Apple Nano not up to scratch

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As Neowin reported last week, it appears that Apple's new Nano portable media device suffers from a very delicate screen. Users are reporting that the screen scratches very easily. The scratches result in a screen that is very difficult to view after a short amount of time.

Today, The Register is reporting that problems with the Nano are "deepening". Even Microsoft's Jim Allchin reported that his Nano died due to "moisture" problems.

The Register speculates that if Apple can't quickly repair the Nano screen issues, then Apple's upcoming video iPod will be in serious trouble. Stay tuned...

News source: The Register

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- Fix: Don't allow "Do you want to exit µTorrent" to be shown twice.
- Fix: Sorting by port in peers listview didn't work.

(6 replies) #1 GT on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:02

Scratches on iPods are user problems. I've had my 3G 20Gb for a over a year now, and it barely has any scratches. Same white acrylic on the nano.

People misuse their electronics.

#1.1 shockz on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:18

No... I've used my nano for 3 days.

I've got little hairline scratches on it when I cleaned it one time with a special cloth.

They need to address these issues. I've already returned mine and got a refund.

#1.2 dhan on 27 Sep 2005 - 16:35

Same as spywares on IE are user problems ?
Why these double standards with Apple ? Apply the same yardstick as Microsoft. There is a genuine problem with nano and it needs to be resolved.

#1.3 betasp on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:56

QUOTE

Why these double standards with Apple ? Apply the same yardstick as Microsoft.

Spend 12 years changing the product while adding features to make it less secure, then attempting to fix an inherintly flawed product.

#1.4 father dagon on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:10

At first I thought you were talking about the iPod...but it hasn't been out for 12 years, and it can't be "secure"...replace that word with "reliable" and it could be the same statement.

With the exception of them attempting to fix anything. If anything, they are just making them worse with each generation.

#1.5 ipodman715 on 28 Sep 2005 - 00:41

Yeah, I have the same 3G iPod, but they're more durable.

#1.6 Raptor on 28 Sep 2005 - 04:56

If the original poster had bothered to be informed on the issue he'd discover that the Nano is extremely more sensitive to scratches than previous generation IPods. That's why people are making a big stink about this. The quality of the product has depreciated with the Nano.

#2 cub-x on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:02

weird.. they should've known this!
or do they just take the risk

(6 replies) #3 wicker_man on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:13

geez, the majority of people who buy iPods are freakin' paranoid! They accidentally scratch it due to their own negligence and whine about it. It's a piece of plastic, for god's sake, it's bound to scratch! I've had my 3rd gen for 1.5 years and yes, there are minor dings, etc. but not something I would whine about.
And Jim Allchin shouldn't have bought it in the first place (I wonder if Billy whooped his ass for buying a competitor's product lol) if he knows his pockets are so sweaty...

#3.1 your_muther on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:27

GT and wicker_man, you seem to have missed the point. The nano is getting all this publicity as its becoming scratched in pockets(with nothing else in there either), so much so that the colour screen is useless. They are not dropping them or throwing them across gravel, just simply sitting in their pockets. Personally I think they have a right to moan about their product which doesn't mean their standards, or the standards of the iPod.

Edit - Must learn how to spell

#3.2 AJCrowley Esq on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:50

I wonder if Billy whooped his ass for buying a competitor's product lol

As far as I'm aware, Microsoft don't make an MP3 player (yet), so this hardly qualifies as purchasing a competing product.

#3.3 roadwarrior on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:53

But the iPod DOES compete with all of those other players that Microsoft issues WMA licenses for, so it is, in fact, a competing product.

#3.4 Jaxkesa on 27 Sep 2005 - 23:57

so this hardly qualifies as purchasing a competing product.

He says a competitor's product, not a competing product. There's a big difference.

#3.5 AJCrowley Esq on 28 Sep 2005 - 04:39

Thanks for enlightening us, there is a difference, no matter how much an issue of semantics it is on the level to which you are referring. Still, a strong case can be made that Apple does not compete with Microsoft. Apple is primarily in the hardware market, while Microsoft is primarily in the software market. The hardware products that Microsoft produces, as well as a number of their software products, are compatible with Apple hardware.

