flawedmusicplayer.com, Matthew Peterson’s website that alleges that Apple’s iPod nano units have “broken LCD’s that have no signs of abuse by the user,” is ironically currently being hosted via Apple’s .Mac. .Mac offers the HomePage feature which can be used by .Mac members to create and publish a single webpage, a complete website, or several different sites.
According to text on the site, “I am having some problems with my .MAC [sic] account. Sorry if the links don’t work and I am working on moving the site to a different server.”
Here, try it yourself: http://www.flawedmusicplayer.com/
[UPDATE: 10:54pm ET: We received an email from ipodnanoflaw@yahoo.com, which we assume is from Matthew Peterson, which reads in part, “I have to ask. Why do you feel it noteworthy that the site is hosted on .MAC? It goes to show my devotion to Apple. Yes I have a .MAC account and I think it is great. I thought it was great before last weeks upgrade. People seem to keep debating about whether or not I am just some idiotic apple basher. It should be obvious to anyone that I am not. I love Apple and I love the iPod…” Mr. Peterson could, of course, love Apple very much and be legitimately highlighting a flaw in Apple’s iPod nano design. We merely though it ironic and interesting that his site was hosted on Apple’s .Mac service.]
Related articles:
SiliconValley.com editor: ‘The iPod nano is fast becoming Apple’s next Cube’ – September 26, 2005
iPod nano ‘screen issues’ really just FUD? – September 26, 2005
Alleged problems surfacing with Apple iPod Nano screen – September 26, 2005
Site reports iPod nano screen failures – September 23, 2005
Thurrott: Apple iPod nano is almost perfect – September 23, 2005
Inside Apple’s iPod nano; how healthy are Apple’s margins? – September 22, 2005
CNET iPod nano review: ‘Sets new standards, stretches boundaries of tech, Apple’s done it again’ – September 16, 2005
The New York Times’ Pogue states iPod’s Law: the impossible is possible – September 14, 2005
Associated Press praises Apple iPod nano, takes swipe at Microsoft WMA-based also-ran music services – September 14, 2005
Apple’s music competition having tough time and the iPod nano won’t help them – September 14, 2005
One of big stars at Microsoft’s PDC show: Apple’s iPod nano; Microsoft reps ‘in awe’ – September 14, 2005
Piper Jaffray: Apple seeing high demand for iPod nano – September 14, 2005
Australian IT: Apple iPod nano ‘a little bar of techno-joy’ – September 14, 2005
Apple iPod nano takes a beating and keeps on beating – September 12, 2005
Apple’s iPod nano: The ‘thin lady’ sings unwelcome iTune to competitors – September 09, 2005
Hands on with Apple iPod nano – September 09, 2005
Mossberg: Apple iPod nano ‘beautiful, incredibly thin, and exceeds Apple’s performance specs’ – September 08, 2005
Apple’s iPod nano will make competitors whimper, Motorola’s ROKR inexplicably bland – September 07, 2005
Tech pundit Enderle: ‘iPod Nano is a hit,’ Motorola ROKR ‘simply doesn’t have enough Apple in it’ – September 07, 2005
Jupiter analyst Gartenberg: ‘the market is going to go for Apple iPod nano in a big way’ – September 07, 2005
Analyst: iPod nano ‘could be Apple’s next home run’ – September 07, 2005
Video of Steve Jobs introducing iPod nano, ROKR iTunes phone now available online – September 07, 2005
Apple’s Steve Jobs predicts ultra-thin iPod nano ‘will become the highest volume iPod in the world’ – September 07, 2005
Apple’s iPod nano will make competitors whimper, Motorola’s ROKR inexplicably bland – September 07, 2005
Apple introduces iPod nano – September 07, 2005
I’d rather not. My nano is not at all “flawed” and has been just fine thank you. I think I’d rather just enjoy listening to it instead of reading about something (perhaps real and more likely imagined) that definitely doesn’t affect mine.
At least this guy has a real problem with his nano, unlike those crybabies who are whining over some scratches.
Shouldn’t be long before we hear something scientifically definative on this, I suspect.
