Apple is going to have to do something about the scratching

I take extraordinary care of my products and I had my day old nano in my pocket with nothing else for 5 minutes only to take it out and notice a deep gash. To those of you who say "don't put it in your pocket," you must not need use of your hands too often. I tote my iBook in a not-so-soft laptop bag inside another backpack daily and have yet to notice a scratch of this depth or obviousness on it. If nothing else, at least Apple could offer the early adopters a free 2oz or 4oz bottle of Ice Creme and a discount on the nano tubes while they figure out how to keep their product durable and their customers happy.

Aaron,

So what caused the 'deep gash'?
Did it magically appear for no reason or did 'something' come into contact with the iPod? Where did the mark come from, what caused it?

Ian

Not sure Ian wish I knew considering the pocket was otherwise empty. On the other hand my Sony Ericsson T637 (T630 in the UK) was in the other pocket, also otherwise empty and nothing happened. In fact ive had the T637 over a year now. Carry it in my pocket with change and/or keys regularly and it still looks great.

There is a lot of noise on these boards about this problem, so it is something that is affecting many people and I hope it is resolved soon. Thankfully American Express has a 90 day accidental damage plan for all purchases made with the card. Even if I don't have the power to take on Apple myself, it's good to know there's someone on my side who will. I hope it doesn't come to that and they announce some sort of fix for this defect.

I also owned a 1G and 3G iPod and this was never an issue on either one. Somebody else mentioned that some of the advertising shows the unit being put into a pocket without a cover on it. I understand and respect your skepticism, but this is definitely not a case of "My First Gadget."

Ian,

It seems incredible to me that you would bother to scour these threads just to, seemingly pour scorn on the fact that peoples ipods are scratching and and getting marked.

Get over it!

We are not making it up!

People have a right to post experiences about the marking of their relatively expensive products (and lets not forget that they are barely a week old), without you poo-poo'ing us. This issue seems to have become pathological with you...If you don't like it-move on to a thread that does not cause you to become sarcastic and unhelpful. I'm a grown man-i don't need you telling me, like some small incapable child, that it's my fault my Nano got scratched!

Cos

Cos,

I simply asked a question about how the damaged happened?
I too would like to know what is causing the problem, but so far everyone seems to be having 'magic' damage' with no evidence about how it happened.

I do not scour the boards, as a previous poster I get an email with all the follow on comments so I simply read those, and if I feel like it I reply.

I think the bigger issue is why do people feel the need to keep starting new threads about the same topic. OK we get the idea the nano scratches very easily, but moaning on here about it will make no difference at all as Apple take no notice of these posts, and never reply.

Your best recourse is to go back to the store and complain that the product is not fit for the purpose it was sold, i.e. it is a product sold on looks and finish that has been made with a design flaw that makes it very easy to damage in normal use. This is a better way to voice your complaint as the stores and Apple will get a real feel for the issue.

As for your comment about people having a 'right' to post about their experiences, you are in fact wrong. You are guests on the Apple discussion boards and as such you have to follow the rules you signed up to, which DON'T give you the right to berate Apple all the time.

Ian

I gave a white 4gb nano to my wife. The thing spends its life in a microfiber cloth (made for cleaning eye glasses). The moment she takes it out to change songs, the thing gets covered in fingerprints. Its like the case attracts grease and smears... the other iPods I've owned have not been so "attractive." Whoever decided to chrome up the backplate must have been sniffing the stuff.

I haven't noticed any glaring gashes or scratches, but there is a noticeable number of "nano" scratches. I shudder to think what it would be like if she followed the advertising and actually put it in the change pocket of her jeans.

Great product, great design... but I'm not satisfied with my purchase like I have been with the countless other apple products I've purchased. This is the first one thats left a sour taste.

I have every RIGHT to post my experiences on these discussion boards! If it's appropriate to berate Apple, then I/we will.

How do you know Apple take "no notice of these boards"? You have inside info you are not sharing with us?

