Apple is being taken to court for the poor quality build materials on the iPod nano. Though Apple claims that the clear plastic used on the front of the device is the same as it has been on all other devices, the high number of complaints from users claiming that their nano's are far too sensitive to scratches might indicate otherwise.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California in San Jose on Wednesday, will bring before the courts the same complaints recently voiced by nano adopters on websites and online message boards.

According to the Red Herring, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of nano owner Jason Tomczak and others who have purchased the relatively new device. The lawsuit alleges Tomczak rubbed a paper towel on the face of his nano and ?that alone left significant scratches.?p>In the suit, lawyers for the plaintiffs charge that screens on the nano ?scratch excessively during normal usage, rendering the screen on the Nanos unreadable, and violating state consumer protection statutes [...] and causing Plaintiff class members to incur loss of use and monetary damages.?p>The suit goes on to allege that the player's screen "scratches so excessively that the items shown on the screen can no longer be viewed by the user. In fact, if users were to put their nanos in their pockets with common items such as coins, keys, a money clip, a credit card, or even the earphones that accompany the nano, the devices would likely scratch so badly that viewing the screens would be extremely difficult, if not impossible."

While it is unfortunate to think that anyone who has just paid $249 for a brand new product must purchase protection for it to keep it in at least acceptable condition beyond two weeks of use, new things regardless of what they are will start to look not new after some time (fancy that). It is difficult for some iPod owners to accept this because the product they bought is so unnaturally beautiful to begin with. Whereas most people might not worry so much about a scratch on their cell phone, the iPod reflects wear more just because of its good looks.

I have owned a nano for almost a month now and can conclue that the scratching is not much of a problem. I kept a clear piece of sticky plastic over the screen for a while before deciding it looked rather goofy, and my bare nano after two weeks is just as usable as it was before. Granted there are hair line marks when I view it at certain angles with light reflecting off of it, but that definitely does not make it any less functional.

Then again, I definitely would not complain if Apple were to send me a new one as part of a recall with a more resilient screen, because I can be sure to see quite a few more scratches within a year of use as it is now.

It will be fun to watch where this goes.

Article Link: iPod nano owners sue Apple over screen issues

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