So about a month ago a friend of mine bought an iPod Shuffle. Two weeks ago, he walked into class with a Mini. Apparently he decided to upgrade a bit. Anyways, yesterday I asked him what he was planning on doing with his Shuffle. He gave me the expected response of "I'm probably going to sell it." At which point I immediately offered him 45 bucks for it. He accepted, I wrote a check, and today, that iPod was mine.

But the story doesn't end there.

This iPod is, of course, used. I take it home, install the iPod software, plug it in, and proceed to spend 30 minutes fooling around reading the manual, playing with options in iTunes, and reading up on what I bought a bit more in depth. Then I decided to unplug said iPod and clean it up a bit (there was a small amount of grime on the buttons). It was at this point, that I noticed it was really, REALLY, hot. Hot to the point where it wasn't very comfortable. I flip it over, and immediately notice that the buttons on the backside are now patially MELTED. ... WTF? So my brand new used half price iPod Shuffle has just overheated and melted. Not cool (ouch... bad pun). I toss it up on my desk and leave it for a few minutes to cool down, now quite wary of plugging it back in. In the mean time, I do some research on Google. Seems no one has ever had a problem like this with a Shuffle (or if they have, didn't post it online). Huh. Still a bit wary, I plug it back into the computer. I leave it for 5 minutes, then pull it out. It's warm, but not bad. Let it cool off, repeat. Only this time for 10 minutes. A tad warmer. I decide to call the local Apple Store and ask about it.

I dial up the store, and get an automated message. I follow the directions, and a few minutes later I'm talking to a very nice lady who took all of my information down. Name, where I live, the problem, and the product serial number. Here's what I find cool. My friend had to have registered it at some point, because as soon as I gave them the number, it popped up under his name. So I had to explain that away, which was quickly confirmed when she pulled up the registration on his Mini. What's also awesome, is that the Shuffle was still covered under Warranty. So after 15 minutes of discussing my problem with her, she finally asks if there's an Apple Store near me.

Me - "Yeah, you guys are the closest one to us."
Her - "Really? Because I'm in Canada."
Me - "... Wait... CANADA? I called the store near... OH... this begins to make sense now."

Much laughter on both sides commenced, after which I explain which store is closest to me, and I'm transfered over to a guy there. I go over my problem and story again with him. He asks if I could possibly drop in sometime today so he could take a look at it. I told him I could, and 15 minutes later I was on my way there with his name and a case number to present so he'd have all the details instantly. 30 minutes of tech support that was quite pleasant to deal with, and an end result that was satisfactory.

In the meantime, I call my friend and explain the situation to him. He's totally shocked, quite concerned, and quite apologetic. So much so that he was rather insistant he give me my money back. I told him we'd discuss it tomorrow and not to worry.

So I arrive at the Apple Store, and proceed to find this person and give him both the iPod and the case number. He looks it over, and is quite puzzled as to what would've cause it. Especially considering it worked for my friend flawlessly for the duration he had it. The down side, is he doesn't have any parts in stock to repair it, and repairing it wouldn't completely ensure it'd never happen again since we don't know the cause. The up side, is that he CAN swap it out for a brand new one. I, of course agree.

10 minutes later I'm walking out of the mall with a BRAND NEW iPod to replace the used one I paid 45 bucks for. I am a very happy camper. True, I'd totally prefer a Mini over a Shuffle, but it was available, and for cheap, so I took it. It'll be a hellova lot easier to carry around campus than my CD player, and it'll play far longer. I'm also very pleased with Apple's Tech Support. It was far better than I was expecting.

As for my friend... While I could get my money back and then essentially have a brand new iPod for FREE, I'm not. He can keep it. No one knew it would happen, and the end result was good all around.

So that was my fun for the day. What was yours?

My day was boring and crappy compared to yours.

Good thing you got it for $45, they aren't worth much more than that.

I HATE iPods, they're the biggest ripoffs to mankind ever. Despite all the hardware problems, they're insanely overpriced for what little features they have. It's sad that society in general has been tricked into thinking its somehow better than many other MP3 players available.

