It's a PMP and should expect to be able to withstand some abuse. So rather than getting riled up that someone dropped the thing, you should be more concerned that the product failed under "normal" conditions. You should be even MORE concerned that parts started burning. I guess if it's not your 11 year old it's no big deal though.
You're kidding me, right? It's one thing to hope your device survives being dropped, it's another to blame someone else when things don't turn out so rosy.
If $250 is enough of a loss to you that you would be tempted to sign away your ability to speak out to recover it, then you should learn to treat devices that are worth $250 better so you are less likely to end up in this conundrum.
Maybe part of the problem is people seem to think it's okay to spend what is to them a small fortune on a device that can be easily dropped, lost or stolen. Just because you can do so, doesn't mean it is wise to do so or that someone else should make your problem go away when it doesn't turn out so well for you.
I can't quite understand how dropping an iPod Touch could reasonably result in such a reaction though. I've dropped my Zune (2nd Gen) more times than I can count, usually bouncing off a treadmill or gym floor and it's just fine. No cracks, smoke, no damage of any kind.
Dropping an iPod on the ground is within the scope of a normal event. My expectation is that it should just break and that's it. No smoke coming from the device thank you very much. If by some miracle it survives, well happy day.
You are totally missing the point. The iPod should not start BURNING just from being dropped. That should concern anyone. That family had every right to contact Apple about this incident.
Put your cynicism on break for a sec and look at the big picture.
Yes it's totally his fault that he dropped it...I think he's fine with the fact that it broke and could ACCEPT that. I think the part he couldn't accept was when it started hissing, smoking, heating up, which required him to get rid of it like a grenade...before it EXPLODED like a grenade.
But that's just me. If you're cool with your PMP exploding, or accepting that your PMP might explode, that's fine...Just not something I expect during the normal course of my day.
I'm not sure if you're being purposefully obtuse, or you really don't get it.
If I drop my cellphone and it breaks, oops, time to buy a new phone.
If I drop my phone and it catches fire, that's a slightly larger problem. Just how big a shock can these things take? If I'm talking on the subway when someone bumps me, and my phone hits the wall as I steady myself, is it going to blow up next to my face.
Handheld devices are designed with drops in mind. If they weren't SSDs and various other hardware wouldn't advertise G thresholds for damage.
Dismissing the RRoD analogy is also disingenuous, as more than a few have been caused by the console living in less than acceptable locations. Which is just as much abuse as dropping a PMP.
So should I expect a Porsche Cayenne to hold up the trails I take my Jeep on? Lumping all devices of a category and saying they should meet the same expectations is stupid. Should a macbook air be able to take the same abuse as a toughbook? I mean, they're both notebook computers. If I leave said air out in the rain should I expect apple to replace it with no questions asked? For an ipod even if its in warranty and shows signs of abuse they won't replace it.
Sure one would EXPECT a device to take a reasonable amount of abuse, doesn't mean that it will. But for something thats out of warranty, and that cheap (in the grand scheme of things) I wouldn't sign anything either just for risk of getting into something deeper.
Your iPod doesn't catch fire when you drop it, usually. I've dropped mine several times and it has not caught fire.
But sometimes, because it has a lithium ion battery in it, it might catch fire. Any device with a battery in it can do the same. It's not going to happen in the course of a normal day, but it might happen to one person in their day once in a while. It then ceases to be a normal day.
My car isn't likely to catch fire when I run into something, so I still use it. But it could. Is this a cause for me to say a car is useless? Poorly designed? If 100M cars are sold and 10 catch fire, does it mean I'm supposed to raise holy hell? To say the product is no good?
Of course the family had every right to contact Apple. They did so, Apple said you can have a free replacement for the price of your silence and they said no. Who was wronged here? Why am I supposed to get excited? I was on a car forum for years, one guy was raising holy hell about his car not working, he bitched and bitched and eventually Audi replaced his car for him. Suddenly he no longer wanted to talk about what happened with his car, he clammed up completely. Why? The same reason, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. His car was fixed, but he had to agree to stop talking about what happened.
To answer your question, I am neither being purposely obtuse nor do I not get it. You don't get it.
The idea that the RRoD thing is the same is absurd. Microsoft budgeted $1B to fix RRoD 360s. At $200 a piece, that means they expected 5M 360s to fail out of the 10M they had sold. This seems to indicate the problem goes beyond abuse. I would add my own experience with my 360 breaking (and those of a dozen of my friends) even though I know I didn't abuse mine and I believe them when they say they didn't abuse theirs (perhaps some of them are lying, but not all of them, we are talking about a preponderance of evidence here, so one liar doesn't break the whole assertion).
My phones, PMP and even my old laptop have all suffered falls now 'n then. No hisses or explosions till date.
All electronic devices are designed to withstand reasonable abuse and manufacturers do stress tests on them. A drop from a couple of feet is a very plausible occurrence in the life cycle of a handheld electronic device and if it kicked the bucket JUST FROM THAT, the fault lies solely with the manufacturer and their piss poor QC and/or Stress testing.
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The guy dropped his iPod, triggering the smoke. This isn't even something to fess up to.
Why should there be a dead simple replacement system for people who abuse their iPods?
Seems like maybe engadget has some market dominance going on here, because they sure have the arrogance.
If you drop an iPod it will start to smoke...it's an enhancement help you find it! Genius!!
