Others (notably jill/txt and 08# --The Grey Notebook) have been noting ipodsdirtysecret.com, which purports to expose Apple for charging over $250 to replace the battery of an 18-month-old iPod. They have produced a Quicktime movie that positions itself as some kind of guerrilla consumer advocacy. The implication is that Apple is using (or tried to use) an exorbitant replacement cost to pressure customers into buying unnecessary new products. If that's true, even a little bit, it's despicable. However, my own experiences with Apple in general and the iPod in particular don't corroborate the Neistat brothers (commenters at both the above sites have also questioned the the movie and its conclusions).

In my experience, Apple doesn't use warranty legalisms to bludgeon its customers. I've been able to talk Apple Customer Service into replacing things that, technically, they didn't have to (the power adapter for my 2000 Powerbook literally burnt out not once but twice after I was out of warranty and I got free replacement parts both times). I also have my doubts about the problem they "expose." My iPod is a bit older than 18 months. It did indeed experience weird battery-related problems last spring (wouldn't hold charge no matter how long I charged it). I stopped by an Apple Store and asked about the problem and was told that it was software rather than hardware related and that the latest iPod software update would fix the problem. It actually took a couple of updates, but the (free) fix worked and my iPod's been sailing ever since. Maybe this was a different problem, maybe it wasn't. The Neistats don't offer any supporting evidence that others have suffered an 18-month-burnout, and other people who have replaced their batteries report having done so for less money. Even if the Neistats' claims are true, what they are describbing is about par for the course in the computer industry. The battery of an IBM laptop my university purchased less than a year ago gave out and I was told our 3-year service plan didn't cover it because a battery is a "consumable." We had to drop $150 for a replacement. My IT department confirmed that this is standard practice: manufacturer warranties typically do not cover laptop batteries. This last point doesn't exonerate Apple (if Apple is really guilty), but it does place the Neistats' complaint into a context. There's a fine line between protest and propaganda, and it looks to me like the Neistats have played fast and loose with the rules of argument and fallen on the wrong side of the line.

One last comment: there's an interesting current of Apple-bashing that manifests every time they introduce a product that manages to actually sell well. There was a lot of snickering at the fruit-flavored iMacs, even while the entire computer industry tried to imitate the design. A senior editor for CNET felt compelled to publish "Five Reasons Not to Buy an iPod" despite declaring it to be their "overall favorite" player. I think part of this can be attributed to inevitable backlash against anything that becomes too hip, but I can't help but wonder if there are people just waiting to smack Apple down any time it threatens to become more than a niche company.