#3.6 Help on 28 Sep 2005 - 04:56

Maybe it's a new Microsoft strategy... buying lots of iPod nanos and then returning it because of 'moisture problems'.

BTW, didn't the windows media guys got critized for having iPods with them?

#4 Spielo on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:19

If the people who'd taken the time to comment on the situation had actually taken the time to read into the problem properly, they would have discovered that the nano apparently scratches much more easily than previous iPods; so saying "My 3G iPod is fine" is utterly pointless.

People are reporting that their nanos have become heavily scratched by simply keeping them in their shirt pocket, alone.

Now, I'm no expert in plastics, but if it can become heavily scratched in a cotton shirt pocket, it's probably not good enough.

I wanted to get a nano, but after reading all of the hundreds of complaints, I think I'll wait and see if apple are actually going to do something about it.

(7 replies) #5 shanepitman on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:19

I don't get all the hoopla over the Nano anyway. I'm not bashing it by any means, but it's not revolutionary. It's not the smallest form factor / most storage for it's size. I bought my daughter an iAudio U2 1GB player and it's been bulletproof.

#5.1 AJCrowley Esq on 27 Sep 2005 - 16:22

Apologies for the slightly O/T post, but I'm looking for an MP3 player, but having a little trouble choosing. I like everything about the iAudio5 except for the fact that you're limited by the amount of internal memory...too bad that they don't support SD/MMC upgrades. Is anyone able to direct me somewhere that might help me find a suitable player?

#5.2 Nautica on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:38

just go to walmart and buy a cheap 512mb mini no name mp3 player.. once its in your pocket you wont care

#5.3 roadwarrior on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:15

It's not the smallest form factor / most storage for it's size.

The nano actually has a much better GB/cubic inch ratio than the iAudio U2. The iAudio U2 is 2.95in X 1in X .72in (2.124 cubic inches) and 1GB (.47GB/cubic inch), the iPod Nano is 3.5in x 1.6in x 0.27in (1.512 cubic inches) and 2 or 4 GB (1.32GB/cubic inch or 2.64GB/cubic inch).

The nano also has a color screen and can display album art or your personal pictures (the iAudio U2 only has a mono text screen).

#5.4 AJCrowley Esq on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:29

The nano does look like a fantastic player, but given the articles of late, it seems clear that it only goes skin deep. The iAudio5 is the closest player I've found to what I would really like, trouble is, the 2GB version is costly, and the 1GB has insufficient storage, I'd much rather have something that I can simply buy more memory for as the price of media comes down. Some things that I'd like to see that I haven't seen on any player would be a decent set of "almost random" functions, where you can select random by genre, random by year range, random by most played etc. The would seal the deal for me on almost any player.

#5.5 roadwarrior on 27 Sep 2005 - 23:31

Some things that I'd like to see that I haven't seen on any player would be a decent set of "almost random" functions, where you can select random by genre, random by year range, random by most played etc. The would seal the deal for me on almost any player.

Smart Playlists on iTunes can do that. Select the Smart Playlist on the iPod and put it on shuffle.

#5.6 Ambience on 28 Sep 2005 - 00:21

I believe the new 'soap' looking Sony 'WALKMAN' will have those randomising features. However, it's a completely different type of portable music player altogether in comparison with the ones you have listed above.

#5.7 AJCrowley Esq on 28 Sep 2005 - 00:21

Sounds good. I'd really like a flash based player, and they almost had me with the nano until all of these horror stories started to surface...It think I'll probably wait it out until this issue is resolved.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong (which I may well be), but one of the things that's really been putting me off the ipod (apart from the horrible price) is the fact that you can't just plug it in and manage your files through explorer, you have to use iTunes, which given its horrible propensity for trying to take things over, and run useless systray applets etc, I have no desire to install on my computer. Is there perhaps some hacked firmware or drivers available that allow you to use it like 90% of all other mp3 players, where it just shows as a drive in explorer when you connect?