Apple tech support seems quite nice. I'm in the process of getting my iPod repaired, and I've had no snags so far

Still, he got a replacement for a USED iPod, WITHOUT (I assume) proof of purchase. That is great service, and I'd like to see Creative or Rio do that.

Although I know you've had great luck with I-River support.

Yup.

It's an iPod shuffle..at the very least, it's a 512mb/1gb memory stick, along with an mp3 (well, aac) player. It's got some rather intuitive software, and an easy to use interface (BUT NO LCD ).

Stop touting your anti-apple fanboyism...please.

I have an iPod, and wasn't duped into buying it, the purchase was a well thought out desicion. So I would argue there are good reasons to buy an iPod.

A. Get a better player for less. Complete with an LCD! Oh, and the battery would last about twice as long.

B. Intuitive software? Hard-drive access can't be harder.

C. I've heard of tons of problems with iPods in general, including my two friends' iPods. (One friend lost everything on his iPod for no specific reason. Just turned it on one day, and the damn thing wouldn't play a song, nor do anything when connected to a PC. And since it was just out of warranty, he was required to pay about $45 to get it fixed, and then rebuild his database of music which was QUITE considerable) On top of that, there was the old battery issues, which was living hell for many people.

But my biggest complaint in general is you can get a better player, for less.

Less than $45? :p

Don't you have a PSP, CM? I mean, I envy you, but those things aren't exactly cost efficient AFAIK.

A. For less than 90 bucks, you're telling me you can get a better 512mb player? I admit, the shuffle feature is a big turn-off as far as players go...but seriously, other than that, it's a very, very nice player.

B. It can be for some people.

C. That's the iPods...not the iPod shuffles.

Besides, the iPod is priced fairly competitively. Are there other OPTIONS for less? Yes. But for the most part, they're bigger, have a clunkier interface, and don't look as good. Part of the iPod's appeal is its appearance.

Not really. Buy a PSP, buy a 512mb or 1gb memory stick, and you have yourself a game player, a music player, a movie player, an image viewer, and an internet browser.

I call that extremely cost efficient.

Yeah they are. Find me a portable device that plays videos, MP3s, and plays 3D games for less than $250.

Hell, the Creative Zen's that just do video and MP3s cost around $450.

Very lucky!

iPod's are fine man. They're fine. I like 'em. iRiver and creativ are tight as well. Peace.

which model is it? 512MB or 1GB?

me... if i had the chance to pull off a deal like that i'd take it... sell the shuffle for a profit... then use the money to buy a creative muvo tx fm... i just can't do without the LCD

It'll play Mp3's. Hell, I have it loaded with 70 of them right now. I'd be able to fit more on there if I didn't have three Trance sets on there. Each of which are anywhere from 50 to 80 meg a piece and 60 to 90 minutes long.

To quote it's manual, it'll play...
AAC (M4A, M4B, M4P) (up to 320 kbps)
Mp3 (up to 320 kbps)
Mp3 Variable Bit Rate
Wav
AA (Audible.com spoken word, formats 2, 3, and 4)

My only gripe (and it's a REALLY small one) is it doesn't pack enough bass. Treble is fine, but bass could stand to be boosted a bit. But considering how and where I'm going to be using it the most, that's not a very big issue with me.

Lack of an LCD screen, while slightly annoying at times (it'd be convienent for things like battery charge), isn't awful. It's like a CD player guys. Only without the CDs, and the size. Finding a track can be slightly annoying, but since I dragged everything I wanted in by artist, I know where the song I want roughly is.

CM, I don't know about the other iPods or your friend, but for me, the whole process of getting songs onto it was drag and drop. Assuming that's the same for the other iPods, getting all your music back on it, while annoying, isn't exactly the biggest hassle in the world. Unless you did extensive sorting ON the iPod seperate from iTunes, in which case it'd be a bigger pain.

[edited to answer the size question]

It's a 512. So it's the lowest of the low end. But still, the amount of music I can cram on there is awesome (Like I said, I have 70 tracks on there right now, but that could probably EASILY be 90 or a 100. Which, coincidentially, is the advertised limit.)

Small, cheap, low end, but it's perfect for me right now. And like I've said, while there are features like the LCD that I'd like to have, it's not something I can't do without.

[SHLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLURRRRRRRRRRRP]

uumm, apple tech support, I've just been dealing with them myself (more on that later) as I've recently had to replace my ac charging adapter (firewire) and the firewire cable....

it turns out that apple no longer sell the ac firewire adapter as they are moving over to USB2, ok I thought looks like i'm going to have the buy the USB2 cable as well....theres £40 ($72) gone just like that....

now I have a 3rd generation ipod, the one with the 4 buttons across the top, model before the ipod mini came out.

I called up the apple store to make sure the new parts I ordered (from them) would be compatible, they say yes, however they aren't, I plug the power adapter in, does it charge, nope. Plug the USB2 cable into my computer, does it connect, yes, does it charge (which they said it would via usb2 port which it is connected to), no....

so I am now faced with the situation that I have an ipod which I can connect to my computer but I can't charge, I've tried another 3rd generation ipod from a friend and the same situation arises....

So i call apple tech support and they say it could be either a faulty charger or faulty cable, or both, well lets hope so, but from a quick browse of the net their claim that you can charge a 3rd generation ipod via USB2 seems to be totally false....

so the main point of this post....is to moan that I couldn't just go and buy the firewire verison(s), they worked fine, are a better interface and allow charging through connection to the computer. Apple however have discontinued the product as they believe not enough PC users have firewire ports and so to make the ipod more 'appealing' to pc users they have moved all replacement products to USB2, bit of a bugger for those of us who want to use firewire....plus there is now that chance that if I do I large transfer my battery will give up the ghost before its finished....

i've noticed a slow change in apple over the past few years, its becoming the new microsoft and the change is speeding up!

My friend had 35gigs of music ripped straight from CD to his iPod, since his computer's HD was only 20GB. He lost ALL of his ripped music, meaning he now has TONS of CDs he's been forced to re-rip.

And an LCD screen definately doesn't boost battery life. My iRiver lasts a good 30 hours on 1 rechargable AA.

Of course, there are many many programs one can use to take music off the iPod and back onto your computer....

I never said it would boost battery life, I said it'd be nice so I could have a more accurate measure of how much battery life I have before I should recharge. Right now, all I have is a little LED on the backside that changes from green, to amber, to red, and finally off when the battery is totally dead. Now, while that's definately better than nothing, a meter that could give me a percentage would be even better.

As for your friend, having to re-rip and transfer over 20 gigs (35 - 20 - space on the HD for other stuff) isn't exactly fun, and it's probably also quite tedious, but I can't imagine it taking more than a few hours. Unless his CD drive is downright pokey.

I had this same problem when I tried to gas up my model T.

I was all "Do you guys have Ethel?"
They were all "No"
Then I said "WTFSAUCE!" and left.

I traded The Last Samurai for my iRock. Thinking about getting an iPod mini though...30 songs just isn't enough!

I love my Shuffle. I walked around a good part of the day with it playing. I'm a person who can't go for too long without music. It was total JOY to have it playing all day.

And then I had an awesome moment with it today. I had it on shuffle play, and as I walk into the IT building to head up to the computer lab, the Hitman: Contracts main theme starts playing. IMMEDIATELY everything suddenly looks like it's straight out of the game. I start seeing things like *I'M* the Hitman. I step into the elevator with another woman, who gives me a quick glance, and it felt as though my cover was in danger of being blown. Up one floor, and a cop gets on. Same deal as with the woman, only now I'm getting these visions of the Hitman coldly calculating ways to take both people out as soon as the elevator doors close. It was all I could do to keep from busting out laughing. Luckily, they both got off one floor before me, so I had a good 45 second laugh after the doors closed again.

Incredibly odd and hard to describe, but man... it was REALLY funny.

That's awesome Phoenix. I sent off my 10GB iPod off to Best Buy about 2 months ago because it stopped connecting to my computer (it wouldn't recognize it). After my pod getting lost at the warehouse, where a lot of confusion ensued, I finally got it back after 2 months. I try to plug it into my computer, but I get the same problem. I took it back yesterday, and they let me replace it with a 30GB iPod Photo.

Life is good.

It's funny, like everyone I know has an iPod and none of them have ever had any problems..