Eropean Union Says iPod Must Die

[exfileme]

Sorry Apple, it's nothing personal. The European Union is preparing a new directive that requests all electronic devices to have "easily removable" batteries. Sadly, the iPod and iPhone must die.

Eropean Union Says iPod Must Die : Read more

 

[Guest]

Damn those eropean unionists! Commies the lot of 'em.

 

[AndrewMD]

I for one am glad that this will happen. The iPhone at its current state requires "APPLE" to perform a simple battery replacement when it goes bad... I will take a slightly bulkier iPhone for a user replacable battery...

 

[noobe1981]

I don't think theres anything wrong with them passing it. I think its good for consumers. I shouldn't need to take something back to the store to professionals just to have a battery change. If I can change the one in my car I should be able to change the one in my ipod. LOL

 

[hellwig]

I'm sure if Apple offered to recycle the battery free of charge (or replace for a reasonable price for the new battery), they could get around any final wording of the decision. Charging a "$80 service charge" isn't going to cut it. And the EU certainly isn't going to let thousands of cell phone batteries end up in a landfill cause they couldn't be removed/replaced by the consumer.

This reminds me of China passing a new law saying that all Cell-Phones must be rechargeable through a standard USB interface. No more proprietary charging bricks you have to keep track of.

 

[jaragon13]

Yeah,USB charging sounds nice.

I am aswell glad this will happen,as it will make Apple stop being complete douche bags (is that even possible)? Nah,to hell with it,just sue Europe.

 

[Regulas]

Good for the EU, I think. Socialistic, yes, but good for the consumer. The reason I have not bought a iPod. If the iTouch gets a user replaceable battery I will get one.

 

[starhoof]

yeah that would be great, especially for consumers...
have you ever wondered why they done battary that is non user replasable ? so they can make more money, making it look like their products are so high tech that normal people cant replace one ?

 

[nukemaster]

[citation][nom]Regulas[/nom]If the iTouch gets a user replaceable battery I will get one.[/citation]

But Itouch is a Logitech software 😛

 

[Guest]

^What a retard.

 

[ryokinshin]

My 360 is a Mac software. lol

 

[chris312]

I can't speak for the Europeans, but I would be pretty ticked off if George Bush started telling me how to design my electronics. Or Barack Obama. Or, anyone in Washington, for that matter.

Necessity should be the mother of invention. Not legislation.

My two cents...

 

[JuiceJones]

^ 😀

I love easily removable and replaceable batteries, but that's why I don't buy Apple's proprietary-ridden products. As much as I dislike Apple's tactics, I take the capitalist stance and think consumers should force the change, not politicians.

 

[Guest]

Politicians are people representatives (in theory).

Consumers (if they are self aware and not bombarded with ads etc) could, again in theory, choose not to buy some device only because it is ecologically faulty but that's not very likely to happen.
Also consumers (or better to say people) could decide not to buy product that contain lead, mercury, cadmium but again that's not very likely to happen.

Government (or better to say politicians) should restrict or better to say protect us from our self. Same with smoking, same with drugs etc.

Here the point is not in you being able to change batteries than in need to save environment. Government is forcing you to dispose batteries in designated places, government is forcing manufacturers to create devices so you could easily take those batteries out.

Simple as that. Socialist or capitalist mean nothing here. Self preservation is the key word. Let's not pollute if we don't have to.

 

[chris312]

How do we know the government will always be 100% infallible on eco-friendly product design? I consider the government to be less capable of good ideas than any tech company.

I don't believe that the government's job is to represent the consumer in the marketplace. It's the consumer's job to represent the consumer, and if the consumer doesn't like Apple's non-removable batteries, the consumer can buy one of the several dozen other MP3 players out there. The person most capable of changing your life and your future is you.

 

[rtfm]

For once the EU is interfereing in a positive way.

chris312, if the government didn't legislate and represent companies we would be in all sorts of cr/\p with companies churning out poor quality goods and delivering rubbish service. Remember the government IS the consumer too as it is chosen by the people to look out for and protect the public (ie you and me) interest.

 

[chris312]

No, we wouldn't. Do you think people would buy iPods if they only held 4 songs or the battery only lasted 10 minutes? No. Do we need the government to tell Apple to make sure the product is good enough for Americans? No. That's the job of the free market.

Companies produce goods and services. Consumers, by buying certain products or not buying them, send market signals back to the company and a good company will react on those signals. If people flock to brand B instead of brand A because B's product has twice the battery life, would not brand A be looking for ways to increase its product's battery life as well?

Why do people look to the government to solve all their problems??? That's socialism, and unless you like Hula Hoops, it doesn't work! See: The USSR.

 

[Kami3k]

Bah, seems like for all that I may hate US government, the USA is looking to be the last place of the free...

 

[v12v12]

It's just BS Apple pulling the overt capitalism stunts as usual: As if you or I aren't certified enough to remove a freaking battery, OR could it be that it's just another method of control, which they are very found of. Bad enough you have to get "certified" to work on their wanna-be server level hardware... Please anyone with a cheap ass A+ cert or 30min of studying hardware basics can work on a POS Mac. It's all faux sophistication and overly packaged presentations... aka over done, foo-foo'd crap. It works though, people are buying that ish up like hotcakes and paying through the nose for no better performance, stability... Bleh.

 

[chris312]

v12, I tend to agree and that's why I tend to stay away from Apple computers.

My only point is that I don't want the government forcing random stuff on companies. Obviously enough people don't care about replacing batteries (or hardware in general) to keep Apple in business. Let's not go and smash their niche.