
Dead iPad battery? Apple just sends another iPad for $99 - fiaz
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/13/dead-ipad-battery-never-mind-replacing-it-apple-just-sends-ano/
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bmalicoat
If I get an iPad I'll just do what I did with my first gen iPhone. Use it for
2-3 years until the battery isn't as good as it should be, sell (or give) it
to a family member who has wanted your device from day one and is more than
happy to pay to get a new battery (if they deem it necessary), next go buy a
new device slightly subsidized from selling the old one, finally write a run-
on sentence describing this process in vague detail.

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KC8ZKF
This makes complete sense, and I _thought_ this is the way battery replacement
for iPods and iPhones always worked. Note you do not get a new iPad. You get a
refurbished iPad of the same model. Your iPad then is refurbished and sent to
a future customer.

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fnid2
It makes _no_ sense. It's the most horribly inefficient system. It wastes
additional shipping fuel. It requires you to accept someone _elses_ iPad.
Maybe there's a scratch on it. Maybe you've saved something to the hard
driv... oh wait.

The process should be this:

    
    
      1) Go to newegg.com
      2) Search for "ipad battery"
      3) add to cart
      4) pay with credit card
      5) open package delivered the next day
      6) remove old battery
      7) Insert new battery.

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Frazzydee
Ah, and this is where Apple's expertise lies. They want a cut in every
transaction that has anything to do with their product. From purchasing, to
buying apps, to all maintenance. And they give you a feel-good experience from
it too.

The average customer will be impressed that they got a "new" iPad for only
$99. But really, Apple is just changing the battery and housing for you and
selling to the next guy for $99. They make a lot more money doing this than by
selling user-replaceable batteries.

~~~
raganwald
This hypothesis doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Apple charges US$129 for a
replacement battery for a Macbook Pro. It is clearly less trouble to them to
sell batteries through their distribution channels and have customers do the
service than it is to deal with the logistics of fooling around with
refurbished units. Amongst other things, when they get a unit in they have to
test it thoroughly to make sure they aren't passing a lemon on to the next
customer.

So if they are able to make a tidy bit of money selling Macbook Pro batteries
directly to end users for $129, I infer that if they could, they would sell
iPad batteries for $99 or even $129 to end users. It doesn't make any sense to
charge $30 less and absorb the logistics headaches in the name of making money
from service.

Clearly there is some other constraint that makes refurbishing the units the
least inefficient choice for Apple.

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Xichekolas
Most likely that constraint is the shape of the battery. They probably did the
same thing they do in the unibody mac, which is make the battery fill every
possible nook and cranny, with no real compartmentalization to speak of. With
that type of design, you can get more capacity and a thinner device, but user
service would probably be so difficult that people would be breaking things
left and right. And even though users would be breaking their own devices,
they would be frustrated and take it out on Apple, tarnishing their feel-good
image. A $99 replacement program is much more beneficial PR-wise.

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gcheong
"it is important to sync your iPad with iTunes to back up your contacts,
calendars, email account settings, bookmarks, apps, etc. Apple is not
responsible for the loss of information when servicing your iPad."

Equally important, it would seem, would be to wipe your iPad clean before
sending it in, after backing it up of course.

~~~
raganwald
Think about this for a moment. let's say that a vendor, Apple in this case,
agreed to _service_ your iPad but it is a one day turnaround.

Under what circumstances would you give them your iPad without backing up all
of your data first? Under what circumstances would you trust them with
anything sensitive?

When I take my MacBook Pro in for service they make me sign a consent form
acknowledging that I can lose all of my data even if they're just replacing a
broken key cap. Given that Apple provide iTunes and Time Machine, there's
really no excuse for not having everything synced and backed up. The trust
issue is something else, of course.

~~~
gcheong
Yes, I was thinking of the relative ease with which you can reset an iPod (and
presumably an iPad) to factory defaults and the restore from backup vs. a
MacBook, and since the iPad you get back is not the one you send in, it seems
like a logical precaution to take, but "equally important" was probably not
the best way to put it.

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fab13n
It's consistent with the iPad's central concept: it's about simple, zero-
hassle access to media, online or stored. It has to be _much_ more hassle-free
than a laptop, to justify its purchase and create the niche netbooks tried and
failed to create and occupy (1).

Zero config, zero user-serviceable hardware, dramatic restrictions on
applications' ability to behave puzzlingly, almost-zero connectors: it's just
a "magic" window on your media, marketed for the 80% of non-geeks who just
wish to forget the hardware.

(1) netbooks might have been a success, but not in the niche they originally
targeted.

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fnid2
Do you really think it's less hassle to package up your ipad, put it in the
mail, wait days for a new one to return and then unpack the ipad and reinstall
all your stuff, than to simply replace a battery?

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BigZaphod
It's not that hard.

If the process works at all like how they handle warranty issues, then they
send you the replacement _before_ you send your device to them. This means you
have use of your old device in the meantime (assuming it isn't entirely dead).

When the package arrives, you take the new one out of the box and put the old
one into it and slap on the prepaid sticker and drop it in the mail. Sync the
new device with iTunes and you're done - everything is right back where it was
on the device.

It's just about the same level of difficulty as ordering a replacement battery
and waiting for it to arrive - except they also take back the old battery and
recycle it for you. If you live near an Apple store, it's even easier because
you should be able to just go there and swap the device immediately without
messing around with shipping.

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kogir
So I guess personalized engraving is out?

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steve19
So if it has minor water damage you cannot get a new battery?

