Really hard not to hate Apple right now...

[Brian Fein]

People always call me a "hater" and its true.  Apple is my #1 competitor and so I am the #1 critic of their products.

But when stuff like this goes wrong, and the company is unwilling to support their product, it irritates me to no end.  Granted I probably have a short fuse just because its Apple.  But, realistically I'm not asking for the world.  I just want the hundreds-of-dollars I spent on a device to function properly. 

I have a iPod Touch, and I like it.  Well, I did.  I really enjoy having over 1000 songs with me at all times but lately, it has become unbearable.

- I had to spend an entire day updating software because it suddenly decided that it didn't want to keep my songs anymore.  I'll never get that day back.

- The battery life is crap.  It doesn't even last 1 day ON STANDBY anymore.  Not connected to Wi-Fi, not playing, just sitting on a shelf.  1 day.  Dead.  And oh yeah, you can't replace the battery, like you could on other competitive products.

- Bluetooth suddenly doesn't work anymore.  I have a Motorola S9 stereo bluetooth headset which I use with the iPod.  And they made me pay $15 for a software upgrade to turn on the Bluetooth (this is another irritating point - why ship the hardware and make people pay more to turn it on?), and now it just flat out doesn't work.

- Wi-Fi doesn't work anymore either.  I can't even turn it on.  Its no longer an option.

- When I go to Apple for support, they won't even talk to me unless I give them money.  How is that a way to support a product? 

So what good is it then to me?  This thing cost nearly $300 and the only thing its good for at this point is about 1 hour of music because the battery won't last any longer.

It really makes me think that they ship crappy products on purpose that are not robust and not reliable and then make people pay up the nose to get them fixed or upgrade them.  My iPod is just over a year old, and its pretty much a paperweight.

If you bought a car that performed the way many Apple products do, no one would ever buy that car again, and they'd go out of business.

Sorry, had to rant.  I'm just so fed up with this.  I don't think I'll be buying another Apple product, ever again.

[Philly Fin Fan]

Brian, I'm sorry you have had these problems. I honestly do think this is an isolated issue, but of course since you compete with them, its a bad thing.

We have 3 iPods and have never had any issues with any of them. We also have an iMac and and a Macbook Pro, and have had no issues.

I've told you in the past about the issues I've had with my Blackberry Curve though (on my 4th one in 2 years). Sometimes things go wrong. Do I hate RIM for it? No. But if I was an Apple employee, I might think otherwise.

[Brian Fein]

^^ yeah I guess you're right but I've heard this (and experienced it) over and over.  As a designer, we always strive to release the best, most robust products to market.

I have a problem with a company purposely releasing sub-par designs, hoping to profit off of support.

Not saying that's their M.O., but it certainly seems that way.

[Dave Gray]

I think you might have a defective product.  Battery life can be a problem, but it's usually years and years later.  Did you go set up an appointment at the apple store?  I don't know what you can do except try to deal with the issues one by one.

[Philly Fin Fan]

As a designer, we always strive to release the best, most robust products to market.

Just have to laugh at this

[StL FinFan]

I have heard from other people about their ipod suddenly not working properly, but they were older ipods.

[TonyB0D]

i've had tons of apple products, and never had a lemon like you described. 

as far as support, they fully support you within the warranty.....i don't get your beef here.  most companies operate this way.  you think they should waste all their man hours telling idiots how to use stuff properly (95% of the support calls are probably this rather than actual RMA's).

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Why are you using your competitors products?  Are your own companies products that inferior to Apple that you have decided to use their products instead of your own? 

My experience has been that all leading edge technology has flaws and bugs.  But Apple products seem to always have fewer problems.   Folks like you tend to bitch about the few problems with Apple, but not the multiple problems with the competetors products.  Maybe the Apple problems get so much attention because they are rare and people expect Apple products to work unlike the competitors who everyone expects will be crap.     

[StL FinFan]

I have a competitors mp3 player and it has been perfect.  I have had it for 5 years and have had zero problems with it.  Just because Apple has good marketing does not mean their products are less likely to have problems.

[janetmschulte]

Brian I work for Apple now, so I am a little biased. But we really try to do everything in our power to keep our customers happy. Did you make an appointment at the Genius bar at a store? They won't EVER charge you unless you decide to have them FIX whatever the problem is with the product. Every product has a one year warranty also. If you explain to them that it is just over a year old, I'm sure they would be willing to work with you.

Also did you update the software to 4.1? It's a free software update, and that has been really working well for a lot of people I hear.

If I can offer any assistance, just let me know!! Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience

[Buddhagirl]

I think you just got a crappy, one. I'd take it back.

[Brian Fein]

I've had it for a year and a half.  All these things USED to work properly.  I did do the software upgrade, I did all the resets including the restore to factory settings and none of it works.  I did not make an appointment because the nearest Apple store to me is a minimum 45 minute drive.  I tried to contact online support and the first thing they did was ask me for money.  Just to find out if it was a common problem and maybe there is a fix.

From what I'm reading on forums, this IS a common problem, and there IS no fix.

Janet, if you have any advice, I'm willing to try anything right now.

[SportsChick]

And to answer the question - he didn't buy it, I bought it for him as a gift

[janetmschulte]

Brian, if you have the time I would make the trek to the Apple store. Make an appointment first. I'm guessing these are the closest?

http://www.apple.com/retail/bocaraton/

http://www.apple.com/retail/thegalleria/

Once you are able to see someone face to face and express your frustration, it might be easier to get something done. You can also try talking to customer service if you haven't tried already: 1-800-676-2775.

I'll also ask around at work and see if there is anything else I can do. Hope that helps.

[Sunstroke]

I have an iPod touch that I use for the most simple of purposes...to store and listen to all my music. I don't play games on it, run online apps or anything...just store and crank proper tuneage. I've had it for about 6 months now and have rarely been this happy with a piece of technology. I plug it in once or twice a week to charge it and I've never had an issue of the charge running out while using it.

Sorry to hear you're having issues with yours, Brian...hope mine doesn't end up having problems as well.