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September 10, 2004
One bad Apple?
In an earlier post, I whimsically considered hooking up with an old flame: A Mac. The new iMac G5s are hot, and I feel strong silicon lust in my heart for their minimalist beauty.
I was literally on the cusp of acting on my feelings when my iPod crashed. I took my iPod to the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. After a few minutes of diagnostics, the Apple guru gingerly held my 3,000-song player to his ear like a techno horse whisperer. After a few moments of quiet comprehension, he determined the iPod was dead and offered to replace my dearly beloved with a replacement on the spot. Great!
Just as the hand-off was about to occur, he noticed the engraving on the back.
"We can't replace engraved iPods here at the store," he said, quickly taking back the replacement unit. "Those iPods come from a different supplier, so you have to return it using our online system."
A perplexing proposition for a customer, certainly. Should I or anyone else care your product came from a different supplier? But I kept my game face on, even if the company was now going to charge me for shipping and handling because I paid extra for engraving.
I tracked my replacement iPod's progress using Apple's creaky online system. Sometimes the Apple website would have the case information, sometimes it turned up nothing. After two weeks, the site reported my case was "closed" and the replacement product had been shipped.
Then the shipper couldn't find me, even though I'd provided Apple with every form of contact information short of a hand-drawn map. Since Apple's online system doesn't include tracking numbers, I didn't know the shipping company was lost.
That's when I had to resort to Apple telephone support. They told me my iPod was lost. Then it was found. Then it was shipped back to Apple, where it was lost again. Then it was shipped to Alaska. Then Taiwan. Now my case file had "discrepancies." Often I would wait 20 minutes on hold while a technician received authorization to discuss my case with her supervisor. Three different times I was told my case was being "escalated." After the third escalation, I feared this promise because it usually meant led to more discrepancies. The technicians I spoke with were always friendly and apologetic. But the resignation in their voices telegraphed their powerlessness.
Six weeks later, after eight or nine phone calls, and more than seven hours on the phone, still no iPod.
I accept the inherent gamble with new technology that it sometimes breaks; Apple's leading-edge products are not immune to that bet. Its promise of insanely great product design is one thing; wasting the equivalent of a customer's entire work day tracking a single piece of equipment because of poorly designed support systems is insanity of another sort.
If this is what it's like to be an Apple customer, I'll pass for now.
Other blogs that reference One bad Apple?:
Ah yes, the assumption that when shit happens it means that shit always happens. Quickly followed by since shit happened this time it means shit will always happen to me.
Yours is the exception, not the rule. Of course the true answer is to deal with a local company with local ties. To Apple (and Dell and another other mail order company) you are a faceless voice on the phone. To me you are a valued customer whose repeat business I'll work hard to earn.
I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but it's not typical of apple, which usually leads surveys in customer satisfaction. Please see
Study: Apple, Dell lead PC customer satisfaction
http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/08/24/HNappledelllead_1.html
and http://www.asponline.com/awards.html
The Association of Support Professionals (ASP) has announced the winners of its seventh annual "Ten Best Web Support Sites" competition, a prestigious award that showcases excellence in online service and support.
My experience may be the exception, but it's the most contextual experience I have.
Granted, I'm venting in this post (and I feel much better, thank you). But since Apple products are typically more expensive than competitors' products, shouldn't the Apple experience be better, too? Is that not part of the deal?
In the bigger picture, can Apple, or any company for that matter, afford seven hours of customer support for a $299 product because of internal accounting rules and inadequate support systems?
"In the bigger picture, can Apple, or any company for that matter, afford seven hours of customer support for a $299 product because of internal accounting rules and inadequate support systems?"
The answer is no. That is how you know that your experience was the exception. If everyone had an experience like yours, Apple would be out of business. In just about every objective study, Apple service comes out best in the industry. It's your choice if you don't want another Apple product now, but for what it is worth, I have not had the need to use Apple service once in fourteen years of using Apple products.
Well, I sent my PowerBook in for service. Apple overnighted me a box, I sent it off (to Texas), it was repaired, and overnighted back to me. I think the computer was gone for three days tops. That's what it's like to be an Apple customer in my experience.
(I'm not even sure why anybody would engrave an iPod. It's not like a watch you keep for the rest of your life. I'm probably gonna live to be 80 or something, but an iPod will be lucky if its owner keeps it for 5 years. I probably will go through 10 iPods before I die. I will engrave the last one...not the first one.)
