There may be some disappointment today regarding the Apple recall of first generation iPod nanos. When news of the worldwide recall due to a battery issue first came to light there was a lot of talk that the replacements could well be the latest iPod nano. However it seems that’s not to be and that Apple will instead be supplying iPod nano 1G replacements, a move that may disappoint the owners concerned.
News of the recall came at the weekend when original iPod nano owners found that there was a small risk of the device’s battery overheating with a possibility that it could actually catch on fire. Apple asked owners of the iPod nanos concerned to stop using them and detailed that the devices concerned in the recall were first-generation iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006. The Apple website said, “This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages.”
The recall does not affect any other iPod nanos than the first-generation models. You can check out the Apple iPod nano replacement program details here, as reported by Charlie White over on Mashable, and you’ll see that you can order a replacement via the web where your can check your iPod nano serial number to make sure it’s eligible for the replacement. Although a recall is a pain many consumers got pretty excited about the idea of being able to replace their 5-year-old iPod nanos with a shiny brand new one, especially as the consensus seemed to be that the replacements issued may be the latest iPod nanos.
Mashable for example, said that while it had not been confirmed which replacement models would be sent, they presumed that Apple wouldn’t be digging up old iPod nano saying “If our guess is correct, you’ll be able to trade in that old beat-up and scratched-up iPod for a shiny new one.” A report on Beatweek also spoke about the iPod nano 1G replacement program and while saying it was not yet clear which model consumers would be receiving instead also said, “Apple ceased selling the black and white hued original nano five years ago. The company likely kept some stock around for inventory replacement for at least another year, but any trace of first gen nano inventory is long gone by now. So unless Apple has taken the extraordinary (and expensive) step of putting the original nano back into limited production just to fulfill this replacement program, participants are likely to receive something much more modern in return.”
Sadly though a later update on Mashable points out that they attempted to contact Apple officials with the question of replacements with no success. When they eventually contacted Apple Support and asked if replacements would be new iPod nanos they were told “Your guess is a good as mine.” Finally however they did receive further communication from Apple who confirmed that the replacements from the company would be first-generation iPod nanos. This news will no doubt disappoint many who had hoped for a free trade up to a later iPod nano. At least though if you find a first-gen nano that you’d forgotten about you’ll be able to get a shiny new replacement even if its not the latest model.
We’d like to hear your thought on this. Did you get excited about a more recent iPod nano replacement? Do you feel a bit letdown that you’ll be receiving an old model that hasn’t been sold in five years instead? Let us know with your comments.