This is just some guy thinking he can make a quick buck with a law suit. Just because you have to give Apple the phone to replace the battery, doesn't make them liable for anything. Besides, 400 charges? I charge my Blackbery twice a week. 400 would last me just fine (an $80 battery after 2-3 year of use, petty cash as far as I'm concerned).

Does a car salesman tell you when you buy a car that the battery will eventually need to be replaced? If you buy a cell phone from any other company they probably won't tell you that the battery may need to be replaced. That should be common knowledge. I don't agree with making it so that it has to be sent in to be changed but the iPod is the same way.

ok, show me one battery that does not deteriorate with use. this is so stupid, what an idiot.

This guy couldn't do a little research before making a purchase? His gripe is worth, at most, the price he paid for his iPhone.

for being a complete idiot...

-c

This is pathetically *STUPID* Product oversight! I don't care about the battery not lasting long, I could care less, but not being able to replace my phone's battery by myself!?!!? SCREW APPLE!

I tell ya, lawyers will be the end of us all.

Common sense > lawyers

Honestly, there's no reason they should have sealed the battery up, when they know that it will loose charge. It's begging for trouble.

For once in a very long while, I'm hoping someone filing a lawsuit wins.

"Of course it's common knowledge ..."

i think that pretty much summerizes it up .. but then again lawyers will try anything they can for a buck

Get a life and quit chasing ambulances

What kind of idiot would make a phone with the battery not easily replaceable? Talk about poor engineering. If it hadn't been for this and the lack of 3G support and no real keyboard I would have gotten an iphone.

And people wonder why lawyers are HATED!


This dope is the reason!

Kinda sounds like the time that McDonalds got sued for hot coffee...and making people fat. This is rediculous.

Not so much because I think he has a valid case, more just because I just plain don't like Apple and the restrictive level of control they like to retain over virtually all of their products. Closed platforms are never the answer to anything.

... provide.

I think they call this one the "bend over and take it plan" as it takes several steps:

1. First (Optional), wait in line forever to get your hands on the latest new gadget because Apple has convinced you that you MUST have it.
2. Second, shell out more money than any other reasonably priced PDA phone should possibly cost for features fall far short of amazing.
3. Third, wade through the activation nightmare.
4. Don't forget to pay your activation fees and upgrade your service plan.
5. Now that you can finally use your new whizzbang phone, the soreness in your posterior end should be setting in. It'll hurt twice as bad once you start paying the monthly bill, and three times worse once you realize that your battery life stunk and is only going to get worse. The final nail in your arse is going to come from the fact PDAs have been doing most of what the iPhone does for years. The iPhone is a little better "integrated" in some areas, and WAYYY too integrated in others (like the sealed battery... I would NEVER buy a phone that you couldn't buy a replacement battery for and especially a phone that can only be charged/recharged 400 times. That's pathetic even by Lithium standards.)

Thanks, I'll stick with my year or two old pocket pc based PDA phone and it's replacable battery and the TONS of free games and software that are made for pocket pc if you know how to search.

Next up from Apple: The iLoser

I guess I can sue the local (all) grocer's for not tell me that certain food could go bad and may kill me. Maybe charge them with first degree because they knew? Wow and you know he'll get paid!

And this lawsuit will just disappear into obscurity, but hey you never know. I've heard some whoppers of lawsuits, one being the McDonald's hot coffee and another being a mom who bought her kid a bike and the kid took the bike out at night and got hit by a car, she sued claiming that no where on the box did it say that her child should not ride at night... and she won....

WTF was apple thinking sealing the battery in? don't categorize this guy just cause he's a lawyer. I recently quit AT&T and honestly, so many people were pissed about so many thing about the Iphone that Apple should be getting sued. He should expand his case beyond just the battery.

He is suing because his cell phone battery might not hold a charge sometime in the future? When his cell battery stops working, he can sue for the cost of battery replacement.

This is a publicity stunt.

You could compare the iPhone to a car but car owners can change their own battery. In the world of great analogies, this isn't at the top of the list.

I think everyone understands that batteries go bad and that's why they should be something we can easily replace ourselves.