For what it's worth, I had the opposite experience. My iPod Mini was freezing on me. I got on Apple's support site, reported the problem, received a shipping box, sent the iPod back and had it back a few days later. The problem persisted after the repair. I reported the problem again with more detail, went through the same process and had my now working iPod in hand less than a week later. It's been fine ever since.
What's interesting is that a week or so after the second repair I was in a local Apple Store and mentioned my experience. I was told that they would have been happy to handle it for me, even though mine had been personalized by the online Apple Store. That might have saved a couple of days of waiting for the shipping box to arrive. And they probably would have done a better job of reporting the problem than I did on the first round, which might have saved me the repeat performance.
I see that the well-documented community of Mac evangelists is alive and well. My thanks to those who took the time to share their experiences.
While I don't necessarily agree with all of the defenses (pugnacious retorts don't exactly change the mind of a stranger), there's tangible value for organizations to arm its most ardent customers with data -- both internal and external -- for building cases, defending positions or contributing to growth.
Looking forward, perhaps Apple could tap into this vibrant community and open-source its web-based customer support system.
Quick update: I received a nice email from an Apple employee Monday commiserating with my iPod problem. He said he would try to help out. Glad to see that Apple people do web-based outreach.
Also, my last conversation with Apple tech support said my iPod should arrive Sept. 13 (it didn't) or Sept. 14 (we'll see).
Sept. 14 update: No iPod today, as Apple tech support had promised last week. A 30-minute call today (with escalation, of course) produced this response: "It's still being processed. Call back on Thursday to find out what the status is."
I'm beginning to wonder if "escalation" is the same as "Retsin," the magical substance in Certs that doesn't really do anything.
My Apple experience has a terrific ending. New post coming soon.
Ben, you should know better than to rouse the ire of the Apple devotees. They’ll be on you like killer bees!
I must now admit, Apple has slowly one me over and I have recently jumped in with both feet. I now own four Apple products (PowerMac G5, PowerBook, Mini iPod and FinalCut Express) and I have to say I have been delighted with each. While Dell has perfected nearly every business process imaginable to deliver quality at a reasonable price, I think you will find few people who are passionate about their Dell PC (full disclosure: I also own a perfectly good Dell).
Apple has won me over with their innovative style and technical design (have you seen the inside of a PowerMac!...and how is it that Apple can squeeze a DVD drive into a 12” laptop while its PC counterparts required out-boarded attachments…and OS X, an easy-to-use OS with the stability of UNIX…Safari’s tabbed browsing…the iPod…the new iMac…the list goes on and on).
Apple has carved out niches by understanding that in commodity markets, you can win customers by offering products that enrich lifestyle rather than just offering pure business machines. Have you noticed that in each market Apple plays in, they are the technical and industrial design innovators and how their designs often trickle down to completely unrelated products (how many products copied the eMac’s colored translucent shell)?
Here’s the fly in the ointment (and this is my opinion). Apple has concentrated so much time and energy on the leading-edge stuff (design and technical development) that the business-end of things seem wanting in comparison (inventory control, production, customer service, etc.). In these areas, from personal experience, Apple is inconsistent at best, and in some cases, just plain incompetent (e.g. your iPod experience) whereas Dell has nailed these areas. Another example: when was the last time a new Apple product shipped on time and in quantities to meet demand?
My old faithful Dell is like a dependable pickup truck. It just plain works and I can’t imagine needing a new one for years to come. My Mac is like a Porche. I don’t need it, but I just want it because it is damn exciting to drive. That’s why Apple got my money this time around. But like a Porche, you don’t want it to break because you know you’ll be in for some pain. Hopefully Apple will come around on their customer service processes, and if they can’t do it on their own, they need to do some serious recruiting in Round Rock.
Buy the Mac Ben. You know you want it. And since when has a company’s incompetence in some areas (have you said enough about Tivo yet?) kept you from buying highly customer-evangelized products. Your iPod may have failed you, but have you noticed how much time and energy you’ve put into getting it back? It’s like you’re going through withdrawal.
P.S. Congrats to Jackie on the new pup!
I really don't care how much you people love Macs and Apple products--it does not change the fact that Apple does, in fact, practice unfair business practices, and I'm a victim of their smarmy, uncaring practices.
