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Spoofi wrote:

Can you send in a picture of your defunct iPod to this thread?

LCD damage can *not* be blamed on the consumer if there is no point of impact established on the product. If your LCD is leaking and the glass separating the LCD form the exterior of your iFraud is intact, then this was definitely poor quality & workmanship on Apple's part (surprise). 
It seems unlikely to alot of people, considering the price tag of Apple products, but Apple's products are generally of inferior quality to those of competitors who also use Chinese & Bangladeshi child labour sweatshops to manufacture their products.

Oh boy here we go.

This is not some isolated problem with ipods. Something is wrong with the construction. I have had 2 with cracked screens so far. I have never dropped one, slammed it against anything, or subjected it to any other form of misuse. I know exactly what he is talking about. The first one was left in the car, came back and the screen was cracked. Second time I put it in my pocket, took it out, and the screen was cracked. Obviously this is some type of design problem with apple. When I bought these I expected a quality product that would stand up to normal use. I will never buy another apple product again, their customer service is some of the worst in the business. If you don't believe me take a look here and scroll towards the bottom: http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003A … 021146.htm

I wanna hear a story where the iPod screen cracks right before someone's eyes, while not exerting any undue force on the unit.

That's what happened to my Ipod. Anyone who says "Ipods are really stong and wont break easily" is smurfing smurf themselves.

My Ipod fell from less than a foot in the air, and the screen cracked. I can still see most of whats on the screen, but goddamn That crack is annoying. Everything from the Cracked point is starting to fade out, and I have a feeling the entire screen will fade and the Fagpod will become unusable.

I called Apple thinking "This probably happens all the time, I bet the repair won't be much at all". My jaw dropped when I heard that the repair fee for a little smurfing screen was 250. The guy from Apple just suggested I get a new one.
I'm not made of money, paying another 300 dollars for a new Ipod is pretty much not gonna happen. Right now I'm on a mission to find some little place in New York that could repair it for alot cheaper, I doubt I'll be successfull.

For the Record, Apple is made up of a bunch of Money hungry smurfs who make the easiest thing to break on your Ipod the most expensive to fix. smurf them.

Legato wrote:

Apple is made up of a bunch of Money hungry smurfs who make the easiest thing to break on your Ipod the most expensive to fix.

For the record, Apple doesn't make the screens, or several other parts in the iPod. That should be obvious to the densest of people. Nor does Apple price these parts. LCDs are expensive. If you have a problem with that, I invite you to never again buy another product with an LCD. If nothing else, it'll keep you (for the most part) off of these boards.

iv had a 1st gen ipod and now a 3rd gen ipod and i have had no problems with them at all.

The 4th Gen iPod LCDs clearly have a material defect OR are placed in the case with too much stress. Many of the posters here seem to have the same attitude as Apple. If it broke, it must be the user's fault. As the statistics continue to roll in, it should be obvious there is a problem that IS Apple's fault and responsibility. How many Gen 1,2,3 iPods have had cracked LCD's? Apparently not many. Nobody talks about those. How many 4th Gen iPods have this problem? A lot. More and more forums are discussing it. The iPod repair places are explicitly advertising for 4th Gen iPod LCD repair, because those are the ones breaking. Do you suppose there is something about the owner's of 4th Gen iPods that makes them more careless with their Pods ... or are the 4th Gen iPods themselves inferior? My bet is on the latter.

I have been wanting an iPod since my eldest daughter got one Xmas 2004. My wife and other daughter also want one. These 3 potential iPod sales are on hold because of this LCD issue. My eldest daughter's 6 month old U2 iPod screen suddenly showed up with the 'inky' cracked screen and now it will cost at least $145 to fix it (iPodResQ). Her Pod is protected in a case and she treats it gingerly. No abuse. No misuse. Yet Apple doesn't want to take responsibility for this product they designed and built, and which continue to break at disturbing rates through no fault of the customers.

What good is an Apple warranty if they void it on the basis of your unit being broken?

Disappointed Apple fan

Actually, I have received good service in the past. This is in fact iPod #2. #1's hard drive locked up & died about a week after we got it and Apple gracefully replaced it. I had a computer monitor replaced several years ago when the color gun wiring was bad and it was even way out of warranty. What disturbs me is this notice on the iPod service website:

"If your iPod's LCD display is cracked due to accidental damage, do not send your iPod in for service. Coverage for this type of damage is excluded under Apple's Limited Warranty for iPod and AppleCare Protection Plan for iPod, and service is not available under the terms of Apple's Repair Terms and Conditions."

What I am hearing from this and other websites is that Apple considers ALL LCD breakage to be "accidental" and not covered by the warranty even though other types of damage are being covered. What I am also hearing is that this damage is very often happening when it is NOT due to customer abuse. And it is happening much more with the 4th Gens (What Gen is yours?) than other models indicating a material or design defect. I think Apple fears a recall of millions of iPods.

I will be going to the Apple Store tomorrow and I *will* be polite and hope for good service. No doubt they will also be polite. What I fear is that they will politely tell me (as they have others) "This is not covered. Cracked LCD's are only caused by abuse". And if they do, I will politely tell them they are wrong. And I will have no choice but to pay somebody else $150 to fix it.

Update:
I talked to the folks at the Genius Bar at my local Apple Store, and also gave some feedback to the Apple Technical Support folks over the phone. Both reiterated that Apple's firm policy is that they will not cover LCD damage under the limited warranty. Out of warranty replacement cost is $250, and the replacement may be a refurbished unit for which the remainder of the 1 year warranty will apply, or 90 days whichever is longer. I will probably go with the iPodResQ solution.

By the way, I read the Limited Warranty, and it does not exclude LCD's in writing. It just excludes damage from misuse, abuse, etc. I am hopeful that Apple will realize that some of these LCDs are just defective and will change their policy. In order for that to happen, EVERYONE who has had this happen to them needs to let Apple know about it. Even if you have already had your cracked LCD repaired, let Apple know it was a problem. Call tech support (1-800-275-2273) and tell them you want to provide feedback that you believe you had an LCD with a material defect. Or record it at the website. ( http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html  . Use the "enhancement request" category.) Don't get angry. Get them on your side. Maybe it won't help you, or me, but it may help the iPod user down the road get his/hers replaced.

We need to help Apple set proper warranty coverage policy.

tunesmith82 wrote:

But what point is there in posting that the customer (meaning apparently almost all customers) is just a "stupid easily manipulated marklar"  etc ?

tunesmith82 wrote:

And I don't think it appropriate that you should imply (as you seem to be doing) that all the people who can't get Apple to fix their broken LCDs must be ill-mannered jerks.

Did you read anything beyond the first paragraph of my post? Perhaps, the first sentence of the second paragraph? The one with the word in bold?

If I came off as saying contrary to what I actually typed/meant, then I apologize. I generally go into a sale with the best expectations, but I find (especially after being transferred to a mall whose "car giveaway" in the lobby is a Bentley) that the majority of customers did abuse their iPods. They dropped, mutilated, or otherwise damaged them. One customer pulled an iPod out of his back pocket, and the metal casing had developed much the same butt-curve that a well-broken-in wallet develops.

I agree that the iPod screens are problematic. I never disputed that, as a reread of my posts will show. However, blindly saying that all iPod screen problems are manufacturing defects (or, saying that they're all customer abuse) is incorrect.