.
The Devil and his deamons want a litttle piece of heaven!
roughly translated:
The Gates of Hell and his lawyers go after Apple the only way they can – through the back door…
MDN word: special. As in “Bill has ‘special’ needs”
Good points from MDN (I did chuckle a bit about the coffee cup in the CD/DVD tray!). Anyone can sue anyone in this country, and unfortunately there are enough attorneys out there that are willing to “play the lottery” since they’re not held accountable for frivolous filing of lawsuits. The UK system of the loser paying for the court costs sounds intriguing and fair!
MW = “along” Yeah, I go along with MDN on this one!
I don’t think this is a good legal case but I think That apple could have used a denser plastic. My Sony phon that I have had over a year has less scratches than my Nano and I’ve kept it in an oakley glasses cass (the glasses were stolen). My phone is black too, and I’ve droped it, a lot. I think people are whining over nothing, they would have noticed the scratches early if they really cared.
Well Jason Tomczak must not be the smartest in the iPod nano using bunch. Let me tell you; paper towels can double as fine grit sandpaper since they have very fine wood fibers, which act as a sanding surface. When it comes to polishing surfaces that have acrylic and other such materials, ONLY USE 100% COTTON!!!
Why not to for an issue that actually has some merit? Like filling a class action lawsuit against Microsoft for knowingly selling defective, unstable and insecure software … the damage they have caused must be enormous!
This sort of sounds like the Tom Delay case in Texas where you have a known liberal partisian prosecuter procecuting the case and a known liberal partisian judge presiding over the case who has donated to democratic causes.
– Mark
Lawyers are trying to do to Apple what the libs are trying to do to President Bush.
If you can’t beat them, sue them. Nothing changes.
MW –old as in, it’s getting old.
“me”
A paper towel is very abrasive to plastic, etc. Anyone who’s worn glasses over the last 20 years (since the sidespread use of plastic lenses) or anyone that has an LCD screen on their computer should know that — I think THAT’S reasonable, i.e., to EXPECT to get scratches from the paper towel!
I’m sure there are a large number of nano owners reading this……
Does anyone believe a paper towel rubbing the nano produced significant scratches ?
I think the real issue for the courts in this is whether or not the mp3 player in question is no longer able to perform the function for which it was purchased. In the case of the iPod nano, there is some loss of use if the screen is scratched beyond the ability to read or view what is diplayed. However, I think it will be extremely difficult to convince a judge that the individuals were so harmed by some scratching that the device was totally unusable and therefore they are entitled to both a refund and profits.
Sorry,
That’s “widespread” use…
Joy of Tech has nailed this one on the head:
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/746.html
MW: bad, as in Lawyers are bad! (And not in a “good” way.)
Join me as I have began my personal boycott against Sony for its CD Copy protection scheme, and Microsoft for all its unfair tactics that are to long to list.
Small scuff marks, maybe — nothing that’d be visible with the back-lighting on.
I had my 60GB iPod Photo in my laptop case protected only by a rubberized skin but with nothing to cover the screen — this scratched (a moderately deep scratch) the screen, giving the mistaken look of undue wear and tear. It didn’t affect the function of the iPod at all. It only serves to remind me of my own carelessness of not protecting the device properly. I’ve since taken measures to protect the screen surface also!
Microsoft has been giving an inferior product since its existence. I have to spend signfiicant time installing patches, anti-virus and anti-spyware software that using the Microsoft system is affecting my productivity. It is bad to the extent that I am not functional at work anymore.
Do I have a lawsuit here against Microsoft and I want a share of their profit? Any lawyers interested in this?
MDN word: “Service”. Do some “service” to the community by dropping such frivolous lawsuits.
I’ve had plastic lenses in my glasses for the past 15 years. Instructions are packaged and they say that only cotton should be used to clean them. No paper towels, no facial tissue and no TP.
“…they want their money back plus a share of the company’s profits on the music player’s sales.”
OK, let’s say that the class action suit is legitimate (which it’s not). I can understand saying they want their money back, but a share of the profits too? How do they figure?