I purchased the Applecare package in February, along with my laptop and Airport card. When my airport card went bad and needed replacing, I was told to give them a credit card and that they wouldn't charge it--they just needed the old airport card. Well, they received their old airport card--which I paid for in shipping, since the so-called shipping label was not usable, and they are on the opposite coast; they sent a new one, but they also charged me for the airport card and a "late" fee: 99 dollars PLUS 47 dollars. Complaints have produced nothing. Considering the fact that the Applecare package is about 320 dollars, and that they received their old card to refurbish, I'd say Apple is probably quite sophisticated in perpetuating fraud against many, many people, and counting on the shouts of the Mac evangelicals to silence those who have been cheated out of their hard-earned cash.
You may want hear about my bad experience with Apple and Shipping companies. I'll just post a link because it's a very long story. Not sure you would like me to copy and paste here 11.000 words :-)
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=102995
Painful experience.
Sorry to stale-post, but I thought I'd add another note of Apple disgruntlement to the thread.
I got suckered by the brick and mortar Apple retail store at the mall.
They had fancy displays and big shelves full of speaker systems for Ipods, and I bought a portable system designed for my husbands ipod.
SUCKERED! You can't return it to the store if it doesn't work right, not even the day after purchase.
I went in for an exchange, and was refused, told to deal with Altec, as if I had purchased the thing from a discount wharehouse.
Where is the placquard on the display saying "buy at own risk - sold AS IS, may not work and you can't return it here"?
There is no disclaimer on the receipt either - in fact it's worded so that the gullible consumer thinks Apple is like any other retail store, and an item that doesn't work right out of the box can be exchanged(as I wanted) or refunded at the point of purchase.
Talk about creating bad blood. We just dropped several grand in that store. Now I feel like standing around by the displays warning peopleoff from buying the ipod accessories there- if it's screwed up, apple doesn't stand by the printers and cameras and keyboard and mice and speakers they sell in their store.
It's the lottery - if the product doen't work like its supposed to right out of the box, you can't get another without shipping it away to some third party manufacturer and waiting weeks hoping that something else won't go wrong.
I just think that's unacceptable for a retail store.
I expectd to be able to exchange an unsatisfactory product for a new one a day after the orignial purchase.
This is not acceptable to me, and I am mad, and I won't buy anything like that from an Apple store again, and I will warn anyone about to do the same to put the box down and step away from the store.
And HOWCOME they have a table of " AS IS" labeled third party products and refreshed Apple products, when ALL the products sold in the store not made by apple are AS IS ?
I feel screwed with.
Wow... I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who's had problems with Apple. I paid $59 for the extended warrenty on my iPod. Recently it died, so I sent it in for repair. Apple is claiming that I've abused the thing and consequently that I've somehow voided my warrenty. THIS IS PURE CRAP. I've kept that thing in a carrying case since the day I bought it. I've USED by iPod, but I've not ABUSED my iPod. This is just their way of getting out of fixing the problem.
I will NEVER buy another Apple product again...
well i have been a die hard fan of apple since childhood. they have always worked on innovative ideas .they have never been a mass player which raises there exclusivity qutient quit high .i live in new delhi .there is virtually no presence of apple there .but there way of approaching things n their products character has already won the hearts of the youth here .we here r dying to lay our hands on the great apple products as soon as they are offered. waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh
Wow, I'm disappointed to see that I'm not alone. My Appple story is the silliest customer service fiasco I've had and it happens to be w/Apple-iTunes.
My AOL account (which I was using to access iTunes) expired and I have been trying to switch to a regular iTunes account. I've got $34.00 in that account and not only will they not provide service to create a new account, they won't even just send me a check & be done with it.
Nice to know that Apple is hurting so much that they need to steal money from me!
Now, I need to search for an iPod replacement. Oh, I forgot to mention that my iPod battery only lasts 2.5 hours ... of course, that's not Apple's problem either.
I also have been getting the runaround from Apple. I was charged 126 dollars for not sending my old Ipod shuffle back after receiving the replacement in 10 days. Even though after hours on hold, they have acknowledged receiving the old Ipod and that they would credit my account, it has been two weeks and I have yet to see anything. I would hate to boycott them since I am a recent convert to Mac and enjoy the products immensely. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. The best thing I can do is just boycott Ipod products in the future.
I also have been getting the runaround from Apple. I was charged 126 dollars for not sending my old Ipod shuffle back after receiving the replacement in 10 days. Even though after hours on hold, they have acknowledged receiving the old Ipod and that they would credit my account, it has been two weeks and I have yet to see anything. I would hate to boycott them since I am a recent convert to Mac and enjoy the products immensely. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. The best thing I can do is just boycott Ipod products in the future.