It's a PMP and should expect to be able to withstand some abuse. So rather than getting riled up that someone dropped the thing, you should be more concerned that the product failed under "normal" conditions. You should be even MORE concerned that parts started burning. I guess if it's not your 11 year old it's no big deal though.
You're kidding me, right? It's one thing to hope your device survives being dropped, it's another to blame someone else when things don't turn out so rosy.
If $250 is enough of a loss to you that you would be tempted to sign away your ability to speak out to recover it, then you should learn to treat devices that are worth $250 better so you are less likely to end up in this conundrum.
Maybe part of the problem is people seem to think it's okay to spend what is to them a small fortune on a device that can be easily dropped, lost or stolen. Just because you can do so, doesn't mean it is wise to do so or that someone else should make your problem go away when it doesn't turn out so well for you.
I can't quite understand how dropping an iPod Touch could reasonably result in such a reaction though. I've dropped my Zune (2nd Gen) more times than I can count, usually bouncing off a treadmill or gym floor and it's just fine. No cracks, smoke, no damage of any kind.
Dropping an iPod on the ground is within the scope of a normal event. My expectation is that it should just break and that's it. No smoke coming from the device thank you very much. If by some miracle it survives, well happy day.
@whynot
You are totally missing the point. The iPod should not start BURNING just from being dropped. That should concern anyone. That family had every right to contact Apple about this incident.
Put your cynicism on break for a sec and look at the big picture.
I agree with CJ here...
Yes it's totally his fault that he dropped it...I think he's fine with the fact that it broke and could ACCEPT that. I think the part he couldn't accept was when it started hissing, smoking, heating up, which required him to get rid of it like a grenade...before it EXPLODED like a grenade.
But that's just me. If you're cool with your PMP exploding, or accepting that your PMP might explode, that's fine...Just not something I expect during the normal course of my day.
@why not the LS2LS7?
I'm not sure if you're being purposefully obtuse, or you really don't get it.
If I drop my cellphone and it breaks, oops, time to buy a new phone.
If I drop my phone and it catches fire, that's a slightly larger problem. Just how big a shock can these things take? If I'm talking on the subway when someone bumps me, and my phone hits the wall as I steady myself, is it going to blow up next to my face.
Handheld devices are designed with drops in mind. If they weren't SSDs and various other hardware wouldn't advertise G thresholds for damage.
Dismissing the RRoD analogy is also disingenuous, as more than a few have been caused by the console living in less than acceptable locations. Which is just as much abuse as dropping a PMP.
So should I expect a Porsche Cayenne to hold up the trails I take my Jeep on? Lumping all devices of a category and saying they should meet the same expectations is stupid. Should a macbook air be able to take the same abuse as a toughbook? I mean, they're both notebook computers. If I leave said air out in the rain should I expect apple to replace it with no questions asked? For an ipod even if its in warranty and shows signs of abuse they won't replace it.
Sure one would EXPECT a device to take a reasonable amount of abuse, doesn't mean that it will. But for something thats out of warranty, and that cheap (in the grand scheme of things) I wouldn't sign anything either just for risk of getting into something deeper.
Carl, I don't think asking that my PMP not catch fire when I drop it is asking to much. Do you, honestly?
How many products are you ok with smoking up and exploding when you drop it? I hope you work in any QA positions.
Your iPod doesn't catch fire when you drop it, usually. I've dropped mine several times and it has not caught fire.
But sometimes, because it has a lithium ion battery in it, it might catch fire. Any device with a battery in it can do the same. It's not going to happen in the course of a normal day, but it might happen to one person in their day once in a while. It then ceases to be a normal day.
My car isn't likely to catch fire when I run into something, so I still use it. But it could. Is this a cause for me to say a car is useless? Poorly designed? If 100M cars are sold and 10 catch fire, does it mean I'm supposed to raise holy hell? To say the product is no good?
Of course the family had every right to contact Apple. They did so, Apple said you can have a free replacement for the price of your silence and they said no. Who was wronged here? Why am I supposed to get excited? I was on a car forum for years, one guy was raising holy hell about his car not working, he bitched and bitched and eventually Audi replaced his car for him. Suddenly he no longer wanted to talk about what happened with his car, he clammed up completely. Why? The same reason, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. His car was fixed, but he had to agree to stop talking about what happened.
To answer your question, I am neither being purposely obtuse nor do I not get it. You don't get it.
The idea that the RRoD thing is the same is absurd. Microsoft budgeted $1B to fix RRoD 360s. At $200 a piece, that means they expected 5M 360s to fail out of the 10M they had sold. This seems to indicate the problem goes beyond abuse. I would add my own experience with my 360 breaking (and those of a dozen of my friends) even though I know I didn't abuse mine and I believe them when they say they didn't abuse theirs (perhaps some of them are lying, but not all of them, we are talking about a preponderance of evidence here, so one liar doesn't break the whole assertion).
My phones, PMP and even my old laptop have all suffered falls now 'n then. No hisses or explosions till date.
All electronic devices are designed to withstand reasonable abuse and manufacturers do stress tests on them. A drop from a couple of feet is a very plausible occurrence in the life cycle of a handheld electronic device and if it kicked the bucket JUST FROM THAT, the fault lies solely with the manufacturer and their piss poor QC and/or Stress testing.