Seriously, isn’t it a little strange that Apple has had a few class action suits filed against them regarding various things, a couple for the iPod I believe, but no one has filed one against Microsoft for their bug-ridden, virus-prone OS?
It’s sickening. I’m reading “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America” by Bernard Goldberg (some I agree with, others I don’t) and in the beginning, he has a section about lack of personal responsibility and frivolous lawsuits. This follows exactly with what he’s talking about. Especially how they want more on top of what it cost for the nano.
so when ordering spectacles with plastic lenses i don’t have to expect that i have to pay extra for the “hardening” of these plastic lenses… something that’s pricey to do, and usually is offered as an option.
with the hardened lenses it’s ok to use paper towels to clean them and it will not scratch the lenses at all?
not.
(even hardened real glass lenses WILL get scratches from paper towels!!!)
since they are made of plastic and not glass they refer to them as “unbreakable” – very useful when engaging in some kind of sports…
they will therefore not break nor splinter when e.g. a baseball hits them dead on?
not.
i can also have them treated with an anti-glare coating (for money of course!)… so they will not reflect any light into my eyes while wearing them?
not.
this coating can easily tolerate being “polished” with paper towels and still have some effect and not get scratched?
not.
but a nano is a different story……………?
well, then i guess there are “some” more americans soon lining up for a new class action suit!
BTW
when will window user start their class action suit against M$? just curious.
HELLO! TISSUE PAPER AND PAPER TOWEL IS NOT SOFT!!! How many times have your nose turned red when you blow it too often???
This is a moronic case. They are sueing for a share of the profits? That alone is all the signals of taking advantage of the situation and wanting more MONEY out of it.
It’s kind of like Democrats. They can’t get elected, so liberal, wakjob judges try to legislate from the bench for them. Wow! People will do anything to get what they want.
This Jason guy is a moron. Id like to see what kind of ties he has to this law firm and the sequence of events that led to him retaining this law firm. Something smelles very fishy.
Regardless, it’s another example of people not willing to take personal responsibility for their stupidity. The culture of blame lives on.
Paper towel is very abrasive. Go rub a brand new black car with paper towel and see what you get. Anything high gloss, short of glass needs to be protected. Someone is going to come out with an iPod finish restorer and protectant, like Meguiar’s, and make a killing.
“It’s kind of like Democrats. They can’t get elected, so liberal, wakjob judges try to legislate from the bench for them. Wow! People will do anything to get what they want.”
Leave the political crap out of this forum.
I just heard from a friend that a coworker of his just got a Nano and within days had major scratches on it. And he said she was being extremely careful with it.
I don’t have a problem with a suit, but I fail to understand how they can ask for a cut of the profits. But they are lawyers. The downfall of Western civilization if you ask me.
I have one to and i’m sooo bummed that i have soo many scratches. can someone please inform me as to how to be apart of the class action lawsuit. Also on mine i NEVER get 14 hours of continuous play time, My battery is half way used after 4 hours.
You should see my 5 year old Toyota Tundra 4X4. Hail dents in the hood. Shopping cart dings in the doors, fenders and side panels, rock chips in almosy every square foot of paint and a sand blasted, rock chipped, spider-webbed cracked windshield I can barely see out of.
If only I lived in America. I could really use a $1000.00 gift certificate on my next truck purchase while the lawyers made millions in a class action lawsuit.
I want Toyota to supply a truck condom with every new truck, the bastards. This is real! This is negligence! You Toyota lovers all need to get a life!
to Apple:
dont give ’em a f@@@ing cent, counter sue for as many reasons as your lawyers can come up with.
As well, anyone who rubs their Nano with a paper towel should know that a paper towel is a composite of wood particles, which probably acts as an abrasive on plastic—any plastic. Do the same with your eyeglasses and in a short perior of time you can expect to be seeing through tiny scratches which can build up severely over time.
