“A second class-action lawsuit argues that Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. failed to tell early buyers of the iPhone that annual fees of more than $100 would be needed to replace the iPhone battery and maintain service,” Matt Hamblen reports for Computerworld.
Hamblen continues, “Filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Sydney Leung on behalf of a group that could reach into hundreds of thousands of iPhone users, the suit seeks more than $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. A court conference on the matter was set for Nov. 28.”
“The nine-page complaint was filed on behalf of Leung by Oakland-based attorney H. Tim Hoffman, and argues that Apple and AT&T committed fraud by not fully informing customers about the costs and procedures for replacing the battery. The complaint argues that the battery ‘must’ be replaced after 300 charges, anticipating a replacement at one year or less by a qualified technician, since the battery sits inside a sealed compartment,” Hamblen reports.
“A similar class-action suit was filed by Jose Trujillo of Melrose Park, Ill., in federal court in Cook County, Ill., in July,” Hamblen reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple states that a properly maintained iPhone battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 400 full charge and discharge cycles. iPhone’s included one-year warranty includes replacement coverage for a defective battery. You can extend your coverage to two years from the date of your iPod purchase with the AppleCare Protection Plan for iPod. During the plan’s coverage period, Apple will replace the battery if it drops below 50% of its original capacity. If it is out of warranty, Apple offers a battery replacement for $59, plus $6.95 shipping, subject to local tax. More about iPhone batteries here.
Scum-bags… I personally have yet to use a full charge over the coarse of one day the closest I came was about 75% and that was showing it off to friends. They lose this case simply on their misunderstanding of a charge and a charge cycle. The following comes from Apple’s website…
A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle. Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity slightly, but you can put notebook, iPod, and iPhone batteries through many charge cycles before they will only hold 80% of original battery capacity.
http://www.apple.com/batteries/
They should have just put a replaceable battery in the damn thing.
Isn’t there a way Apple can file counter suits and collect their legal fees back from the attorney and the idiot filing the suit? I mean, it hurts the shareholders as well as Apple. I’d like to see their bill from Apple wipe them out.
It’s the same as with any lapop. My 3 year old iBook’s battery is down to 38% charge capacity. It started going down after the first year. That’s how this technology works at this time and we just have to live with it. We wouldn’t be inundated with these lawsuits if it weren’t for all of the lowlife, scumbag, ambulance chasing lawyers out there. We need some lawyers in general, but I believe if we took 75% of these bloodsucking leeches on society out and shot them, this would be a better world. Of course, the same could be said for politicians.
Jeff,
The battery IS replaceable. Do you mean externally swappable? If they did then why not have swappable memory cards too? The iPods don’t have these things either, and the whining about that has died off. Complex gizmos like the iPhone have engineering (and monetary) trade-offs. It is what it is. Of course, I guess if enough people complain it might influence Apple’s thinking. But they still haven’t integrated a radio into the iPod – and I’ve heard a good amount of bitching about that.
How come the courts accept such frivolous actions as this? Anyone can sue Apple because any device they make is missing something. The legal system is nuts.
However, there must be cases where the battery runs down and the solution would be to insert a spare battery, just as one can do with a computer…and the phone might be needed in an emergency. That’s a good reason for having a cell phone in the first place, and a good reason for buying something else.
Theres no reason to sue, there should be more demand by the public to make the iPhone more user friendly to make any upgrades.
OK, Even if the iPhones battery maintains good charges after so many cycles, Apple should of made a low profile, & sturdy removable cover so any user can replace the battery without voiding the coverage..
All batteries are not created equal. And everyone has different habbits and duties in using a phone. Don’t know about the iPhone but some cell phones even suffer battery efficiency even after over charging.
There should of been a low profile slot to easily insert a mem card because 8GB isn’t enough for such a device like this. And also raise the minijack out of that hole so one can use any headphone or accessory.
I’m sure apple can do this without compromising the look, & feel of the iphone.
If a large crowd of people demand this stuff, Apple will do it.
Please don’t ruin the iPhone. If you don’t like something about it, buy a different phone.
I’m glad Apple doesn’t come to MDN to recruit designers.
Figures…the lawsuit comes from California. Don’t these people have another battery operated device. Hell, even their dildos only have so many charge cycles so they must be aware that this is the current state of this technology. Sheesh…get a life.
@ Chris,
Here is a good idea for you! Sue all the bakers for not baking bread that comes out of the oven sliced because the slicing machines they use are not hygenic, include a secondary action because they do not bake ready to eat peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. In that category, include all possible sandwich fillings you can create because it has cost you and other sandwich munching cave people extra money to buy the fillings and prepare the sandwiches often at great risk from knife cuts.
Sue all the car manufacturers for causing global warming because they did not outline the risk involved in burning fossil fuels, in that category include hydro-electric power stations, coal fired power stations, gas fired ps and of course all the airlines oh! and the military for all the jets and Nasa and the EU and Russia and China for sending rockets that gobble up thousands of litres of fuel.
Sue all the farmers because their cows fart a hell of alot erk! sue me as well because I fart a hell of alot after Drinking Camel’s Milk, our gases are causing global warming. Sue all the sugar farmers for our rotting teeth! sue all the fast food mongers for our obesity! sue! sue! sue! you frigin moron because you seem incapable of exercising rational thought!!
And then…..Drink Camel’s Milk. You could do with a nasal fart!