I saw one of those ads for a free Ipod and caved I’ve been dreaming about the video Ipod for ages now. I was a little skeptical as the name of the site was www.ipodconspiracy.com but I read there terms and conditions carefully and decided to sign up for a free trial at stamps.com. After 5 phone calls to friends where I promised that I would cancel there free trials after I got my Ipod I was set. To my great surprise I actually got my Ipod three weeks later. That’s when the problem began. It worked fine for about a week. Then regardless of what was playing a high pitched defining scream was the only thing that would my Ipod would play. After two trips to the apple store I was first told yes they could replace it then no they couldn’t. I called apple support, from the amount of time I spent on hold I think that all the video ipods must be breaking. Finally I thought I would contact ipodconspiracy.com I sent them an email that said my ipod was broken and to please send me another one. And they did LOL. I didn’t even have to send my old one back (which I think I’ve got a good chance of getting apple to replace).
My iPod broke a couple months ago. Wasn't quite sure what to do (didn't know if Apple would figure out that I dropped it) but my warranty was running out, so I finally filled out their online repair form. They sent me a box in less than two days. I put the iPod in there and sent it off. I get an email a day or two later saying it had been replaced and had been shipped back to me. At the time I was thinking "wow, they handled this pretty well". The email said to allow two days for it to arrive. It didn't. A few more days, still nothing. A week, nothing. Wrote to DHL (their somewhat-lazy shipping friends), they said it was "lost". It arrived at their facility near here, but now they can't find it. Those were DHL's words, anyway. I'm guessing it means it was stolen or something (honestly, how does a shipping company lose a package? dealing with packages is their JOB). Thought maybe they'd "find" it and get it to me, but it's still not here, so I think I'm going to have to call Apple. I just hope they send me another one without blaming it on someone else.
I have a negative complaint about Apple's customer service to the Ipod. Recently my iPod stop working and erased all the songs of it. My computer wouldn't recognize the iPod. I re-installed the apple cd for it, etc. So I called Apple to get help for, but it seems that you can only get assists for one-time free assistance 90 days after the purchase. After that, you have to either pay 49.95 for a one time incident or 69.95 for year assistance (maybe it was 2 year, I lost interest after I heard how much it would cost). I am sorry but after spending more than 200 dollars on an iPod, I don't think a user should pay 50 dollars or more to get help with it. It’s like being hey you spend a few hundred to thousands on your lab top, but after 90 days you have to pay 100 bucks to get any technical assistance. That in my opinion is RIDICULOUS! I am not going to pay ¼ of the cost to get help, if things keep happening to the iPod that I didn’t know how to fix or getting work I am going to end up spending the same amount in purchasing the iPod.
I had one of the earliest iPod photo 60GB , at one of the highest prices. This I don't mind. So before my first years warranty expired, I obtained a AppleCare Protection Plan (begged from my friend). In Dec 2006, I waz unable to register online so I called up apple to ask how to register. They told me I had told them the wrong number (the machine had been replaced once). So I re-checked and supplied them the new serial no. with the Protection Plan no. I ask if there was anything else I needed to do and they told me the process was completed and nothing else needed to be done or posted.
In March, the iPod dies, thankfully I had the warranty extended. So I take the machine to the repair center, the say they cannot find my record. So I proceed to the Apple service centre above to locate my warranty record. They found nothing, how can a company give this level of service to customer? How can they treat customer record so carelessly? Is this the level of support they give to people? Should I tell everyone to extend their warranty by taking their machines to Apple head office every single instance and get written proof? They contractually owe me a service aggrement and denying it is a breach of contract. I am furious. I will take serious consideration of who I will chose/recommend for portable music players from now on.
Here was my experience....I swore by Apple up until this point..now I think of them as a worthless company.
