BIG Problem with iPhone and Battery Replacement

According to an Associated Press story, a consumer advocacy group has just noticed some unpleasant fine print on doing an iPhone deal: you can't replace the iPhone battery yourself, as it's soldered into the unit! If you do need it replaced, it's $79 plus $6.95 for shipping and takes three business days. Oh, and while it's out at the shop, you can get a loaner - for another $29.

What in the name of all that is holy were these people thinking? Let's tally it: You pay either $500 or $600 for the phone, you have to get a $60 per month AT&T service plan, and now you've got to pay for someone else to replace the battery? And to bury that information so it took some careful deep reading by some technology bloggers and a consumer advocacy group to learn of the scheme is simply trying to distract people long enough so they can get stuck.

Now let's look at some of the other idiosyncracies of this battery replacement process that I didn't see in the AP story:

• The total of $85.95 is subject to local tax, which, I'm guessing, means that if there's an Apple office or store in your state, you're paying.


• "Service may not be available if your iPhone has been damaged due to accident or abuse." I wonder what "abuse" can mean? Oh, so sorry, but there's a scratch on your iPhone and we think you may have abused it (you bad, bad person), so we can't replace the battery. Have you considered buying a new one? Does this seem a bit too Machiavellian? Absolutely - but then, I never would have thought that a glorified cell phone would have a battery soldered into the case. Oh, and if Apple decides, according to its service policy, that iPhones "that have serial numbers altered, defaced or removed or that are damaged due to accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, fire, acts of God or other external causes," it can send them back and charge a $100 "Diagnostic Fee."


• The replacement process is going to wipe all the data off your phone! So if the battery dies before you get a chance to back everything up, you're out of luck.

Apple has shown signs of incredible arrogance in dealing with other companies, the press, and even with its users over the years, demanding draconian conditions, generally keeping prices artificially high by not licensing hardware or software, and in some cases (like the iPhone) offering fewer features than competing products for more money because, I'll admit it, they're great at marketing. But this is ridiculous. I have a question for Steve Jobs: how long does this servicing really take, and how much profit will Apple make from it? Isn't locking people into more expensive hardware from your company enough? Oh, I think he already answered that.