As well as Apple replacement there are dozens of online services to replace them for less and local Batteries Plus stores do it fo like $30. This is less that Verizon wanted for my old cell phone battery.
Is there some law about making something different? Is there some unknown requirement that any device might have certain functions or features? Everyone who is really in the market for the IPhone should know how it is different. Choice! You have choices.
Wait for the Zune Phone – you know you want it!
@ Chris, I forgot…Sue the car makers for advertising miles per gallon that cars can never achieve when you drive them yourself! sue them for not telling you how much fuel you can expect ot consume in a year, sue them for not telling you how much the oil would cost because they did not include that price in the cost of running the car.
Sue all the cobblers for not informing you of how long you can expect your shoes to last and for not including a repair kit in case the heels wore off, sue them for not making shoes that do not need wearing in before they become comfortable and therefor cause you to spend more money on corn cures.
Sue all the pharmaceutical companies for not curing the common cold. Sue all the doctors, hospitals & health practitioners including the state for not advising you on how to prevent illness all the time.
Sue the entire World for existing with all its flaws and finally Sue your parents for bringing you forth into the World early enough to experience the iphone but too late to invent it yourself, let alone be in a position where what you say carries clout and not carrion!!!
Drink Camel’s Milk! the milk will curdle into a cheese in your stomach that will be delivered to your brain where it is needed the most, if your brain swells, it won’t be due to intelligence, it will be due to the vacious vapours seeking an exit!!!
I can’t possibly tell you how tedious this ‘camel’s milk’ shit is, dude.
Zune Tang is funny. You aren’t.
Frivolous Jack: The courts don’t “accept” lawsuits, people file them. You can basically file any claim you have against another person, company, etc. However, whether or not you have any real claim in which you were injured is another matter entirely.
One of the basic tenants of our legal system is that anyone can file a lawsuit, not just people and companies with money. The downside to that benefit is that, as a defendant, you may be defending frivolous lawsuits, like these two iPhone battery lawsuits.
lbuschjr: I think you meant tenets.
Apple made a big mistake
A little door, a proprietory Apple battery and let the user replace it themselves.
No fuss, no mess.
Now one has to send it away, let the geeks and snoops in on all the personal data stored on the iPhone and so on.
Apple is frigging NOSEY!!!
I agree completely with Camel’s Milk Drinker with regard to suing.
People that are to stupid to realize that the battery may need replacing someday are almost certainly too stupid to replace a replaceable type battery without hurting the device or themselves.
Zune Tang is not funny. He is a bore. His comments are completely predictable. That removes any chance of humor.
Humor, or funny, requires some kind of a surprise ending or unexpected punch line. Zung Tang’s comments offer nothing of the sort. HIs ‘cute’ has long since worn off.
I think I will sue Apple for not warning me that if I drop my iPhone onto a concrete sidewalk, the glass screen might break.
Or that if I drop it into the toilet, it might stop working.
This is craziness…
@ MDN is a dumbfuck
Zune Tang was never funny. He flogs the same shlong post after post. Camel’s milk drinker is funny. You know why? Cause farts are ALWAYS funny.
Lamebrain.
@ Chris, I meant to clarify my rantings & ravings against you & your ilks by stating that I recognize your first paragraph as a sublime statement. You then slip into a personality change in the rest of your comment, Just read it again & think of what you wrote in comparison to what was out there sans iphone! You might want to retract it.
@ MDN is a dumbfuck. Do you have a life? What do you want? Do you know who you are? Because if you don’t, & it seems you don’t, I strongly suggest you trawl another forum.
This is the sort of person you bring to mind:-
MDN is a dumbfuck, goes to the doctor’s with a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear & a banana in his right ear. ‘What’s the matter with me?’ he asks the doctor. The doctor replies, ‘You’re not eating properly!’…..
Camel’s Milk does not go down well with Trolls, especially when they try to drink it up their arses!!
@ Sue sue sue,
These same people are likely to sue a smoke alarm manufacturer because they did not read the small print that tells them to test the alarm regularly and replace the battery at least once in six months. They would claim that they thought that the battery never runs out!
Lighten up people! it’s another new day, a hurricane is brewing and life goes on….
Here is a joke to lift up your spirits.
Two rabbits were being chased by a pack of wolves. The wolves chased the rabbits into a forest. After a few minutes, one rabbit turned to the other and said, ‘well, do you want to make a run for it or stay here a few days and outnumber them?’
This is the least of the problems for Apple. It is now reported that Apple is forcing ATT to cripple phones like the Blackberry 8820 because the iphone cannot compete against other smart phones.
http://digg.com/gadgets/AT_T_cripple_BlackBerry_8820_GPS_to_benefit_the_iPhone
This isn’t surprising since Apple is the worst example of a monopoly on the face of the planet. Take this along with Apple not wanting to recycle computers and you have a company that needs to be brought up on crimes against humanity. How long will the UN and European Union allow Steve Jobs to pollute the planet and kill children just to fatten his wallet?
Didn’t idiots sue for the same reason with the iPod? Same old same old stupidity. Should apple also warn people they cannot upgrade the processor, radio, and screen on their own? Or change the color of the device? Oh no, maybe they should tell people they cannot replace the resistors on the logic board, because, lord knows, we all need to do that! We need to ship these lawyers to China where they will receive an appropriate welcome.