Why is it such a big deal that I host the site on .MAC? I think it only shows my devotion to Apple and their products. That is why the Nano disappointed me greatly. I expected a quality product and that is not what I got. I don’t think hundreds of people with the exact same problem is made up. I’m sure all of the iBook logic board mess was made up. Oh and the iPod battery issue as well. Apple can do no wrong, it is all the user. Think again, Hell, Think Different!
mine is great.
why doesn’t the loser just take it back? maybe because he/she thought that they could put it in their pocket without buying a cheap protective case to prevent scratching or did they not realize that putting super-thin electronics in your pocket is a dumbass move?
My nano should be here sometime next week and I’m not worried.
If the display stops working/gets scratched, I’m sure Apple will give me a new one.
They really should do something about all the rumours though, not really what new buyers want to see :/
well if you keep JUST the nano in a pocket you shouldn’t need a protective case.
I’ve had a complaint page about an Apple product on my .Mac account for over a year now. Apple knows about it, but I must say that they have not once asked/told/suggested that I remove it. Here it is: http://homepage.mac.com/wysz/Studio_Display/
Case? Where can I find one? Are you from the future (4 to 6 weeks from now?) If you bothered reading my site rather than relying on someone elses opinion to form your own you would know I did take it back, and I was told this isn’t covered and we don’t fix screens. If we did it would cost more than just buying a new Nano so just buy a new Nano. I instead bought a new 20gb Color. I know that won’t break. The only losers here are people who don’t think for themselves.
This is FUD FUD FUD.
You abuse an iPod you break an iPod. nuf said. I have a 1st gen, a 2nd gen a 3rd gen a mini and a shuffle (no nano yet… but christmas is coming) All will scratch. The shuffle and mini are very tough compared to the regular iPods but they are NOT bricks. Treat them with care and they last for years!
I suspect that Microsoft/Not-so-Creative and the other also-rans are behind this.
Wow, something is weird here. Check out this email and response from the site:
“Your comment that Steve took a the iPod Nano from his pocket is
wrong. He did not pull it out from his pocket, I know because I was
there.
RESPONSE: Well I was not there, my comment comes from other respected news source articles. Anyway I just got done watching the hour long presentation (So nice of Yo Yo Ma and Madonna to appear) and I never saw him holding the Nano. Funny though because the picture advertising the Quicktime moving of him introducing it shows him holding it, and it appears to be a shot from the presentation. Anyway, him pulling it out of his pocket would have been nice to see in the video, but he constantly referred to “in your pocket” and then when he said “it weighs less than 8 quarters in your pocket” I think it is safe to make the assumption he is talking pants and not shirt. Who puts change in their shirt pocket? Whether or not he pulled it out of his pocket at the presentation, he still talked about it enough. Thanks for the clarification as I with most of the world was not able to attend.”
What is this? An alternate universe????? This guy claims to have watched the hour long presentation and “never saw him holding the Nano.”????? Steve DID pull the nano out of his pocket AND he was holding it and waving it around a lot:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/specialevent05/
Whether the iPod nano screen is prone to scratching or not issue aside, this guys credibility just took a nose dive in my book.
Absolutely none of the photos on that website show displays damaged by scratches. All of those nanos were clearly damaged from excessive pressure of some sort being placed on the LCD screen. My nano is just fine and so is my girlfriend’s. We’ve both had ours for over two weeks now and have placed them in our pockets occasionally as well, but they aren’t damaged nor visibly scratched in any way. I’m really beginning to think that this entire thing is a hoax. Some people really need to find something better to do with their lives, that’s for sure.
I watched the keynote and Steve pulled it out from his jeans pocket and held it up (with the display on) for everyone to see. Go back and watch the damn video and see for yourself!
Obviously many of these negative posts are from people that don’t really own a nano and obviously have no clue what in the hell they’re even talking about. I’m calling bullshit on this entire thing.
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/nano.ars/3
This was an interesting site. Talk about Stress test. They drove over the Nano with a Car! But sitting on it, dropping it…didn’t really damage it. it’s like that timex thing…takes a licking, keeps on ticking… They took the Nano apart afterwards and the structure of the 2GB and 4GB models are different. Maybe that would make a difference…maybe it’s just a QC problem….or maybe all the screen problems aren’t true at all. But whatever…this site sure was interesting.
Hahahahaha!
Were sorry the .Mac website your trying to reach
flawed_ipod_music_player.com
is unavailable at this time.
Yours truly,
The Sinister Apple Team
BTW, the relevant section of the quicktime stream mentioned above starts at 00:38:00 or so.
