iPutz

IT IS the gadget that no fashion-conscious bright young thing can afford to be seen without.

But two years after Britain fell in love with the iPod there are signs that the pocket-sized box that transformed the way millions listen to music is beginning to lose its shine.

Internet chatrooms are carrying accounts of "unreliable machines", while questions are being asked about working conditions in the Chinese factories where they are made.

The "very significant" fall in public confidence is highlighted in new figures from YouGov's brand awareness index, which show a steady fall in the popularity of the Apple brand.

Source

The Daughter and I each have one. The Daughter got hers first, Christmas '04. It ran great about a year then croaked. They gave her a new one - no questions asked. That one went about two and a half months. They gave her a new one - no questions asked. That one went about two months. They gave her a new one - no questions asked. The first one had a year long warrantee - each of the replacements had 3 month warantees. They could not offer any advice concerning what may be causing the problem. It's always the same problem - a harddrive failure. She's careful with it, we put it in one of those padded sleeves...

I got mine Christmas '05. So far so good...