Apple’s iPod nano may be receiving rave reviews, but a slew of nano owners are complaining about the device’s screen getting scratched too easily. Apple’s support forum contains several hundred postings discussing the flaw, with some claiming that their nano’s screen is unreadable because of the scratches. The majority of nano owners made it clear that the device was not treated badly and said pockets, fingernails and soft cloths all caused extreme scuffing.
“I don’t really care if the case on my Nano gets scratched but my screen has scratched up so badly that all the images are starting to become distorted,” one nano owner wrote. “I have only carried it in my small pocket in my shorts and nothing is in there to scratch it. I still can’t figure how the screen looks like it has been rubbed with sandpaper when the entire time it has been safe in my pocket (with absolutely no items).”
Meanwhile, one dissatisfied nano owner has set up FlawedMusicPlayer.com (formerly iPodNanoFlaw.com) to chronicle what he calls an “Apple design flaw” with the nano screen. The person said the screen on his nano unexpectedly cracked after carrying it in his pocket for a short time. He said the player was not subjected to any abuse.
“The iPod Nano is not really to be used. It is way too fragile,” he writes on the site. “Apple markets it in a pocket. Hell, Steve Jobs himself pulls it out of his when he announces it. My Nano broke on day 4. The screen that is. It shattered. It was in my pocket as I was walking and I sat down. No, I didn’t sit on it, it was just in my pocket just as all iPod’s before it have done, and my cell phone, which also has a screen on the outside, does. This is what they were meant to do. That’s why they make them pocket size.”
In what can be considered more than just a coincidence, several iLoungers report that iPodResQ has raised the price of its iPod nano LCD screen replacement service from $99 to $145. “We are experiencing a temporary price increase on the nano LCD repair due to LCD availability and overwhelming demand,” the company states on its website.
75 comments
Many of those posts on Apple’s discussion board are by new members with only one post too, so to say there are hundreds of complaints there is a bit dubious to say the least.
Personally, I have had a black nano now for over two weeks and my only complaint has been with the fingerprint issue. I just have to wipe it down after using it, but it’s really not that big of a deal though. I’ve also placed mine in my pocket several times, yet I have no really noticeable scratches at all. I’m not sure what all of the hoopla is about really, it’s definitely been blown WAY out of proportion.
i’ve owned several mp3 players before the nano. i also own a psp that did not have a screen protector for the first month i owned it. all of these things have gone into my jeans pocket without causing any noticeable scratches. i put the nano in my pocket ONCE and the screen was scuffed up like i had rubbed an emery board against it. i didn’t pay $250 for something that is less durable than my old $100 cheapy mp3 player. i won’t be buying another ipod again until this changes. form shouldn’t take so much of a precedent over function. i was beguiled by the nano’s sexy shape and promise of a superior interface. in all seriousness, i would care less if it was just the case that got scratched, but clearly the screen is equally as vulnerable.
The fact that the some of the screens are breaking easily and they all scratch easily is disappointing but the real issue is the support void at Apple. Last Christmas I bought 2 of the $500+ Photo iPods and a few weeks later one of the screens broke. When I tried to get it repaired Apple refused and said it would cost too much even when I offered to pay for it. My only option was to purchase a new unit and take the $500 loss. Now all of my family, friends, and coworkers are looking for other brands to purchase.
Apple’s first response to the screen issue: http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=12741
I just took the Ipod nano out of the plastic wrapping, leave on the sticky plastic, scratched off the white writting on the outer covering plastic with my fingernail and stuck the nano back into the plastic. Seal with invisi-tape and WA-LA, Nano protector
I think some people are confusing the scratched screen with the “bent” or broken screen. It looks like the nano is prone to both. I´ve had a 3G and a 30G Photo and they have also scratched a little bit, but hope that my wifes new Nano won´t break. I think that the flawedmusicplayer.com website is referring not to the scratches but to the broken displays, and thats why some people don´t get it and are critizising the complaints.
