apples of gold in settings of silver

1 year on... I am disillusioned with the IT/design giant that is Apple. Supposedly a multinational corporation with a powerful brand name, heavy investment in tech development and design, along with a loyal following, would construct products which, even if they cannot be passed down to my grandchildren, should at least, at least, give me 2 years of pleasurable utility.

 

Which the 2nd generation iPod Mini (Hot Pink) did not. When it came out, it was heralded as a substantial upgrade in terms of firmware and battery life (18 hours compared to 8) from the 1st generation Mini. In fact, road tests by several noted review sites such as CNET and PCMag online rated the battery at 24 hours, exceeding the estimated life quoted by Apple itself.

 

I bought my very own Mini in April 05. To my delight, it provided me with 3 days of continuous listening per charge (roughly 6-7 hours per day) as I studied furiously in preparation for my final examinations as an Honors student. 24 hours per charge indeed.

 

2 months after I bought the Mini, I was puzzled as to why each charge only afforded me 1 and a half days of listening pleasure (4 hours on a plane ride to Beijing, and a few hours spread over 2 nights in the hotel, zero charge for the journey home).

 

6 months after I bought the Mini, I was irritated and angry with how, after 4-5 hours of usage time, the iPod would shut off, claiming an empty battery. After a few attempts to revive it, the unit managed to squeeze out another 1-2 hours of play time.

 

8 months on, I only expected a charge to last me on the bus journey to and from school. If I didn't charge it after that, it might last me half a bus trip the next day.

 

11 months on, I'm sending it in for battery replacement, covered under warranty. Next to me, I listen to a man ranting about how he had to spend hours of his time sending in his faulty iPod for evaluation and repair. 9 months after receiving a replacement unit, it too gives up the ghost and the service personnel has the interesting suggestion, "The hard disk is damaged, probably not worth repairing. We can't replace your unit because it's no longer covered by warranty. Why don't you get a new iPod?" That certainly sent the customer into a tizzy. My service center officer then mentioned to me under her breath that I might want to consider getting extended warranty, otherwise I'd end up in the same situation as the poor gent to my left. Er, no thanks. I'd rather upgrade - to a more reliable, consistent product without such a volatile half-life in terms of battery and hard disk integrity. Another friend's iPod Photo, less than a year old, has gone kaput. Hangs within 30 minutes.

 

I am not an idealist when it comes to tech, I recognize that IT products we buy, whether mp3 players, digital cameras, color printers or computers, will probably only be used up to 2 years before they become out of date and it's better to buy a new unit. But during those 2 years, couldn't we have some enjoyment out of our product, rather than coaxing or forcing the unit to revive, rather like an ER physician giving a cardiac massage to a carwrecked patient?