This is why I've learned to wait for second and third generation releases.
First stories come about about wide spread phone failures apparantly due to the overheating of the units during heavy used and/or recharging.
Now this...
While hundreds of thousands of eager consumers waited anxiously for the iPhone last week, most probably didnt know about the hidden fee attached to their purchase.
Now the obvious question is this: With all the words spoken and written about the iPhone prior to launch, why didn't someone tell them?
The iPhone battery will only survive about 300-400 recharges, the company says. Because the unit is sealed, consumers can't swap out dead batteries. Instead, dead phones must be sent to Apple, where battery replacement will take three business days and cost $79 plus a $6.95 shipping charge. Those who can't live without their cell phones for those three days can rent a spare iPhone for $29.
This pricey, and apparently inevitable, aftercharge never made it into any of the voluminous news stories written and filmed about the iPhone prior to its launch on June 29. Why not?
According to the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, Apple's Web site made no mention of the battery fee on the morning of June 29, when thousands of Apple faithful lined up all around the country to buy the phone, which costs $500 or $600, depending on model.
Harvey Rosenfield, director of the foundation, is calling on Apple to promise free battery replacements to the estimated half a million iPhone buyers who may have purchased the phone without knowing its true costs.
"This was insensitive, inappropriate and possibly illegal," he said. "We're going to monitor their response carefully."
Explanation of the fee now appears on Apple's Web site, although it's not clear when that was posted. Published reports indicate the notice was posted as early as the evening of June 29, though it was not easy to find.
I heard this weekend on a podcast that the reason for the battery being "non user replaceable" was to avoid the problems that come with all the cheap knock-off "compatible" batteries that are out there.
So, if you recharge your phone every night like I do, you'd only get about a year out of the battery. The battery replacement plus renting the "loaner" phone would add an extra $110/year to the privilege of owning an iPhone.
I don't see myself being an any generation adopter on this one.
I always found that to be the only negative to the iPod too. But atleast with the ipod it takes longer to wear down and you can live with a battery that doesn't last as long between charges.
With your phone you HAVE to be able to fully charge it.
I don't buy that third party crap either. This is just their way of ensuring revenue from here to eternity. It's more of the same old same old from Apple. They don't like to let any other company have a peice of whatever pie they're eating at the moment.
I refuse now to buy things that need special batteries. I searched high and low to find my two digital cameras. My low end & high end cameras both run on standard AA batteries.
Yup, which is why I don't believe you'll ever see the $200 iPhone.
We've just about got enough rechargeable AA's to avoid having to buy AA batteries. With all the kid's toys that need AA's, I figure about three times of recharging we'll break even and then start saving money.
About a year ago I switched to rechargeable batteries for everything. The initial cost was kind of high, but they've now paid for themselves. I bought most of mine from Radio Shack (their brand) and have never had a problem with them. My husband bought some from Batteries Plus for some of his stuff, but they don't seem to hold a charge very long.