Missy, go here to join the lawsuit:
http://www.what_a_bunch_of_money_grabbing_little_bastards.usa
Warm regards. (not)
It’s kind of like Republicans. When they can’t win in the free market system, they try to legislate and use legal hogwash to tip the game in their favor. Wow! People will do anything to get what they want.”
“Would a reasonable person expect to scratch a device by using a paper towel or cottom cloth? I think not.” -me
I guess you were there to see the tissue scratch the shit out of the Nano, right?
Can you or this parasite re-enact it?
Everyone knows only pinky, effete, liberals use iPods.
Serves them right if they get scratched.
Suck it up and use a Dell Ditty like real men and women.
Lame asses…
So it finally shed some light after all the fuzz about the whole ordeal. Sad this country are full of sh!t head greedy lawyers out there who are so ready to jump in any kind of lawsuit, even the most stupid ones… that’s only worse when it has anything involves the worst company microsuck microsoft. People, myself included, might find it a little suspicious about the lawsuit when first heard knowing for sure greed is a main factor there, but now nobody’s even surprised finding out the people & motifs behind it. After all, we all have to share living space with the two most disgusted species here: greedy lawyers & stupid “innovative microsoft.
Dont give em a cent
give em a replacement and a letter: next time you want an MP3 player, get it from Microshit
I wonder:
has this Jason Tomczak been involved in any other similar lawsuits?
is he a windows user?
have any ties with MS (relatives, work, etc.)
have any ties with the MS funded law firm?
have any finanacial problems?
been given any ‘presents’ lately?
charged with any scams in other states?
MDN word; into / as get into his life
It’s kind of like Republicans. They can’t justify invading sovereign nations, so neo-con, wakjob politicians use daily terrorist threats (notice how they ended the day after Bush’s re-election?), religion and morality to scare the public into backing them. Wow! People will do anything to get their war on.
mdn m/w: smoke, as in “smoke ’em out”
I seem to remember back in high school a sample card reader the teacher had. My mate said the teacher had complained that it was subject to abuse by the students… apparently they thought there might be some worthwhile information stored on a cheese sandwich and thus attempted to have the card reader read it.
I found it amusing, but the teacher apparently didn’t.
Point of the story? Dunno, there’s something there about a machine’s purpose and it’s durability under certain conditions.
Hmmm… MW=law. Bizarre. Where’s those lotto numbers MDN?
Funny
Today, there were about 4 people complaining about their iPods. 2 Had black nanos and the other two minis. They complained because either they were scratched, or the screen cracked. and here’s how they proved it. They reached into their pockets- filled with pens, psncils, keys and/or change- and pulled them out of them. And- Surprise, surprise- they were CASELESS! Not even a lousy screen protector! And then, they go and blame Apple for everything. And on top of that- hope that the class action lawsuit is won over by the people and not Apple.
Wow. Just….Wow
Common sense is going the way of the US Judicial system- they both suck and theyre unimportant in society these days.
They also have NO idea what AppleCare is–
UGH IDIOTS
As many of you note that the use of a paper towel will scratch up anything due to the wood fibers in the towel as part of its manufacture.
Has anyone with a Nano actually looked at the manual for the Nano, I don’t have a Nano and not due to ease of scratching or not, but I did hear from somewhere that in that manual it clearly states to use a soft cloth and nothing harsh or abrasive including liquids?
So I think given that Tomzcak will lose as and I certainly hope that the judge will tell him to read the manual and that it is his fault for obviously and deliberatly damaging his Nano and therefore Apple will win on that.
To Ann Coulter, I have not seen a Dell Ditty in someone’s hands and only on billboards and in poor quality computer magazines like Computer Shopper, now if that’s normal then so is a hole in your head!
Maybe you like to pay extortionate fees to have your ‘computer fixed’ each time Windows packs up on you in the middle of the afternoon with 1 hour left before your boss’s deadline for that report you are supposed to be working on? In other words lost productivity, a major problem for businesses of all sizes here in the UK.
