The Ars Technica stress test of the new Apple Nano seemed pretty thorough to us. The little Nano survived being chucked from a moving car! But maybe they should have just tried sitting down with the Nano in their pocket… According to this BBC article, the legions of Nano buyers, trembling with anticipation over the tiny marvel (”precious… precious….”), are now shaking with rage at the fact that their new babies are as fragile as a Ritz cracker. Is this a surprise to anyone? Granted, all iPods are made from space-age polymers, but anything that thin has got to be a bit brittle. Here’s my favorite quote:

“My Nano broke on day four. The screen that is. It shattered. It was in my pocket as I was walking and I sat down. No, I didn’t sit on it, it was just in my pocket just as all iPod’s before it have done.”

Sorry, was there some Apple guarantee that the Nano can withstand the same physical conditions as it’s brick-like older sibling? Would you sit down with your new sunglasses in your pocket? The quote is from Matthew Peterson, who is so irate about his broken Nano that he started a website to collect similar stories — of which there seem to be quite a few. There are some amusing comments and plenty of apparently credible accounts that will scare even the most ardent Apple-lover off the Nano until the next release (if there is one). As for Matthew, he seems to have become a sort of Michael Moore about this issue… a “Nano Moore,” if you will (terrible).

I will agree that, Peterson’s story does not speak well of Apple customer service. I’ve had similar experiences myself. For a certain (large) audience, Apple’s design idolatry is justification enough for mediocre customer service and platform exclusivity. But imagine what Apple could do if they were known as much for their flexibility and openess as they are for design…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 27th, 2005 at 10:22 am and is filed under General.