You were not "simply asking a question about how the damaged happened", but being sarcastic and condescending... the "magic damage" comment being exactly what i'm speaking about.
When berated in another thread for the same reasons, you sulkily signed off with, "enjoy your scratched Nanos".

Time after time, people are explaining how their Nanos have been marked by the smallest and most innocuous contact with everyday things and yet you state we are offering "no evidence about how it happened".

Any forum will have repeated thread themes and I agree this should be kept to a minimum, but by every unhelpful response you have posted to a variety of scratched Nano threads, you too have become part of so-called problem you speak of.

Cos

personally i have used some other devices with soft plastic any scrathchable surfaces such as T610, gba modified screen with light.i havediscovered that some of these surfaces such as the nano are so soft they can be scratches by the fabric of your pocket.meaning the inside of the pocket is rough. so sometimes putting it in your pocket is like in sandpaper. yes, the nano is so fragile looking.i bought a mini for less than 1 mnth and they released nano. glad i didnt buy it. i thought it looked fragile.this is why i dont buy new releases let the manufacturer improve on it 1st

I would agree with previous writers. My ibook has yet to get one scrath after being thrown in my backpack.

And my year old LG phone still looks pristine after being in and out of coin containing pockets with / without keys...

Seems like an unfortunate design fault / choice of material.

I ordered my black nano (engraved) within hours of its release to replace my 4 gig silver mini.

Amazingly even having it engraved and standard shipping it arrived this past Monday, a mere 3 business days after release, I was very surprised.

I LOVE it but had tiny scratches all over it within about 2 hours.
In pocket with NOTHING else, no keys, coins, ect. My razr has me used to this.

I was pretty bummed at first having previously owned the original iPod, and an iBook which appear to be made of similar materials. The nano is a stellar design, but it is just a fingerprint and scratch magnet! My black razr seems easy to care for by comparison. I'm real picky about my stuff as many here are, but...

I had to fly out on Tues for Miami and took the new nano.
Who cares if it scratches, the thing is just WAY too cool.
Very tiny, sounds great, syncs with all your built in Mac apps - it is a tool to be used, and if it scratches a little, sobeit.

You do not have any right to post your experiences on these boards, please read the Terms and Conditiions of Use you agreed to on joining.

You are a guest here and as such you should follow the rules or accept that you are breaking them and therefore in the wrong.

Yes I have been critical of people who are complaining - because this is not the right place to do it.

I have not seen any links to images of these badly damaged iPod but that does not mean I don't beleive you. I am convinced you all have scratched iPods, I would just like some more analysis on how it is happening rather than the continual rants about 'Apple must fix this'.

Please read and study the Terms and Conditions and see if you are behaving in a way that Apple and other uesrs expect.

As for my comments, but your rules I am allowed to say what I like, but to keep you happy I will do as requested and limit my comments to the many thousands I have posted providing help and advice to others. When you have been a user here for any length of time and made some valuable contributions you will learn what is acceptable.

Ian

My friend got a Nano yesterday, beautiful design, great sound and everything. I
decided to go today and buy one for my self, which would have made it my first
ever apple product. I get a phone call this afternoon and he was extremely
upset, his Nano was all scratched up and he had used it for just one day. The
white had so many tiny scratches which were all so clearly visible.
Well I have decided to wait till something gets done with this issue, I am not
going to spend some $250 bucks buying an mp3 player that gets scratched so
easily. Apple please do something about this, I really wanted to get a Nano, but
I guess I can wait some more hopefully something gets done quickly.

My nano has tons of tiny little scratches too. It seems that pretty much anything - soft clean cotton T-shirt, air, light - will scratch the heck out of the plastic surface. I have had a bunch of other iPod models and they never has this severe of a problem!

Yes I have been critical of people who are complaining - because this is not the right place to do it.

This is the perfect place to do it, and I'm grateful for those sharing their experience. Less so to those compelled to make sarcastic, patronising remarks about scratches which appear by "magic".

I love Apple products, but when many customers agree a product is flawed then, by definition, it probably is.

Suggestion. Having scratches, apple store sells a product to remove them. Stop by it and buy it. I saw it work wonders on several in a demostration..