Though the company has yet to issue an official statement regarding its replacement policies for defective iPod touch devices, Apple today acknowledged to The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg that “a small number of units” have defective screens, an issue that “is being remedied,” according to Mossberg. The columnist noted that “some early iPod Touch units have had defective screens, where images appeared too dark,” but said that “my two test units displayed beautiful images.” iLounge’s review, based upon two store-purchased iPod touch units, highlighted the dark screen problem as one of several affecting the new device.
Some contributors to the iLounge and Apple discussion forums have expressed dismay that Apple Stores have charged them $30 to $40 restocking fees when they’ve attempted to return iPod touch units with dark screens, and that employees have attempted to blame the problems on poor user video encoding and overly high expectations for the screens, amongst other reasons. It is unclear whether Apple will refund the restocking fees in light of the defect, and when guaranteed properly working iPod touch units will be available in stores.
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