So my Ipod died a few weeks ago and I sent it in for repair because I couldn't get it running again. I called Apple and they told me to send it in to get it fixed. The box arrived and I finally had to make the choice of pulling my Ipod out of the speck skin it was in to send it back. So I pull it out and it's like the day I bought it...crystal clear and looking oh so sweet. So I packed it up and shipped it off to Apple. Oh I should say that it died and wouldn't come back on no matter what I tried. I got it back about 5 days later with a letter stating that they found nothing wrong with it and it should be working fine now. That was all fine and dandy but then I looked at my Ipod and saw all the SCRATCHES AND BANGS...wtf? So I call Apple thinking that they would admit the wrong and would want to replace my ipod. I immediately get the excuse..."how do we know you didn't make them and are trying to get a new ipod out of it?" How do I know? Cause I take care of my stuff for one and then I don't do things like that for another. The promise me they'll look into it and see what happened PLUS they promise the infamous we'll call you back with an answer tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and goes without a call. I call "noah" (who's handling my claim) and get his voicemail. I leave a message for him to call me back...no call. So I call again...no return call. I let it go a few more days then call Kami from Solutions. She promises an answer that day. She informs me she has sent out an email to 10 other supervisors and that someone will call me back. Nope..sorry no call. I call again and get ahold of another tech and explain my situation. He informs me that when something goes back to Apple for repairs all of it's history is wrote down. Even if someone damages it they are supposed to write it down even though they won't get penalized for it. hmmmm...suspicious. Is this an escape goat to get out of them having to repair it? I try to argue with the guy stating that not everyone is honest these days and some people wouldn't put stuff like that down in the history if they are afraid they would get fired. He says thats not possible because they have honest employees there...IF there were honest employees working for Apple then my Ipod would not have come back damaged!!!!! I told him I wanted to speak to a supervisor and he said everyone in his office is a supervisor and would give me the same answer. I told him when someone buys a $500 Ipod...to some people thats a lot of money and that they would take care of the equipment then..no dice...he used the same "legal" excuse that since nobody at Apple recorded that they damaged it they weren't going to support it. That's great...you know I was going to buy a Macbook pro in the next month BUT this has since soured me on Apple products. What happens if my Macbook cant' be repaired by me and needs sent back to Apple? Does it come back fixed and in worse shape like my Ipod? Sorry I can't take that chance..especially when all you hear are excuses...I work in IT and hear that same stuff everyday. When I hear that it's time to hunt down a better product and a company who stands behind it. My reason for posting this is to find out if anyone else has had the same dealings with Apple before and if you have how you got it resolved. I doubt this post will stay up long...Apple will probably take it down cause it's negative publicity for them but oh well. My email is illusoryRMX@hotmail.com if you'd like to write me. Thanks all!
So my Ipod died a few weeks ago and I sent it in for repair because I couldn't get it running again. I called Apple and they told me to send it in to get it fixed. The box arrived and I finally had to make the choice of pulling my Ipod out of the speck skin it was in to send it back. So I pull it out and it's like the day I bought it...crystal clear and looking oh so sweet. So I packed it up and shipped it off to Apple. Oh I should say that it died and wouldn't come back on no matter what I tried. I got it back about 5 days later with a letter stating that they found nothing wrong with it and it should be working fine now. That was all fine and dandy but then I looked at my Ipod and saw all the SCRATCHES AND BANGS...wtf? So I call Apple thinking that they would admit the wrong and would want to replace my ipod. I immediately get the excuse..."how do we know you didn't make them and are trying to get a new ipod out of it?" How do I know? Cause I take care of my stuff for one and then I don't do things like that for another. The promise me they'll look into it and see what happened PLUS they promise the infamous we'll call you back with an answer tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and goes without a call. I call "noah" (who's handling my claim) and get his voicemail. I leave a message for him to call me back...no call. So I call again...no return call. I let it go a few more days then call Kami from Solutions. She promises an answer that day. She informs me she has sent out an email to 10 other supervisors and that someone will call me back. Nope..sorry no call. I call again and get ahold of another tech and explain my situation. He informs me that when something goes back to Apple for repairs all of it's history is wrote down. Even if someone damages it they are supposed to write it down even though they won't get penalized for it. hmmmm...suspicious. Is this an escape goat to get out of them having to repair it? I try to argue with the guy stating that not everyone is honest these days and some people wouldn't put stuff like that down in the history if they are afraid they would get fired. He says thats not possible because they have honest employees there...IF there were honest employees working for Apple then my Ipod would not have come back damaged!!!!! I told him I wanted to speak to a supervisor and he said everyone in his office is a supervisor and would give me the same answer. I told him when someone buys a $500 Ipod...to some people thats a lot of money and that they would take care of the equipment then..no dice...he used the same "legal" excuse that since nobody at Apple recorded that they damaged it they weren't going to support it. That's great...you know I was going to buy a Macbook pro in the next month BUT this has since soured me on Apple products. What happens if my Macbook cant' be repaired by me and needs sent back to Apple? Does it come back fixed and in worse shape like my Ipod? Sorry I can't take that chance..especially when all you hear are excuses...I work in IT and hear that same stuff everyday. When I hear that it's time to hunt down a better product and a company who stands behind it. My reason for posting this is to find out if anyone else has had the same dealings with Apple before and if you have how you got it resolved. I doubt this post will stay up long...Apple will probably take it down cause it's negative publicity for them but oh well. My email is illusoryRMX@hotmail.com if you'd like to write me. Thanks all!