And Matthew Peterson, I don’t know if it will help with putting the nano in a pocket where it will get bend stressing but this plastic shield seems like it is a great fix for scratching:
http://www.theinvisibleshield.com/ipod_screen_protectors.html
I hope to get an iPod nano soon (maybe Christmas if I can wait that long) and will at least get a case and maybe the shield above too if I plan on carrying it around not in the case – it is so beautiful it seems a shame to put it in a case. But I will NOT be putting it in a pocket where it can get bent and broken. Get real, no way the damaged ones you show on your site got that way without stress being put on them. The real question I guess is how much stress. I hope someone does some testing on this soon ala Ars Technica and puts these rumors to rest.
That all said, because of the bad publicity campaign that seems to be going on, I would not be at all surprised if Apple somehow toughens the nano in future versions by using different materials. They might do this quietly rather than overtly though – in America, where suing is the national sport, it doesn’t pay to open yourself up to lawsuits.
I bought an iPod mini as soon as they came out, do not have a protective cover and my display has NO SCRATCHES on it. It’s been taken all over the place– from camping to the car to work, etc. I think a lot of people are a bunch of careless crybabies.
If this kind of thing happened with Dell/Samsung/Creative/whatever’s player, you’d all be flaming them to no end. You all need to just chill.
So the heck what if this guy’s stuff was made on a PC? That’s inconsequential. Maybe he made it on his spare time at work PC.
Man such pettiness. It’s really pathetic. And this post will predictably get flamed as well. Pathetic.
Having just read the MDN Update, I have to say this guy is smelling fishier and fishier. .MAC instead of .Mac?
The obvious mistake/lie that I pointed out above really doesn’t make sense at all tho because not only does it lower his credibility, the actuality, that Steve DID take it out of his pocket, strengthens his cause. The only explanation I can thinks of for doing this is that this guy is waging a FUD campaign and doesn’t care about the reality and got sloppy.
We need for iLounge.com or someone with a good reputation to publish a test complete with photos to put these rumors to bed. As Jack and others have stated, clearly the damaged nanos pictured on that site were NOT damaged simply by scratching them. There was obviously a lot of pressure placed directly on the screen on each of those shown, otherwise the LCDs wouldn’t be damaged like that. I’d love to see a real world independent test done to either prove or refute these rumors to settle this. I imagine that’ll be done within the next day or two.
I wonder if Matthew Peterson will be starting his own .Mac Group? Might as well be using the account to it’s max, eh? We could all join up and have a helluva party. ahaha.
I work at an Apple reseller and so far I have personally dealt with 5 people who have had their iPod nano for less than one week and all have the same weird cracked, but not really cracked display issue. All 5 people said that they keep their iPod nano in their front jean pocket (as do I). Neither myself or my girlfriend who both have iPod nanos have experience a cracked screen but although I am very careful with my black iPod nano I already have problems reading the display because of smudges and scratches. The only place my iPod goes is inside my front jean pocket. I think Apple might have a problem on their hand if they don’t respond quickly to this problem.
p.s I love Apple and have a powerbook G4, two iBooks (one G4 one G3), 4 iPods (1 gen, 4 gen, iPod shuffle, black iPod nano), and I work at a reseller. So I really like Apple but in this case I think they have a real problem on their hand. Yes the nano looks great but when spending 250 dollars it should look great for more than one day
The site works for me, no problem! Kudos to Apple for not touching it. And to Matthew Peterson for pointing out what he legitimately believes is a flaw. Us Apple fans complain from time to time because we EXPECT THE BEST! And we usually get it.
homepage.mac.com/daddysteve
I don’t understand why all you people are flaming this guy. He’s obviously a real Mac user (who else would fork over $100 for a .Mac account). He has a concern that hasn’t been addressed and is doing something about it.
No telling about all the other folks posting on his site, but for crying out loud, the argument “my Nano is fine, so he must be making it up” is pretty pathetic–“My PowerBook battery is fine so the fact that yours is overheating must be FUD”. It’s no wonder we get referred to as “religious zealots” (yes, I’m a Mac/Linux user and would shoot myself if I had to go back to a PC).
I have a black iPod nano with no problems … however, I would never put it in a pants pocket … the problem with all of this is we have no idea how widespread this ‘issue’ is … remember, you only hear from people who are unhappy about a given issue on discussion boards … not from those who have no issue.
