Apple Offers $50 Credit for iPod Batteries

[Bond]

SAN FRANCISCO - Andrew Westley had high hopes for his iPod, when he purchased the digital music player in 2001 and loaded more than five hours' worth of music for a cross-country flight. But the music died before the San Francisco attorney reached the East Coast — despite claims by Apple Computer Inc. that a fully charged iPod would play continuously for eight or more hours. Disappointed, Westley called a consumer rights attorney and later became one of eight people who sued the computer maker in 2003 over the iPod's battery failures.

As part of a tentative settlement announced this week, Apple agreed to give $50 vouchers and extended service warranties to as many as 2 million customers whose older iPods had batteries that needed to be replaced or didn't fully charge.

"I like Apple's products. I want to own their products and have confidence they stand buy their products," said Westley, 45, who also owns an iMac and volumes of Apple software. "This settlement helps me have confidence again that if I'm going to sink a bunch of money into their stuff, they'll do the right thing."

The settlement applies to consumers nationwide who bought versions of the digital music player through May 2004. Last year, Apple changed its iPod and now advertises battery life of up to 12 hours for its 20-gig model.

Source: Yahoo News

It's about time Apple owned up to their false advertising.