Requiem for an iPod
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Loading ...My iPod croaked on the trip back. That’s why I hadn’t posted last week–I was too despondent. Just kidding. I don’t know what happened to it, honestly. I never dropped it (recently), never spilled anything on it, and never subjected it to wild temperature variations (such as leaving it in the car in 105 degree heat). I noticed something was awry when I kept selecting a track and it would play something later in the playlist. Looking closer, I noticed it was actively skipping 5 or so tracks, counting (4 of 25, 5 of 25, etc) past the “bad” tracks. An hour or so later, all I heard was this “click click” as I tried to get it to respond to anything.
When I hooked it up to my Mac when I finally got home, I thought I’d just reformat the thing with the iPod update software, and start from scratch. This is the result:
(the gray of the iPod is actually an iSkin case)
Looking at Apple’s store, the only full-size iPod sold is a video iPod. Thing is, before baby was born and we were shopping for baby gear, I’d always joke that baby needed a video iPod (for visual and spatial development, of course!) and that it should have gone on the baby shower registry. Now, if I am to replace this one, I’ll actually have to get a video model (a review of my post on my iTunes library would make one realize a Nano or my wife’s Mini is cruel and unusual punishment), which makes me feel somewhat guilty.
Decisions, decisions…nothing is being bought anyway until my loans come in, and perhaps not even then. Until then, I can dream….with no sound….
Update: I called an authorized Apple reseller here in Guadalajara about the prices for the iPods, possibly avoiding an international shipment when/if the time ever came to get a new one. The 30G was $420 and the 60G was almost $600!!! I know things like this get charged import taxes upon coming into Mexico, but not 30%!! Crazy!
Computing/IT | enrico | 
July 19, 2006 11:10 pm
By Mark Landes, D.C., July 20, 2006 @ 11:14 pm
Paper last weekend (Sacramento Bee) had article about folks who repair i-pods. They get hundreds of inquiries monthly and the public is realizing they are not very sturdy.
By enrico, July 21, 2006 @ 8:28 am
With each new generation of iPod (mine is 4th, manufactured 2 years ago), Apple has included less and less in the box in terms of accessories. Also, one of the biggest complaints about both the Nano and video iPod when they were released was how easily they were scratched. It’s a general trend of trying to produce and sell on the cheap in which Apple certainly isn’t alone.
I feel I’m perfectly able to repair my iPod myself because all I have to do is switch out the hard disk. Prices of new iPod hard drives online, however, showed that the cheapest hovers around $165 for a replacement 20G, well over $200 if I want a “current” sized HD. At the $200 mark, I’m already 2/3 to getting a new video iPod will all the new features, display, etc., but first I have to scrounge up that amount.
Thanks for the comment!