Thanks for the advice,

AJ

#6 TheReaperMan on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:19

but the screen should not scrach so easy. also from what i have been told that if the screen etc has scratches on etc it invalidates your warranty??

#7 Shibby on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:22

Says something about the quality of screen cover, Personally i think alot of products are going for naff plastic which quality is naff. My car panels are plastic and don't even scrach. Seems eletronic goods are getting very cheap to me.
My nokia 6230 has an ok cover on but i was stupid for putting in with car keys lol.

#8 Hurmoth on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:24

I got an iPod nano about a week ago and within two days I had scratches on the front. I really liked the design of the new iPod, but I probably won’t buy another iPod until Apple addresses this problem. Very disappointing!

#9 PlainLazy on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:25

I never knew a video iPod was offically announced, or has it? Would somebody please post any links...

(2 replies) #10 zivan56 on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:32

I would replace "moisture problems" with accidently dropped in toilet or washed.

#10.1 DCMonkey on 27 Sep 2005 - 20:10

Maybe the nano doesn't have the warning that the shuffle did and he ate it.

#10.2 tereshchenko on 27 Sep 2005 - 21:51

He drooled over it too much

#11 indiehead on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:54

now that i've worked out i can play AAC files on my PSP i'm not gonna buy one.

good thing too,

#12 indiehead on 27 Sep 2005 - 15:59

personally at the moment, i think apple make decent laptops and computers, and not so decent audio players.

#13 MuCtEr on 27 Sep 2005 - 16:17

This is a pretty big issue. I've seen news reports about this on the local tv news stations here in Oregon. Saw one last night on the 11 o'clock news.

#14 Crayon on 27 Sep 2005 - 16:29

does apple only allow returns within 15 days?

#15 ReAnimation on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:06

The issue is not just scratches, apparently nano's with cracked screens is also a common problem, check out this report:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4286294.stm

#16 nvizible on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:11

Anyone for an Apple Pico/Femto next?

#17 BBinder on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:20

see this proves apple uses cheap parts and flogs them off at a higher price

(1 reply) #18 OceanMotion on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:22

How could Apple of missed such an obvious problem or did they know and decide to risk it ?

#18.1 amrinders87 on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:59

Apple misses a lot of problems. Look at iTunes 5

(3 replies) #19 Garry on 27 Sep 2005 - 17:35

I'm a big Apple fan so this certainly isn't flamebait but it seems as if Apple's QA department need a big kick in the pants after the last few years.

Titanium Powerbooks with no wireless signals
15" Aluminium Powerbooks with white patches on the screen
Overheating 12" Powerbooks
Logic board failures in iBooks
Hard drive failures on Mac Minis
Battery life on 3G iPods (and 4G?)
Screen scratches on iPod Nanos

And there are more, smaller, recurring issues with PowerMacs and iMacs too, but the above list are the more well known, recurring issues, with Apple products. Undoubtedly the products themselves are fantastic but it really takes the shine away from owning one when you're constantly worrying something will go wrong.

#19.1 betasp on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:09

Keep in mind that Apple is always under the microscope because of their uniqueness and innovation. Dell and Gateway both hav their own problems, many we don't hear about.

#19.2 father dagon on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:14

Perhaps because they fix those problems without a class-action lawsuit forcing them to do so?

#19.3 jasondefaoite on 27 Sep 2005 - 21:31

You can add firewire port problems with the first batch of the 1G iPods, I had to open mine up and manually solder the connector shell back onto the PCB, it had come off. At tthe time it seems to be widespread to a degree. Battery had issues too.

#20 imtoomuch on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:37

Is it just me or is Apple's quality degrading by the day?

(1 reply) #21 MadDog on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:47

Lesson here: Don't keep your iPod Nano in your back pocket along with your keys and wallet.

