It was only a matter of time before someone was taking legal action over the iPhone: the only question was, on what topic? I would have bet it was being locked to a specific cell phone provider—but then, I would have been wrong.
Gizmodo is reporting that a man by the name of Jose Trujillo has filed a class action suit in a Cook County, Illinois court because the iPhone’s battery is not user replaceable. The crux of Trujillo’s argument is twofold: one, that Apple did not explicitly tell customers prior to purchase that the iPhone battery was not user-replaceable; two, that “The battery enclosed in the iPhone can only be charged approximately 300 times before it will be in need of replacement, necessitating a new battery annually for owners of the iPhone.”
As to the first statement, Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Apple 2.0 has an excellent timeline of what Apple has said about the battery.
But as to the second, well, as we’ve reported, Apple has said that this is blantantly false. Four hundred full charge cycles will lower the battery’s capacity to 80% of its original, and most users are unlikely to go through that many cycles in one year (or, according to PC Magazine’s death clock, even two years). True, it would be nice if we could swap batteries in and out of the iPhone, but I’m not sure it’s an actionable offense. But that’ll be up to the judge to decide.
The moral of this story? Clearly, Mr. Trujillo should read our blog.
[Photo from iFixit]
I think it's safe to say that in the history of this blog, no reader has ever initiated a class action lawsuit against Apple!
Clearly, Mr. Trujillo should read our blog
Heh, no, no, you misspelled "Clearly, Mr. Trujillo is an idiot."
does the 300 charges mean complete charges or just how many times you charge? for example, my battery didn't even go a quarter of the way down last night, but it's easier to just put it in its cradle at night. does this count as one of the 300?
it's 400 complete charges. for example, if it's 1/2 full (or empty depending on your outlook on life) and you charge it, and then do the same the next day, that counts as one charge. there is no reason not to charge the phone every night.
to Jim,
I read somewhere that a "full charge cycle" is using 100% of the battery, meaning that using a quarter of it and then recharging would count as 0.25 charges.
300 FULL cycles. If you use the battery till it is half full and recharge it till full, you could do that 600 times before it will only have 80% of its charge available. I am happy with that. We have many iPods going back to the first generation in our family and they are still on their original batteries.
@Jim, no that doesn't count, however, you should not do that all the time. Not without letting your battery discharge all the way once a while Apple suggests doing that once a month. Apple has posted several tips on their website pertaining to the usage of iPod, laptop, and iPhone batteries. They list that 400 figure as a complete discharge and recharge. Not letting your battery go through that cycle will lower that 400 count figure.
Jim, it's 300 full charges. If you only use a 1/4 of your battery during the day, and then recharge to full power at night, then that would only count as approximately 1/4 charge.
At least that's what I understand from the Apple information on this.
it is so sad to see how "stupid" life in the U.S. has become, WHO in its right mind would even care to sue if a baterry is or is not replacesable, iod bat are not and noone has come up with a class action suit against it.
having a bat to be replaceble or not, is not our decision, is the manufacturer's decision, if you purchased the product, it is purchased as is, not as yu wanted. You know what ? mi wife is complaining that her iPhone is not a good leg shaver...I will call my lawyer tomorrow...maybe I can get a couple million dollars out of Apple.
PLEASE ! get a life, do something constructive with it, if you do not like it ... return it !!!!
What is lost in ALL this talk about battery life is that the battery doesn't know how many charging cycles it has gone through. It doesn't get to a magic number, 400, and reduce its capacity by 80%, any more than a person gets to a magic number and all at once is 20% less capable.
Rather, like us, the battery is costantly in a process of dying, gradually holding less and less charge over time. At any point during its life, you could take a measure of its capacity relative to initial capacity. 400 charges is a reasonable moment, and comes out to around 80%. But while that moment has become special to us, it is not particularly special to the battery.
I'm not a battery expert so I don't know the slope of decline, but you could equally take its pulse at three hundred charges (90%?) or 500 charges (60%?) and decide that that is the moment that warrants replacement.
For some, 5% decline might trigger the need for replacement, while for others, 50% decline may be no bother at all. The 400 charge/80% mark is just an arbitrary moment that has become more meaningful than it really is and... at least 80% misunderstood.
I will join Mr. Trujillio in his law suit as soon as I finish suing the company who made my car. The speedometer goes to 120 MPH but I keep getting tickets when I drive faster than 75 on the freeways.
Oh, and my cheesy "FREE" bluetooth headset has no way of replacing the battery in it. So I guess that company will be next on my lawyer's list.
Signed -
"Dumber Than I Look"
P.S. I don't need to think for myself as long as I can SUE somebody-!!
Some people need to learn to simply take their products back for a refund. Only the lawyers will get money out of this. The average iPhone owner will get $3 while the lawyers get $30 million.
Any info where I can opt out of this lawsuit at the beginning. I don't want some lawyer using me as part of their class so they can make more money.
I am amazed at the lack of research people perform before dropping $500 and committing to two years of service at at least $60/month. Like the people complaining they couldn't use their business plans. Why am I, still iPhone-less, better informed than these people?
Still and all, I think the appeal on the $56 million pants warrants more raspberries.
I was waiting for someone to come up with at Class Action suit. I'm sure that the Class Action Law firms were looking for a client. The suit is so much horse Hockey that it should be laughed out of court.
I think if Apple does something they do it for a reason. For example it could be because of the technology they use in it. If you don't like what they did with the battery not user-replaceable then don't buy it.
I think if Apple does something they do it for a reason. For example it could be because of the technology they use in it. If you don't like what they did with the battery not user-replaceable then don't buy it.
All of the news stories I have seen so far have missed the obvious.
The iPhone *doesn't have* a battery compartment. Factory replacement was the obviously the *only* option if you didn't take the time to read the on-line information.
This case has no merit.
Nick10