This is why Intel hate Microsoft as users new to a computer or are too lame, as is the case when considering 98% of Windows users, to know that the failure of the computer is a Windows one then end up taking the whole of the computer back to wherever they bought it, that is still under the warrenty are given a replacement – that costs Intel a whole load of money in lost revenue!
I am a boss myself and I for one do not accept problems with Windows as an excuse for failures, and that is why I do not use Windows for my day-to-day tasks. Remember that line ‘the dog ate my homework’?
Perhaps this is MS “payback” for Avie Tevanian’s testimony against Microsoft before Judge Jackson in the antitrust trial, as well as a sneaky, unscrupulous means of damaging Apple’s iPod/iTunes success.
With the ease of scratching DVD often rendering them useless the plastic scratch society is dealt another blow at least until global warming starts to melt barbies.
Well if these people would take reasonable care of their iPods, they wouldn’t get scratched.
As a famous man once said “shoot the lawyers”
I’m buying a nano this friday, I’m now decided.
This whole story made me hesitate for a second or two (still it was more of a money question), but I told myself “I’ll buy one just so I can show people that they’re not as scratch-prone as this lawsuit implies”.
The thing is, I have yet to see just ONE photo of a nano screen scratched enough that you couldn’t read it. (That doesn’t include the Ars-Technica test-dummy nano)
If it was so easy to scratch it to this point, we would see tons of pictures of nanos on the web with unreadable screens, considering the number of people that already bought iPod nanos.
I had suspicions that this whole thing was the biggest FUD attack ever made by Microsoft and friends, but this attorney’s link to MS confirms it.
So people, do like me and buy more iPod nanos so we can show the world that this is FUD
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Ok sorry for the second post in a row (again).
I found this interesting tidbits about Steve Berman on the good old Usenet NewsGroups:
“Mr Berman also represented Microsoft against 50 class actions.”
Dang he already worked on DEFENDING Microsoft in FIFTY class actions and that was in 2000!
Q: What do you call 1000 lawyers chained to the ocean floor?
A: A good start!
Uh, Virual Twin, you’ll want to get a case for that black Nano.
Even if you do baby it, and just float it into a shirt pocket for an hour, it will very soon show a few scratches.
I’m not a Nano owner, but my 4G iPod got scratched real quick where my girl was livid! Luckily I discovered some Brasso and a cotton shirt to clean it up, then purchased a case immediately. But that finish is oh so glossy yet soft.
But regarding Microsoft, it’s so clear that they’ll do anything to gain a brownie point with their corporate bonus incentives.
I’m tired of people blaming the US judicial system for this. I have always been a proponent of corporate responsibility and I believe that if the claims are true Apple should pay, and if they are false the plaintiffs should get nothing. Just because the suit is being filed doesn’t mean an American judge has already decided to fine apple millions of dollars. You guys act like this is the end of the world when it is just the beginning of a law suit.
Apple can and has done things wrong. I don’t know why so many people on this board are so convinced that there is no issue here.
And please leave political ranting off this board, unless of course it is directed against republicans because we all know steve would be all for it.
Don’t be so quick to write off this complaint as frivolous. Maybe not all Nanos are this sensitive, but some of them are for sure. Mine was. Maybe it was a bad batch, just like with the defective screens.
I bought a Nano and after first setting it up, dropped it into my pocket with my wallet (no keys, no change, etc. — just a leather wallet). A few hours later, that same day, I took it out and the screen was broken and the entire surface of the unit looked like it had been buffed with sandpaper. It was truly unbelievable. There is no way you can convince me that that should be considered normal. No way.
Fortunately, mine qualified for a replacement because of the broken screen, which Apple admitted was a defect. When my new nano arrived, I kept it in it’s protective sleeve until a case arrived. No problems so far. However, a case should be an option, not a necessity. Tiny scratches over time, I can accept, but not this. This is poor craftsmanship.
Disclaimer: I am an Apple evangelist. I love Macs and have been using them for 15 years. I love my iPod too, but this is really pitiful.
Houses are not cheap and not every person can buy it. Nevertheless, loan was created to aid people in such kind of situations.