The Saturday Apple Review

Things have never been brighter for the Cupertino company.

iPods Don't Die, Nick Wingfield!

Apple HATER Nick Wingfield of the Wall Street Journal has published an ill-considered and ethically reprehensible attack on Apple perfectly timed to hurt our beloved computer company in the holiday season market.

Entitled When iPods Die, the well crafted piece of FUD scares potential customers with unsubstantiated unbelievable stories of breakdowns, even going so far as to suggest the devices are programmed to fail once the one year warranty has expired.

It's a wonder WSJ colleague Walt Mossberg has not taken Wingfield to task.

'Among users of the device, it's long been common to hear of iPods laid low by batteries that no longer hold a charge, malfunctioning hard disks and screens with cracks. In some cases, problems are caused by users who accidentally drop their iPods or otherwise subject them to abuse, but other users say their iPods go belly up even after normal use', writes Wingfield.

'Long been common'? Exactly where? 'Others say'? Which 'others'? It is this type of reporting that is denigrating journalism in general and our beloved Apple Computer in particular.

Wingfield cites Matthew Bremner of unauthorised Apple reseller iRepair.ca who claims 'some people swear there's a self-destruct mechanism in it after the warranty is up'. This is hearsay of hearsay. FUD.

'For a small device that's that expensive it probably should last a little longer', comments Bremner. Oh really? Who is this 'Bremner'? Who is he to say how long an iPod should last?

Steve Dowling of Apple Computer is given a chance to retaliate. 'iPods are designed to last for years, but as with any complex consumer electronics product such as digital cameras, they can be broken if dropped or mishandled by users.'

Exactly. And it's highly doubtful any significant number of iPods have ever failed. All Nick Wingfield wants to do is hurt our beloved Apple Computer in the holiday season market - undoubtedly to the benefit of Microsoft's Zune.

Worse still, the WSJ are now attempting to stir up hostility towards Apple through an Apple HATER forum much like the despicable Apple Defects. The forum, already sporting dozens of hateful complaints against Apple, is undoubtedly being astroturfed by Wingfield and other WSJ staff sorely lacking in decency and journalism ethics.

Apple's iPod is once again a top seller in stores this holiday season, and the music player's white earphones remain a nearly ubiquitous sight on city streets and at gyms. But another phenomenon is becoming all too familiar to many users of the product: tales of dead and dying iPods.

Have you had problems with your iPod? What did you do? How would you gauge Apple's handling of complaints?

Setting the Record Straight!

For the record: the incomparable iPod series of MP3 and movie players from Apple Computer are made in the same hi-tech Chinese factories where Apple presently are manufacturing their acclaimed line of MacBook and MacBook Pro hottop notebooks. These Chinese factories have state of the art quality control with extremely professional workers given nearly a life of luxury so they can produce these devices with meticulous attention to detail otherwise unknown in the industry as a whole.

As there have been no significant number of complaints about the MacBook and MacBook Pro to date - aside from the ubiquitous Apple HATERS of course - it is more than reasonable to assume the high level of quality in their production also applies to the renowned iPod.

Nick Wingfield? Staff at the WSJ? You are Apple HATERS.