premature discoloration giving me second thoughts...

Keith good point and I agree with you.

By the way, how old is your unit? Have you tried taking it to an Apple Store? My friend recently had discoloration starting in the area around the camera, took it to the Apple Store and got it exchanged no questions asked. This was on day 15, one day past the return date. Becuase there was some discoloration, they did not charge a restocking fee.

Good luck

d

d

Hi, and thanks for the good wishes. 🙂 The unit is just over a month old now. If you check out my previous post in this thread, you will see that I have indeed contacted Apple. I won't repeat myself other than to say that I have a case number but having phoned the Apple Store in Regent Street they told me I would be wasting my time taking it in just yet, as although they are aware of the issue they are awaiting official word from Apple before they take any action on repairs - it seems that US stores are a bit more flexible than those in the UK in this regard. I've been advised to call them back again in a week, which I will do.

check oout my diary to log any changes. havent touched the Macbook without the shield.

cheers

yes, there certainly does seem to be some disparity between the return procedures in different Apple Stores, even in the U.S. based on all the threads I have read

it appears It all comes down to the store manager. Some are more flexible than others in wanting to accomodate the customer as they do have a lot of latitude in this area. This is true in any service type industry. Sometimes the more "noise" ones makes the more willing they are to just remedy the problem! Wish you the best of luck and I hope it turns out in your favor!
d

Keith,

We certainly share the appreciation for our Apple products. I'd be just as upset as you if it happend to me... I'm only on my 3rd week of use so *knock on wood*.

I'm also not dismissing the notion that it is indeed Apple's fault... If my MacBook had discoloration that was obviously not from oil, dirt, etc... I can assure you'd I'd be at the store the next day demanding a swap -- and would get one. If not for a solid arguement, then for my track record of purchases...

My post was simply directed to this consumer's prepurchase question and a general perspective on the 'problem' at hand.

Worse comes to worse, he should just ask the store manager to sign a prepared case. Print a few sources related to the problem... and a 1 paragraph cover sheet stating the store will replace his machine in the event it happens.

The discoloration still occurs even with the InvisiShield applied:

http://www.appledefects.com/?p=25

Apple is ignoring this issue and deleting posts in these forums about it. I've had several of my posts deleted when trying to ask questions or address the issue.

I suppose one question is, what does Apple do with the demo models in their own stores? With all the people passing through and touching these demo models, surely the same problems would begin to appear on those MacBooks in the store.

Those who are investigating the problem should find out from store employees -- Do Apple stores get rid of stained MacBook demo models and replace them regularly with new ones? Or are the stores managing to keep the MacBook demos clean?

I've been following this discussion board closely for the last few weeks and its the same handful of people posting almost every day about their discoloration. This is beyond a failure to understand how to get support from Apple. This is pure malice.

To see what actual Macbook users have to say about their Macbooks, go to: http://digg.com/apple/AppleMacBook_MacBookPro--
Who sHappy

I have ad it since the Friday they came out, first Shipment from China...no problems at all here.......so not everyone is having problems.

The Apple store that I go to wipes their display equipment down. I know. You can see the streaking.

What I should have done was make notice of the serial number.

I did ask a salesguy there what ever occurs with the floor models. He said that the computers are de-inventoried and either picked up or shipped back to Apple.

Anyway, going by the wipe-down evidence, I'm certain these are the same computers. They look just as white and black as they did during day 1.

I am in the same camp. I was very excited about getting a MacBook when the AppleCare runs out on my PowerBook G4 867 MHz 12" next month. But, until I have confidence that Apple will do something about the discoloration issue (such as acknowledge it and say what remedies they are taking), I am holding off my purchase. If people are getting discoloration after a few weeks, I can only imagine what my PB G4 would look like if it had the same problems, as it is 3 years old.

can only imagine what my PB G4 would look like if it had the same problems,

Actually Richard, you may remember that similar complaints actually occured with a similarly small number of the alu PB 12" G4's when they were first released a little over three years back. A few people experienced pitting of the hand rests and casing. A similar furore arose with people "warning off" potential buyers.

It soon became apparent that really only a very small number of units were affected (as also seems to be the case here), people realised it was all a storm in a teacup, and everyone went back to enjoying their PB's. Mine remains "unpitted" to this day. How about yours?

Cheers

Rod

Is there hope? I spotted this article today on AppleInsider.com:

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1845

People have reported Apple taking care of them when they have had the problem, even though Apple still hasn't determined the cause. I am a little more comfortable now…