If you pull the rest of the URL off it is a .mac account. There is no capitol “M” on dot mac home pages that I’ve seen on dot mac. Either way, the thing obviously despite the metal backing be easy to stress. I can see how one would be able to break it if you were to put it in your change pocket in a pair of jeans and sit down. It’s length would allow a corner to be chosen by your posture and flex it or you would get lucky and it would push up and out of your pocket. The notes of one pushing on the screen and seeing the rainbow of pressure under the finger is a bit scary. I doubt Apple would put a unit out with so little protection for the screen, and if this is the case I would return it. My 3g’s front panel allows no pressure to reach the actual screen as I would expect.
All the Apple polymer glossy products I’ve been exposed to scratch easily. I would suspect that’s why the mini was so popular. Those things are bullet proof. I was thinking of getting my kid one, but it would probably be smarter to grab up one of those refurb minis for her instead. This way it might make it till next year to compete with xmas 2006. =) The nano is truly intended for an adult with refined taste, who would tend to baby their electronics like I do my 3g.
OK, I have to agree with jdub and the guy might be legitimate and just got sloppy with regards to the video. And if the nano screen IS a bit too much on the delicate side, I hope Apple will improve on the design. One thing I am sure of, after this kind of negative publicity, Apple will be looking into the issue in depth.
I also hope that someone takes the bull by the horns and does some independent scientific testing sometime soon. It makes it hard to recommend the nano to somebody unless we know the full story.
Another thing I didn’t say clearly. I doubt Apple would put out an unprotected screen in a unit like this one purpose. Could it be possible that a group of nanos went off the line missing a crucial clear protective part on the inside? My powerbook battery was bad too on my alBook 15″ and they sent me a box and a new one. They will do the right thing by those who have bad product before xmas. It’s their bread an buttuh.
A little chuckle about all of this never hurts …
http://www.pcweenies.org/
FSCKING DUH!!!
Just because Steve Jobs make a move on stage and pulls a fscking tiny nano out of his fscking jeans pocket doesn’t mean it fscking belongs there.
To a fscking billionaire a nano is like a cheap cracker, he’s got boxes full of them.
But to joe consumer a fscking nano is a weeks worth of labor, take care of it. Fscking Dumbarses.
Now go home and boot and type fsck -y 10000 times on your monitor.
“I’ve had my black 4G nano for about a week now and the lcd screen is full of scratches,” writes one. “It seems to me that everytime you take it out of our pocket to change a song or something, it puts scratches on the screen. The screen was scratched minutes after opening it out of the box, but initially I thought it was just me being a little careless with my new toy, so i tried cleaning it with my t-shirt but obviously that isn’t the case anymore. I keep the nano in my jeans pocket with absolutely nothing else and it still gets scratched. I mean whats the point of the nano being soo small when you cannot put anything else in your pocket for the fear of the nano getting scratched.”
I would never keep an electronic device like the nano in my jeans, denim is very scratchy. Where is the common sense in the world? Duh!
billionaire or not… Steve Jobs publically pointed to his jean pocket and said “Did you ever wonder what this pocket is for?” and then proceded to pull out the new Nano.
I hardly think you can criticize anyone for thinking that this is what you should be able to do with the device after seeing that…
And what is the slogan for the nano again?? oh yeah, I almost forgot…
1000 SONGS IN YOUR POCKET
Looked at the photos. LCD screens don’t exhibit those kinds of patterns unless they’ve been put under an awful lot of physical stress.
Clearly “common sense” ain’t all that common.
I somehow think scratches are not covered by warranty as stated by some above. If that were the case we’d all be taking everything we own back to the shops after a couple of weeks use. Yes, if the screen or something else stops working, yes it will be covered.
I have the solution. Apple needs to replace these screens with glass nd put the price up 50 bucks.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again when I hear about product problems I will not buy that product. Up until last Friday I was going to buy a nano for my wife. Then the first news hit about ipod nano cracked screens and that’s what did it for me.
On Saturday I rushed out and bought a blue ipod mini. Now I’ve been using macs since 1993 and overall they’re next to bullet-proof. However I’m not going to fork out almost $AUS360 for a nano when there are reports about the product within two weeks it’s release. Besides, I really don’t want pee off my wife.
Maybe it’s just a bad batch or maybe it’s FUD, but it did stop me from buying one and Apple needs to address this real quick. I’m a loyal mac fan and look at my reaction. How do you reckon peecee crowd will react?
