As if Apple couldn’t think of anything smaller than the Mini, they went extremely small, as in nano small. It’s hot and you know you want it, but you may want to think twice.
Well the nano is causing hysteria, but not the positive hysteria it was causing a couple weeks ago.
The engineers at Apple designed the nano in hopes of making it “Astonishing. Unbelievable. Impossible, even.” Impossible and Unbelievable it is. The nano is flawed, yes; the perfect little Ipod nano is not so perfect after all.
In San Jose, California a class action lawsuit is set to hit courts on Wednesday, October 26. According to CNN, the claim is that the nano becomes “excessively [scratched] during normal usage.”
Along with the claim is the accusation that Apple released the nano with the knowledge that the product may scratch quite easily. The complaint states “Apple concealed the defect and advised class members that they would need to purchase additional equipment to prevent the screen from scratching excessively.”
Except that Apple does not offer a cover that protects the screen of a nano and lets you access the spin wheel easily. You could purchase the Apple Ipod socks, except they’re what they sound like, a sock. You can’t see the screen, or access the wheel. There are also the Ipod nano tubes, but these do not offer any protection for the screen.
The problem arises from the coat of resin that protects the actual screen. The resin on the nano is a lot thinner and weaker than the resin on the other Ipod models.
Reuters states that “The suit said Apple has ‘failed to remedy the problem in any meaningful way’ and claimed that Apple deleted postings on its website that related to the scratching problem.”
Once the suit is considered class action status is when people involved will be returned the $25 fee for returning the nano and the cost of the device along with other fees.
Whether or not this suit will affect Apple’s standing in the market for MP3 players is unknown at this point. A third of Apple’s sales come from the Ipod family and holds 75% of the shares in the market for MP3 players.
As of Tuesday, October 25th, Apple was at 56.10 a share; down from its 52 week high of 56.98 on Friday, October 21st.