#21.1 linsook on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:52

how about, dont take it out at all, leave it in the box and frame it.

(2 replies) #22 divertom15 on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:49

Apple's upcoming video iPod

And when steve introduced the photo ipod he said portable media centers were stupid. Giving in now steve?

#22.1 meamog on 27 Sep 2005 - 18:58

i thought he said the market wasn't right for them at the time... i could be wrong. still, i don't see as many people walking around with a zen PMC as i see ipods.

#22.2 divertom15 on 27 Sep 2005 - 21:16

he said something like we dont feel thats the direction the market is going or something. apple didnt want to make them because they "dont believe in it" is how i took it. and i never heard him saying anything about "the time" which would let him off the hook

#23 rusonjitsu on 27 Sep 2005 - 19:15

ok ive had it a day,
i put it in my pocket in my ipod sock, nothing else in my pocket.
was shiney and spotless and now has scratches!!

i put it in a ipod sock!

seriously there is a problem there. I mean its a great little player and all but thats just unacceptable.

will they issue replacements??

#24 MOGua on 27 Sep 2005 - 21:18

For all those ppl that are saying "my iPod has scratches, too. Stop whining"

Well, did you know that the iPod nano has COLOR screen with PHOTO display abilities unlike your 3G? When you are trying to see pictures behind scratches, it is very unpleasant.

If you don't understand the issue, grab a sandpaper and rub it against the LCD/CRT monitor you are using right now...

(1 reply) #25 denzilla on 27 Sep 2005 - 21:19

What sucks is that defective units are in the mix with possibly good units which means until they're all bought up, it's a 50/50 shot yo're going to get a bad nano.

#25.1 AJCrowley Esq on 28 Sep 2005 - 00:22

From what I've been reading, it sounds like you have a 100/100 shot of getting a bad Nano. If this only happened to some, you'd think they'd pick the good ones to display in stores, rather than having horribly tortured looking display units.

(1 reply) #26 neocitron on 27 Sep 2005 - 22:23

wait for revision B

#26.1 denzilla on 28 Sep 2005 - 00:36

How often does Apple introduce a hardware revision? This will be my first Apple hardware purchase, so just wondering how long I have to wait. Its killing me to resist the Nano, but I'd be an idiot if I got one now knowing all the problems.

#27 Zolk on 27 Sep 2005 - 23:32

I visited a local Apple Store today and the Nano players were in horrible condition. Tons of scratches, some rather large, which did affect the readability of the screen. The full size iPods and iPod minis, which have been on display much longer than the Nano, where in no where near as bad of shape. Obviously something is wrong here.

(1 reply) #28 aleks on 28 Sep 2005 - 00:41

I guarantee you that if Apple placed some kind of scratch proof lacquer on the iPods (same substance on those TDK Armor plated dvd-rs), they'll be an article here how Apple put all those iPod skin manufactureres out of business.

#28.1 denzilla on 28 Sep 2005 - 01:19

There would still be a market for them as they would protect the Nano from a fall.

#29 ninjamunky on 28 Sep 2005 - 00:47

nice pun in the title lol nano seems to be a pretty big hit, all the rich kids have em... and i, my trusty 4G

#30 echo on 28 Sep 2005 - 01:21

This really sucks. All i've heard is GREAT things about the Ipods. I was never going to get one until the nano came out. Now that the nano is out there are big problems with it.

I've never heard about an Ipod video. Hmm, maybe I will wait until that comes out. Hopefully it will play music and view images as well as videos. If so, then I will absolutely have to wait until it comes out. Hopefully they will have whatever issues they have with the nano, worked out.

(1 reply) #31 raid517 on 28 Sep 2005 - 01:58

Apple have always had the same issues. Great design - but p*ss poor build quality.

This sort of stuff will hit their sales.

GJ

#31.1 m-head on 28 Sep 2005 - 08:45

That seems the way with apple, judging by comments here.

You'd think they'd test the product to see how practical it is. Obviously they did none, as you can't use it without it being scratched to hell.

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