Apple forced to pay up over iBook G4 flaw

Just months ago, the Consumer Complaints Board in Denmark announced that it had "proven" that the logic board within a slew of Apple's iBook G4s were faulty, and now it seems that Cupertino has been forced to cough up reparations. According to InfoWorld, a US-based Apple spokeswoman stated that it "disagreed with the DCCB's findings based on its own investigation, and has a strong track record for customer satisfaction." Apparently, the counter report that Apple assembled wasn't enough to persuade the board that the swarm of customer complaints were unwarranted, and now Frederik Navne Boesgaard (of the CCB) has said that Apple "paid up" after conceding the point.

[franzbonus @ Sep 21st 2007 6:07PM]

Apple doesn't make anything, it's just an overrated reseller. So I don't see the big surprise here...

[gamefoo21 @ Sep 21st 2007 6:16PM]

Apple, designs hardware to spec, and then codes software for it.

The best line I heard all day was "I have an older mac with OS9 on it, and it's so user unfriendly, can you tell me if I can upgrade to OSX?" lol

But the best part is that pr chick must have one hell of a poker face to bold face lie about customer satisfaction. Only apple can repeatedly put out crap, and lie to it's users and have them come back for more. Mind you they all seem to be of the submissive type...

Either way, just another in the long list of "Apple Mistake" law suits. Apple's motto, we'll sell you underspec'd and overpriced goods. Just like your favourite pair of designer pants. ;d

[wade_reese @ Sep 21st 2007 9:02PM]

Huh?!?

Just because Apple does not assemble it's products in the US does not mean it does not "make" anything. They design, plan and produce the vast majority of their Macs and iPods. Come on... they are not just a "reseller". LOL!

One of the funnier things that I have read today.

[Ellianth @ Sep 21st 2007 8:42PM]

I think what he was saying was that they don't make most of the hardware inside their computers. Not sure if they make any. But I don't care enough to see what parts are inside of computers I don't own.

[wade_reese @ Sep 21st 2007 9:06PM]

No manufacturer of PCs makes all the parts inside of their computers. Chips and things all come from many different vendors (ie, Intel). Once upon a time TI made computers and CPU chips. Those days are long gone.

Apple actually makes the most important thing that makes a PC. That is the OS. Not Dell, Acer or HP can say that. Close as you can get is Microsoft and the XBox.

[Anderesp @ Sep 21st 2007 6:15PM]

i still love all of my Apple products.

but i've already had to replace/repair the logic boards in my Macbook (Intel Core Duo) and my Macbook Pro (Intel C2D)

does history repeat itself?

[noisia @ Sep 21st 2007 7:21PM]

no, its just the matrix disc having a scratch...

[gamefoo212 @ Sep 21st 2007 6:17PM]

LoL... Yet another link in the chain of Apple makes crap but consumers still lapping it up.

[gamefoo21 @ Sep 21st 2007 6:22PM]

Hmmm... Apple does make crap. But hey people love it. So you must make some pretty randy crap to get the drones angry enough to get the law involved.

How many lawsuits is this? How many has apple lost? How many faulty, shoddily assembled, underspec'd, overpriced, pieces of form over function has Crapple produced?

Better question, Why do people buy apple? Oh that's an easy one boys and girls. It is because they are all secretly submissive and like to be treated badly and be paid for the right to be.

Yes I dislike apple, and can better everyone of their products with a competitors. But Jobs has a marketing beast, just like Intel and how they weathered the Prescott storm.

[gamefoo21 @ Sep 21st 2007 6:25PM]

One line needs editing...

It is because they are all secretly submissive and like to be treated badly and to pay extra for the right to be.


;p

[CharlieX @ Sep 21st 2007 6:30PM]

I don't get it. We have 10 G5 workstations over 3 years old, and 5 Intels, and Xserves, and Xsan... the only thing we've replaced are 2 DVD burners. Maybe this is what people get for buying ibooks....plastic crap... but all our studio gear is solid.

[Nathan @ Sep 21st 2007 6:44PM]

i agree with CharlieX. We are running 1 g5 quad, 1 g5 dual, 2 intel quads, 4 mac pros, and probably 10 iMac (intel c2d), 3 mbps, 2 mb... and a bunch of us have our own older mac stuff
(ok so i am one of the few pc(windows/linux) users.

As far as I can tell he was had a couple of HDDs fail and some bad RAM... average computer problems...

