Apple Computer Inc. faces a lawsuit that alleges the company knew ahead of time that its nano portable music player was defective but still decided to press on with the product's release last month.
Apple Computer officially acknowledged last month that the screens on some of its new iPod nano units were prone to scratching and cracking. The company agreed to replace units with a cracked screen free of charge.
The lawsuit apparently depends on a judge to decide whether it can be grouped with other complaints to win class action status. Sales of iPods account for almost a third of Apple's sales.
The credit card-sized nano, which replaced the best-selling iPod mini and is smaller than the traditional iPod and met with rave reviews on September 7. The music player uses flash memory and can hold up to 1000 songs in its four-gigabyte offering. The company sees the nano as a replacement for its bestselling iPod mini.
But users quickly started grumbling on Internet message boards that the device's screen scratches too easily.
The lawsuit, filed in San Jose, California on Wednesday, claims that the nano scratches "excessively during normal usage." It alleges that though Apple knew the nano had design problems, it released the product and led consumers to believe it was durable -- forcing them to shoulder the cost of replacing defective music players.
The complaint blames the nano's defectiveness on the film of plastic resin that covers it to protect it from damage. Previous versions of the iPod were coated with thicker and stronger resin, the suit alleges.
In most individual cases Apple has been telling customers that the scratches and cracks were covered under warranty. Standard warranties on most electronic products do not normally cover cosmetic damage such as scratches or accidental damage such as cracks. Users with a cracked screen can now contact Apple for a free replacement.
Apple's iPod has a share of about 75 percent of the U.S. market for MP3 players.
The plaintiff named in the California lawsuit, Jason Tomczak, bought a nano in September. He said it quickly became so scratched he could not view the screen.
Apple replaced that device because of a battery problem, but the complaint claims the replacement nano also became so scratched that Tomczak decided to return it.
Because Tomczak and other complainants were required to pay a $25 fee to return the nano, the proposed class action suit seeks the return of those fees along with the original cost of the device and several other forms of damages, according to Reuters.
-- Compiled from wire reports
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