No, they’re criticizing the complaints because 99.9% of them are highly dubious. The screen wouldn’t have damage like that unless you put excessive force directly on the LCD. Phil Schiller said himself today that this issue effects less than 0.1% of the nanos shipped so far and that they will replace any effected units free of charge.
Well, there have been way too many dubious complaints for an issue that only effects 0.1% of the nanos out there. So obviously a lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon and embellishing quite a bit to say the least.
And as for the scratching issue, simply placing a nano in your pocket once will not make it look like it’s been rubbed harshly with steel wool as many have claimed. How do I know this? Because I own a black nano and have placed it in my pocket several times and nothing of the sort has happened.
Besides, Schiller also said today that they use the same material on the nano as they do with the full sized iPods, so the scratching issue would be the same on either unit.
This story has been so overblown it’s ridiculous. It’s getting old, move on people…
Whilst I accept that some of the comments here do seem a tad OTT and that some people may be jumping on the badwaggon, it’s obvious that there is some sort of deficiency with the Nano.
I have a black Nano and the front has scratched an awful lot quicker and easier than my old 20gb. Apple should have ensured that the appropriate covers/skins were available at the time this product was launched.
I purchased the Ipod socks as soon as I noticed my Nano was scratching, however, these do not provide adaquate protection.
I accept that Ipods will scratch over time, but to be covered in scratches after 2 weeks is poor.
I am also a very happy black 4GB Nano owner. I have not noticed any unusual scratches showing up on mine having been toted around in pockets, bags, tossed on desks, etc.
Yes, scratches appear, but not any more or any deeper than my previous 4G iPod or 2G mini.
If the product is “fundamentally flawed” as one poster wrote, then why is it that there seems to be a vast majority of people out there who have *no problems whatsoever*?
This lawsuit is a case of a very loud minority, in my opinion. I look forward to seeing it thrown out.
You people are stupid. One use of brassl will get rid of ALL THE SCRATCHES! Do yourself a favour and get some for 4 bucks.
the ipod is nice in many ways!! but the screen is terrible!! they should all let us take our ipod nano’s back and get new ones that have been made to not scrach as easily.. also the battery is terrible it insane infact!! it only lasts for about 7 hours (not even) and the provblem i had was when i first got mine is the ipod froze quite alot!! i have about 850 songs and 135 photos!! thats maybe why… but why make something that has faults like that!! but otherwise… it my thing…. but dont ever take it to sand paper!!!
I got an Ipod nano for my birthday and i had to take my ipod nano back four days later bcuz first it froze then the side started popping off. I thought i just got a glitch but when i went back to circuit city three days later to get a new one it messed up the next day. My mom thinks that I’m doing something wrong but i have been using it properly. I asked some other people and they said i should get my money back and go to the Apple store. Also i heard that the white one works better. Are any of these things true?
I’m really sorry, I can’t take it anymore.. I was honestly about to burst into tears before I saw this page.. You see.. I, too am a victim. I spent all my savings (I’m not exaggerating, I’m not rich, I’m just a student) on a brand new 2GB ipod nano. I was so happy with it, AT FIRST. I’ve only been using it for 4 days.. I bought a freakin case, sock, (u name it, I bought it for my nano) for it and everything. I took REALLY good care of it!!!! I was TOO careful with it I guess coz when I took out my brand new nano to listen to some music, I discovered that the LCD just started to get all weird.. it was like it was minimized or something.. ! No, the screen was still the same size ok.. I meant that only a part of the LCD was working.. It was like only 1/4 of the LCD was working.. damn, I felt like an idiot.. even if I had already been hearing so many bad things about APPLE and their products I still decided to buy an iPOD coz I thought.. “what the heck? all products have their flaws” but I never knew that their products were nothing but one big flaw. it sucks coz I worked hard to save up for that ipod nano and now its as if I have an ipod shuffle! i cant even read the songs anymore. what a waste! and now they tell me I have to purchase another LCD worth around $140. I could’ve bought something better than this worthless piece of junk.
If anyone has any advice for me, I’ll be happy to hear it.. HELP!!!!
