Last week, I got a new iPod Video 80GB from eBay, and in the process of transferring my media a number of things caught my attention. Some of these are known about already, but they're things "I Don't Like About iTunes and iPod". I'm covering these in a few separate posts, as I've got quite a bit to say on the subject.
Firstly, the failure of the old iPod. Okay, this bit's the average iPod rant... nothing new here.
I've bought three iPods for myself now: a 20GB G3, a 60GB Photo, and this new 80GB Video. However, I've owned more like six, thanks to AppleCare warranty replacements. Although I'm known for having a "negative aura" when it comes to hardware (and am seen by some of my peers as the ultimate hardware tester), I've been careful with the iPods. All have had an approved skin or case (usually an silicone iSkin), and have been treated well. I haven't gone hiking, underwater or into space with them, or even regular commuting. No significant drops either. Even so, they keep failing. I still haven't experienced the infamous battery problem, as none of my iPods have lasted long enough.
Last time, I took my 11-and-a-half month old iPod Photo 60GB on holiday with me to the Caribbean. It started the "click of death" about one day into the trip. I checked the warranty and I had only about a week left: it would expire before I got back to civilisation. So, I called my friend Henry to ask him to call AppleCare and ask them to let me buy the one-year extension when I got back. They did.
Promptly, the iPod started working again. I have no idea how Apple managed to reset the warranty trip remotely. I'm guessing they have a satellite to do this.
Anyway, it worked fine all year. There were no signs of failure, so I couldn't really get it fixed. Last month, the extended warranty ran out again, and shortly afterwards, the click of death started again. Within a day, it wasn't reliable enough to sync.
So, off to eBay I go. To justify the cost of a new iPod, I sold my seldom-used PSP and games, plus the old iPod (clearly marked as faulty) and accessories which don't fit the new iPod anyway.
I've now got a new iPod Video 80GB, which seems okay. I'm not sure whether to buy AppleCare, but I'll put that off until around this time next year.