1. Yes, my nano has got some light scratches. It IS plastic after all, and I use it for music, not as a fashion statement. Has our culture become THAT superficial? It’s a tool, not a gold bracelet.
2. Yes, it does go in my pocket… but I am not so dumb as to sit down with it still in there. Just when you make something 99% idiot proof, a 100% idiot will come around and break it.
The few things I have found that resists scratches in jewelry is a sapphire crystal watch glass and diamonds.
Everything else, titanium, stainless steel, gold, silver, platinum etc. scratches and looks like hell shortly after you get it.
A sapphire crystal over the LCD would add about $600 to each iPod nano.
Should I go with a diamond film instead?
Amazing how people here (MDN included) act like the Gestapo in Germany during the Nazi times trying to attack anyone or anything that is critical of their ruler. Critics are always wrong, Hitler…er, Apple is always in the right.
MacPopSeeds, check out Rado Ceramica watches, too. (
) I’ve been wearing one daily for the last 5 years and it has absolutely NO scratches on it. Maybe Apple should contact Rado and come up with the “unscratchable iPod”…it won’t be cheap, but at least it would be an alternative.
If it is only scratches you are worried about this plastic protection coat looks pretty good:
http://www.theinvisibleshield.com/ipod_screen_protectors.html
I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t vouch for it personally but the video and pics look pretty good.
If/When I get an iPod nano I will probably use this if I am gonna carry it around without a case. I am sure there will be boatloads of cases in short order but so far this one looks pretty tough:
http://www.speckproducts.com/nano-toughskin.html
It will add quite a bit to the size though. As long as the worry is only scratches and the rest of it is tough then just the plastic film probably will be enough for me because I would want to take advantage of the small size. If the screen cracks easily tho that might not be an option. I am usually pretty careful with my stuff but I don’t want to have to be handling it with kid gloves.
I am hoping Apple switches to a plastic with a better hardness factor even if it adds1 or 2 mm of thickness. It is more important for me for it to be tough.
MDN: “We merely though it ironic and interesting that his site was hosted on Apple’s .Mac service.”
Gee, MDN, so in order to use .Mac service one must promise to never criticize Apple? What Big Brother world are you touting, MDN???
And speaking of IRONIES, MDN is all about Apple products but do they host their site through .Mac service? Hell, no. Not good enough for you, MDN???
And what kind of computers are providing MDN´s hosting? Most likely Windows or Linux running computers.
Interesting how MDN can turn anything into a negative when someone has a complaint about Apple. (The guy spends the bucks to use an Apple service and MDN has a complaint about it.)
Oh yeah, I forgot, MDN is secretly owned and operated by the Marketing dept. of Apple.
Shenanigans!
“I have the solution. Apple needs to replace these screens with glass nd put the price up 50 bucks.”
The problem with this is that if there is an earthquake, the nano could topple over with the glass shattering with a piece flying through the air and slicing your wrist…you might survive the quake, but the nano could kill you.
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/nano.ars/3
Who care? Just take it back to Apple. End of Story. So the F. what! It is not the first product to have problems.
What do you expect? Put in in your pocket with keys, coins, etc. and of course it will scratch. Sit on it and it will break. Do people bitch about their cell phone screens? No, they get a case and take care of them. Come on people be realistic.
All I can think of is the iPod shuffle ads about it being the size of a stick of gum and not to eat it. Evidently Apple needs to tell people to not sit on or crush their iPod Nano?! I have a black nano and just like I do with my other ipods if I’m going to sit down I take it out of my pocket. Seems like a no brainer. The coin pocket in your jeans thing was marketing. I never use that pocket because I find it inconvenient and I’d never put my nano in my jeans – the material and potential rivet there might scratch it but with that said it would be my choice to use it there and the consequences would be mine.
I personally thought the guy who created the site mistreated his nano and feels terrible since he basically lost over 200 bucks and misguidedly is trying to recoup his losses didn’t get the answer he wanted and created a website and doesn’t know how to back down. That was my initial reaction. However, I could be wrong it could be a bad batch of nanos. I find it sort of amusing that this little guy creates a website and it’s getting all of this press. If he has in fact uncovered a batch of bad nanos or just uncovered another way someone will try to scam a company we’ll see. In the meanwhile I love the nano and I can’t wait for my nano tube because that added protection is worth it for my investment not because it will ensure nothing happens to my nano – it’s just extra insurance I’ve selected to utilize.