... but we are working in film post production, so most of our stuff isn't low end apple stuff

[hardy har har @ Sep 21st 2007 6:47PM]

Don't hate Apple, just because you're not good looking.

[wade_reese @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:22PM]

Man, you really do hate Apple, don't you. Good thing that you live in a free country so that you can ensure that none of your hard earned money goes to the Rotten Apple. LOL.

(As an aside... Like Bill Gates/MS, Dell, HP are not a marketing beasts.)

Every company makes mistakes. Enjoy your PC (which I assume never has any hardware or software problems). You are a very lucky guy, if so.

Come on, live in peace.

[akatsuki @ Sep 21st 2007 6:48PM]

Hopefully they will now admit the same design flaw in my iBook G4 and repair it. But I doubt it.

[steele @ Sep 21st 2007 7:00PM]

I have a 'bridget riley' (see youtube video) G4 laptop. it is failing - numerous lines run down the screen... there were hundreds if not thousands of the faulty screens made and shipped by a company in shanghai. dell had a similar issue with screens failing.
dell settled with the owners affected.
apple has yet to even admit there is a problem even while website after website show up with proof that the screens are failing.
$3000.00 for a laptop that fails after less than 3 years of use is bad for business.
STEVE JOBS FIX MY DAMN COMPUTER NOW!

[bruckwine @ Sep 21st 2007 7:14PM]

Apple has been pwned..pay up!

[J. Weinstein @ Sep 21st 2007 8:12PM]

Jeez. Let's go forward with our comments.
Example: I neither hate or prostrate myself at the feet of Apple. I simply prefer their products. What is the upside of this article? I have a G4 that I had to spent $350 in July to replace the processor. Is there a trend in a class action lawsuit where customers might see remuneration? Stop pissing or praising Apple; try to stay on point. -J

[Ben @ Sep 21st 2007 8:18PM]

Good, as I had to deal with faulty ibooks and G4 powerbooks. Hopefully Apple will learn to introduce some quality control... eventually... But lets not lose sight, it's not only Apple that manage to produce laptops that go up in a puff of smoke...

[NG @ Sep 21st 2007 9:26PM]

Thank God

Hopefully they will start learning how to get things back to good quallity for the price we are paying now

[Douglas Hay @ Sep 21st 2007 10:15PM]

My 5 year old iBook had a similar problem. I had to use a strong A clamp on the left corner to keep the display on. It was out of warranty and was not covered under Appled Care so I figured I just had to live with it...

One day I noticed info about an iBook recall at the bottom of Apple's main homepage (Apple.com)

My iBook was in the range of recalled serial numbers. I phoned Apple, and they picked up my iBook the same day via DHL. It shipped to California (I'm in New Jersey) and returned to me 2 days later with a new logic board.

Did not cost me a penny.

That's what I call customer service.

Douglas Hay

[Tanner @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:48AM]

Jesus Christ some of you people are idiots. I was a computer repair tech until about 6 months ago. We repaired Macs, IBM's, Toshiba's, HP's, Gateways and a few others. I can tell you from my own personal experience that apple does make better quality products. Yes sometimes there is known issues but that was the case with all manufacturers. I can't tell you how many class actioin lawsuits were against Toshiba, you just don't hear about it because it is no big deal when a PC maker is producing crap. When apple has any little problem it makes the freakin front page and everyone says "see, I knew it was overpriced crap". Give me a break, every producer of goods has some quality control issues at some point, Ford, Sony, Old Navy, it doesn't matter what industry. Apple uses better materials on their cases and puts a lot of thought on how a computer is put together, it is not perfect but it is definitely not overpriced crap. If you hate apple (I don't see why, they only have 5% of the market, just don't use one if you don't like them) then that is fine, but don't make up lies. Try doing a search sometime on some Toshiba laptop class action lawsuits, I can think of 3 in the past couple of years, some of wich required the customers getting whole new laptops because they were so bad. I don't understand why anytime apple is in the news it has to degenerate into a "Macs suck, PC's are better debate". Sony computers are probably higher priced, or at least as high priced as macs but nobody seems to bitch about that. Some people prefer using macs as a tool to get shit done, deal with it and let's move on.