Hi everyone,
I have just had a customer service experience from the deepest darkest pits of hell!
Back in March 27 folks, can you remember back that far??? My brand new ipod died, it was within 90 days warranty so I sent it back. They send it back to me saying I had done something to it and it was covered. What a load of absolute excrament. So I take it into a reseller and get an instant replacement! Brilliant.
Now, the fight begins to get $20 back that APPLE charged me to pick up the IPOD they had never repaired.
Every phone call I made to them I was told my refund was on its way, or the incompetent staff hung up on me, or kept me on hold for count it, 55 minutes one time! An hour of my life I'll never get back.
Just had another incident with these people and guess what? They don't actually know where my refund is! All to not pay a customer $20 they had originally charged me incorrectly.
I used to think Microsoft were the evil that men do, but I think Apple now sit at their right hand.
To all Apple customer service people, rot in the pits of hell.
Guys, looks like this might help you in your troubles.. i have used them once before with succces.
www.ipodrepairguide.com
I share the frustration regarding Apple's customer support. It took me an average of 25 minutes (maximum time was as high as 40 minutes) on the phone before I could talk to the Apple agent who told me they could not locate my iPod. So much wasted time. Did not expect this from Apple. They have put all their money into their design department and virtually none in the customer service. Terrible experience.
Here is my take on some strong alternatives to the iPOD by Apple: http://myipodsforfree.blogspot.com/2006/09/strong-alternatives-to-ipod.html.
I'm sorry about your horrible experience with Apple. So far, I'm still satisfied with the way they cater customers... Perhaps, it depends on the store or the csr who handles the prob? ain't it?
The resellers are your best bet anyway. They want your business worse than Apple, because their salaries depend on their sales. They want you satisfied.
I am a hard core PC fan. Recently I broke down and bought a video iPod. I LOVE IT!!! I am thinking very seriously about extending my apple collection to a mac notebook. However, after reading some of the posts on here, I am thinking I am lucky to own a PC. Hmmm... I guess I'll investigate futher.
Ipod they arn't that good
Soooo AWESOME
Pros: It does everything you can think of and want on an mp3/4 player. Even the integrated speakers are pretty good. And unlike the ipod and some other mp3s i know of where the battery is built in, you can actually replace the lithium battery yourself from a little batter door in the back. You can store all your files on it like a USB flash drive while using it for videos, sharing your photos, playing music, and if you get tired of the music you have on it you can always use the fm radio. The picture quality is really phenominal. Every screen is animated with fantastic color and backlight. Oh and did I mention that it is so small and light weight. the design leaves less room for controls and buttons and more for the display screen, which is a fantastic use of space allowing this to be kept small. It even has a voice recorder for my work meetings and class lectures. (even though I really bought this for my son;))
Cons: They only have up to 2GB's but for most people this is fantastic. And the manual is not very helpful. Luckily I am computer savy and figured out how to work it with my pc and convert the files for it, but this may be difficult for many. My son could not do it himself (maybe with continued pratice). The video player does have this slight delay so the quality is a little distorted, but for the price and considering you are not watching a 50" tv screen it is just great to have.
Other thought: While i hate apple ipods after seeing this, they do include a software which makes it easier for technically deficient people to e able to use it. I really wish they had this kind of thing in the stores here. By the time you actually find an mp3/4 player with video player , photo, voice recorder, and fm in a store down here you are going to pay ATLEAST 200.
If you want one go here
"The Place For All Your MP4 Needs"
http://www.mp4direct.org/
My friend has had a lot of problems with his apple products. So has my brother. I enjoyed you blog very much and thought it was interesting.
I have an original nintendo blog at http://classicvideogamereviews.blogspot.com
Have a great day.
Good.. it isn't just me...
http://www.denvertvguy.com/2007/12/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do.html
Greg
denvertvguy.com