Randy said “Do people bitch about their cell phone screens? No, they get a case and take care of them. Come on people be realistic.”
Exactly!!!!
>Shouldn’t be long before we hear something scientifically definative on this, I suspect.>
Definitely!! Spelling is suspect.
Are you guys not able to comprehend a full sentence? The problem is not incidental scratching. Let me repeat. The problem is not incidental scratching. If that were the case, then yes, a simple case or a little bit of care would solve the problem. Since the problem is more than incidental scratching, it is something Apple should have prevented. Screens should not be breaking so easily. If you don’t believe the accounts, then you’re calling a lot of your fellow Mac users liars. It’s like you refuse to accept anything that shatters your ignorant concept that Apple can do no wrong.
Let me ask all of you that say you are sick of the complainers, Would you rather Apple spend an extra two cents to make the screen better, or would you rather Apple did nothing and these complaints continue? To not want Apple to continually improve their products is pretty foolish. Remember the 3G iPods with the touch senstive buttons? Yeah, they sucked. So what did Apple do? They listened to all the complaints and made a better product.
Isn’t that what you want, continually improved products? If not, then go back to MS and stop trying to stall Apple’s innovation.
Are you guys retarded? I mean WTF? If you can scratch the screen by wiping it with a damn tissue, then it is flawed. You guys at MDN are so beyond reality. I mean how far up apple’s ass can you go? Just ridiculous.
For some reason, you think that apple cares about you. guess what? they could give a rat’s o-ring about us mac users… as long as we keep spending and spending until stevie j reaches number 66 on the richest execs list.
get real mdn
All it takes is a whacked-out mac zealot to get a defective Apple product and that brings them back to reality about Apple, steve jobs and the off-the-deep-end brown-nosers at MDN (who always side with Apple, never us consumers).
With 10 gazillion nanos going out that will soon have 99% pissed off owners because of scratches and whatever, the number of Mac zealots will be reduced to just a few…
realist: “Isn’t that what you want, continually improved products? If not, then go back to MS and stop trying to stall Apple’s innovation.”
Microsoft makes pretty good computer mice and keyboards, xbox is fun, plus other games and hardware aren´t bad either.
Heck, realist, it took Apple how many year´s to innovate and continually improve its mouse to have more than one button??????
see what you did MDN! this article is so ridiculous that you have mac fans complimenting MicroShaft hardware. What the hell is wrong with you MDN?
you guys are doing nothing but hurting apple with your zealous views.
Quaptro – you are so right. I was one of those Apple can do no wrong zealots you speak of. Then I bought a Powerbook Lombard 400 a few years back. Total screwed up computer. Three logic boards, four keyboards, powersupply replacement, new ram wouldn´t work in it, OS 9 just was a total piece of crap…the thing sucked royal weenies. This woke me up about Apple and re-evaluate the whole computer thing – I was supporting Apple, but Apple wasn´t supporting me.
For the heck of it I went an bought a Windows computer.
Gulp!
Now I own both, but will never say one is better than the other. they both have good points and bad points.
Tip to MDN: Support your readers, not Apple.
i’m so close to being convinced that this site is a M$-sponsored site.
imagine a potential switcher coming to this site (i hope accidentally) and reading these comments. do you think they would be attracted to macs or just repelled?
potential switcher: “these mac users are crazy and irrational… screw this”
do right to the consumers, not what is best for the pocketbook of the company.
I bought a black Nano for my wife as soon as they were released. I was a bit disappointed that the skins were not available to go with it.
It lives in her handbag/purse. It was obvious that it would get scratched if it went in there unprotected. So we put it in an old Sony minidisc player carry pouch. It keeps the scratches off and no one wants to steal mini disc players these days.
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Considering how much money is spent on all the support these people supposedly need, they should just buy the full-sized iPod…..
iPods are widely known to be extremely easy to scratch. There is no FUD, no conspiracy about that. If you cary an iPod about in a cotton bag with nothing else in it but the iPod, it will get scratched up. The only (partial) exception to this is the iPod mini, which has a body of annodized aluminum, and which only gets scratched up on its screen. I carry my iPod mini around in my pocket, and it’s only scratched up on its screen. My other 3 iPods all got scratched to heck from being in my pocket (sometimes sharing the pocket with a leather wallet).
The issue of the screen cracking for no good reason looks interesting though – hopefully it’s not widespread…