What i did to protect my iPod is when i took it off the box the little tape things were around it. So i took of the back but not the front. Then when i got a good case that will PROTECT my Nano. I put it on and no scratchez yet on the front. it’s been 4 weekz now. and no scratches on the front. When u buy it keep the tape in the front. I’m sure this will solve some of the problems on the screen.
i used the same cloth that i use on my sunglass to clean my nano screen…. and it scratched. that is BS and apple needs to fix that. i would understand a scratch if i dropped it but not if i am trying to take care of it.
I have owned a white ipod nano 4GB for just under three months and people have been laughing at me for treating it with so much love and respect. It has never been without it’s protective screen or out of it’s protetive tube (both of which were bought seperately by me) and has been kept in a seperate pocket in my bag where nothing else can touch it. This morning it was still perfect and without a single scratch when I arrived to work. It hasn’t been touched all day and I have just gone to take it out of my bag for the journey home and to my horror the screen looks like it has cracked from the inside and there is a big murky ink stain in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. The entire top half of the LCD display is missing 🙁 To my knowledge, it has absolutely not been dropped, sat upon, or stepped on by me or anyone else, and there are no visible scratches or cracks on the surface of the screen, they’re on the inside 🙁 Hope that apple will replace the screen for me. I did take out an additional 3 year insurance policy for it when I bought it from the shop I bought it in though, so if apple won’t fix it, maybe the others will 🙁
I bought myself a white nano just a few days ago, and I was just wondering if anyone could give me tips on how to use it (charge the battery, add songs, etc.) without peeling the plastic wrapping off?
OK LISTEN UP.
for whoever is for the ipod nano and keeps saying that WE are jerks coz we say that it breaks…smone before in this thread said that the ipod isnt jewelry but u have to take care of it…and he also compared a volvo with a kia or whatever…well THAT GUY didnt think, coz with cars there is no difference, but lets say take a iriver h10 junior and an ipod nano…the ipod nano gets the hell scratched out of it just from a tissue…a iriver h10 junior resists also a 10 m fall, the difference is that the h10 has an aluminium case and the nano doesnt…GT IT???
i am not here to complain but to see if anyone else has a similar problem. my friend got an ipod nano and two days later he had a screen failure (not an ordinary screen failure – the screen basically is cut in half: the top works fine but the bottome half of the screen is blank). He said he left it in the car and it was quite hot, so i am wondering if it was the temperature that damaged it – however it gives a bit of doubt cause half of it works perfectly fine, so if it was the temperature wouldn’t the whole screen go blank??
Screen Failure
Same problem here, half screen working. But no heat. Nano screens are prone to failure. Did not know this when I bought it. Cost $125 to repair. My opinion – Nano is a piece of garbage.
well, I will never buy anything Apple again – my screen developed black blotches last week, and after a short holiday at apple, it came back with a letter telling me that as I had clearly misused it, it wasn’t going to get reoaired. Also, that as it wasn’t worth repairing, they weren’t going to. IT HAS NEVER BEEN OUT OF THE HOUSE, MUCH LESS MISUSED.
I love this Nano Fatty. Had mine for months, when I took it out of the package I added stick on film protection to the front and back. Stuck it in the little sponge foam “case” I got for it and plugged into USB to charge. I listen to Audiobooks only, Only 9 hours a night, every work night. I’ve never listened to a tune on it, prolly never will. I’m half deaf cause I listened to music too loud. This thing replaces my Sony Walkman CD player. Just love not having to switch CD’s every hour. I stick the buds in my ears when I assume my watch, don’t take um out till I arrive home 9 hours later. Carry it in my shirt pocket. Biggest fear is it’s so small I may loose the sucker. JMHO
Cheers,
otrpu
my ipod nano isnt worth the money the light on the screen has gone out and ive only had it for 1yr
I noticed that dust gets under the glass screen very easily. It’s collecting on the bottom right corner of the screen. One day the dust will get so big, it’ll block out the whole screen.
nanos suck they scratch so easy i was taking mine out of the case that it came in and it got a huge gash in it from the edge