[prokanda @ Sep 22nd 2007 3:31AM]

it probably has something to do with the fact that apple has always toted its superiority over PCs and even if at some point it wasn't blatant, it is now (with the "Macs are better" commercials"). I think what most of these people are trying to say (or at least part of what they're trying to say) is that if you're going to run ads that say NOTHING BUT how AWESOME and how much BETTER your products are, then build them to that statement. Toshiba may have more law suits, but you don't see Toshiba commercials that basically state in black and white: "We're better than everything else out there".

(and on a lighter note: of COURSE ford has control issues, they're the first american company to our automotive market.... that has remained in the past with its designs and technology.. fords are the automotive equivalent of RCA home electronics.. they're the big, plastic, shoddily made business-fleet cheapies for mis-lead "support america types" (when of course almost all jap vehicles are built here and newer fords are made of 80% or more cheaply made imported parts and some chevy's are built in mexico).

Either way, don't build your campaign on how much better your products are when you can't at LEAST take care of the customers who got products from a bad batch (or just take care of the issues before they get out of the door).

[wade_reese @ Sep 24th 2007 12:44AM]

Tanner,

You are 100% correct. 'Nuff said.

[IndiaTech @ Sep 22nd 2007 1:33AM]

For guys who are saying that Apple Computers are over priced. Have you ever compared the price of a equivalent config PC with corresponding Apple Product?
Here is an example Dell XPS M1330 with 1.5 GHz processor, Vista Home Premium (Not Ultimate), 2GB RAM, 160 GB HD and NO webcam or Additional Softwares costs $1499.
MacBook with 2.16 GHz processor, Mac OS X, 2GB RAM, 160 GB HD and Webcam + iLife Suite costs $1524...
Same case with iMac, Mac Pro and Macbook Pro. When you compare them with corresponding Dell / HP / Sony / Toshiba models you will find that Apple products are tad cheeper.

As for iPod and iPhone. Yeah, I do agree that they are expensive. I guess it comes with large market share. You can't blame Apple for exploiting thier market dominance, can you? I mean if Microsoft can charge $400 for a Vista Ultimate or a Office Suite then I guess Apple can charge $150 for a nano which costs like $90 to make...

The whole misconception that Apple is costly comes from the fact that Apple doesn't make any of those cheep $500 laptops... Well it's their call to make, I guess.

Lastly, as for Apple not giving discounts. Well they do give discounts for those who deserve it the most. i.e. students. They knock off $100 off Macbooks and $200 off Macbook Pros. Also, you can buy them for rebate from Amazon. Also, they give huge disc. on Adobe softies for students. My college has a Lease - to - Own deal with Apple where I can get a Macbook for $500 (Some terms apply).

And, yeah, as Steve Jobs would put it. "One more Thing..." Apple Cust. Service is 100 times better than Dell Hell. Apple doesn't put their customers through 40+ mins of wait time, 4 to 5 transfers and basically stupid Tech Support. Best part is you don't even need to call them. Just drop by a Apple Store and they will be more than glad to help.

PS. I am not a Apple Fanboy. This message was typed on a Dell 700m laptop. But I do work a lot with Apple machine and I have seen both sides of the divide.

[rudebo @ Sep 22nd 2007 10:33AM]

is it just me or does anybody else find the line

consumer satisfaction

incredibly appropriate in a sarcastic way.

[kanny @ Sep 22nd 2007 11:02AM]

what about the Powerbook G4 with faulty logic board ? I have lost 512MB RAM just a week after the warranty expired and they won't repair as the serial number is just slightly outside the range ! I am disappointed on this, otherwise their service and products are good. May be i should file a lawsuit as well :)

[Leigo @ Sep 22nd 2007 1:03PM]

When and how do I get my reparations for my iBook G4 that died on me due to a faulty logic board? I live in Canada btw.

[carter5657 @ Sep 22nd 2007 4:22PM]

I have an iBook G4, recently died on me (right in the middle of my uni exams!) Took it to the apple store, was told it was the logic board and that it would cost me £480 to fix including repair costs. As my laptop is 3 years old, I did not see the point in paying almost £500 to fix it when I could purchase a new one for almost £200 more. It seems that there is a problem with the logicboards and that something should be done about this. Apart from this, I have been lucky and haven't really had many other problems, especially seeing as my laptop is under heavy use!!

[oned @ Sep 25th 2007 8:37AM]

Same deal here. 3-4 yrs is a good life for a laptop tho.

[bwilms @ Sep 27th 2007 2:35PM]

Me too. However, I've only had my iBook for 2.5 years - which isn't a good lifespan for a laptop (especially considering I've had my Vaio for 5+).