Apple replaces iPod nano cracked screens; handful of units affected, WSJ: ‘barrage of complaints’

19 years ago

The Wall Street Journal today is reporting that Apple will offer to replace iPod nano screens that cracked too easily due to a vendor quality control issue. Users have been posting complaints on the Internet about cracked screens and scratched cases. A spokesman for Apple told the Journal that the iPod nano screen cracking problem has affected less than one-tenth of one percent of the devices shipped.

[UPDATE: 10:31 am ET: Note: Yesterday, MacCentral’s Jim Dalrymple reported that Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller said, “This is a real but minor issue involving a vendor quality problem in a small number of units,” said Schiller. “In fact, this issue has affected less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the total iPod nano units that we’ve shipped. It is not a design issue.“]

Apple has high hopes for the Nano music player designed to replace the iPod mini and the product, which sells for about $200 and up. It has received largely favorable reviews.

Full article here.

[UPDATE: 10:35 am ET: CNN gets it right, “Apple has admitted there are problems with its new iPod Nano portable music player, but the technology giant insists the number of units affected by the flaws are minimal… Apple acknowledged Wednesday that there are problems with the new iPod. However, a company spokesman said they were not the results of a design flaw. ‘This is a real but minor issue involving a vendor quality problem in a small number of units,’ Phil Schiller said… ‘In fact, this issue has affected less than one tenth of one percent of the total iPod Nano units that we’ve shipped. It is not a design issue.’ Schiller said iPod Nano owners who found their screens were cracked would get their music player replaced free of charge.” Full article here.]

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The Wall Street Journal’s blurb on their “Technology Main” web page says, “Apple said it will replace defective screens that cracked too easily on its new iPod nano music player, following a barrage of complaints from users.” Barrage? (NBC’s Today show reported on the issue this morning. As we’d rather use Windows XP than watch that program, we caught it only while switching through channels. Host Ann Curry said something similar to the Wall Street Journal’s “barrage” comment. Let’s say that Apple has shipped 2 million iPod nano units (they sold 6 million+ in 90 days last quarter, nano’s been shipping for 20 days ) and, even though most reports we’ve seen say “several hundred users have complained,” let’s be overly generous and say that 2,000 users complained. Since when did 2,000 out of 2,000,000 come to mean “barrage?”

The American Heritage Dictionary defines “barrage,” in part, as “An overwhelming, concentrated outpouring, as of words: a barrage of criticism.

What idea will Joe Six-pack come away with after reading the WSJ and/or subjecting himself the Today show? That most or all Apple iPod nano units are defective and maybe he should steer clear of that Christmas present, when, literally and in reality, a handful of “early adopter” users had a problem due to a vendor quality control issue that Apple has identified and promised to rectify.

Look at the identical image and the captions below. Both are technically correct, but they tell very different stories:

What’s our point? Digest the information you get very carefully and get it from as many different sources as you can; there are some really hideous excuses for journalism going on out there. If reporters and writers and ditzy teleprompter readers can’t stop themselves from hyping or blowing iPod nano screen issues out of proportion, what happens when they’re reporting about something that’s actually important?

MacDailyNews and iPodDailyNews are Apple Store and Apple iTunes Music Store affiliates. If we did not believe in the quality of any Apple product, we would not advertise that Apple product and we would tell you about it. That is not the case with the iPod nano which we can confidently recommend for users who wish to own a very light, very tiny digital audio player that holds up to 1,000 songs. We do recommend protective cases for all iPod models, unless you don’t care about cosmetic changes including scratches, fingerprints, etc. to the iPod case. Do not eat iPod shuffle.

[UPDATE: 10:21 am ET: Clarification: the The Wall Street Journal’s blurb on their “Technology Main” web page says, “Apple said it will replace defective screens that cracked too easily on its new iPod nano music player, following a barrage of complaints from users.” This is the only “news” accessible to “Joe Six-pack” readers without subscribing to The Wall Street Journal. The information that an Apple spokesman told the Journal that the iPod nano screen cracking problem has affected less than one-tenth of one percent of the devices shipped is ensconced in the article for subscriber’s only. Apply our example of the image and differing captions above.]