Just as other manufacturers have the right to design gadgets as they see fit. If Apple wants to seal up the battery in order to provide a smaller device and they can find a customer base willing to accept and pay for this engineering trade off then they will sell the iPhone. If a customer does not wish to accept and pay for this design trade-off then they can chooser another manufacturer's device based on a different design philosophy. This lawsuit is like me suing a car manufacturer because they don't make a model with a convertible option just because I want a convertible option. There are cars normal humans can barely change the oil and spark plugs on. Part of the design trade off people. Take it or leave it but don't complain about it.

The lawsuit for itself is stupid, but his got a point to complain though.
First of all, if you know something is crap, you simply dont buy it.
I know something about ion lithium baterys, and i can tell you they wont retain 80% charge after 400 cycles. You would be lucky to get that after 300. It would be a miracle with you could make a few minutes call after 450 cycles.
So, if you really use your iphone, chances are you recharge it everyday, if you hard use it, you recharge more than one time a day (video playback and wifi websurfing would do that easily). So 300 cycles are nothing.. some people will get there in few months.. most around 10-12... than, batery is over, warranty is over..
I why the sealed battery? what if i want to have two batterys? (i have 2 for my phone know)

Shakespeare had it right - 'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.'

Its not just the number of charge cycles that kill LiION cells - storage temperature has a huge effect on lifetime. A battery sitting at 100% charge @ 40C will lose ~25% capactity per year even if you don't use it at all! (figures from memory so don't quote me). The hotter the battery the worse it gets. You'd think Apple would learn from the ipod battery debacle. Good on this lawyer for publicly chastising Apple for a poor design decision, that is soley intended to lock consumers into paying Apples service centre. Does anyone know of any other phone anywhere that you can't replace the battery in?

he makes chinese people look bad

1. Those that build a phone with a battery that can't be replaced by the user...
2. Those that buy a phone with a battery that can't be replaced by the user...

Apple are getting away with what has to be one of the most idiotic designs flaws in recent cell phone history because people buy them...

No sympathy here.

For all those defending Apple - didn't we go through this very similiar experience with the Ipods? The average Joe consumer should be able to change the batteries because many of us cheap skates like to get more than a year or two out of our expensive gadgets.

I totally agree with hergensheimer. If the battery is not sealed, you won't get such a compact design.

Just some information: I read a magazine in Hong Kong and people have successfully cracked through the activation process and allow all GSM carriers to be used.

...if you don't like the product, don't buy it. If you buy the product and don't like it after you get it home, return it. Real simple. That Mr. Leung chose neither of these two paths says much more about Mr. Leung than it does about Apple.

Mr. Leung's problem isn't worth more than what he paid for his iPhones. Leung is a one-man argument for the English Law -- lose your suit and pay the other guy's legal expenses. Oops. Suddenly Mr. Leung has second thoughts! And there's hope for the rest of us.

There are lots of alternatives to the iPhone (Gee wasn't it just several weeks ago that we were being told this, over and over again? Now, all of a sudden, people are "locked in" to the iPhone!); choose one of those alternatives and stop whining.

The store people probably didn't tell him that he shouldn't use his iPhone to beat himself over the head also but I wish he would. Rechargeable batteries eventually pack up - fact and anyone who has had a phone in the past would know that. If he buys and decides he doesn't like it the extent of Apples liability should be to refund him (and anyone else who decides they don't like it) his money. Why is the USA so full of people who seem to want to get rich at someones elses expense for the slightest f###ing thing. Someone should tell these type of people to get out and work for a living. The judge should throw this one out of court and fine the lawyer $5M for being a goofball.

These are the kind of people and lawyers that go and deliberately wait to allow people to "screw up" in their minds. I bet he happily bought those 2 phones knowing what his plan was the day he bought them. It would just take time to execute his plan for him to use and abuse the phone over time. Since he has recently bought the phone, the charge is still very close to 100%. His lawsuit is similar to so many now, completely worthless. So many people do not realize how badly this CRAP clogs up the courts, raises costs, and lets the lawyers look so terrible. Mr. Leung, JD really stands for Mr. Leung, Just a Dick. Oh wait, they like to claim they are "Doctors of Jurisprudence". What a fine doctor he is. He and his family should be so proud.

It seems that a good majority of the comments here totally lose the point, or what that person is actually suing. By reading other people's comments, many of you are actually replying to the comments more than to the Plaintiff's complaint.

First, I find it funny to hate lawyers because someone decides to sue a company. An average user not to mention with limited legal knowledge, most probably wont have the guts, knowledge, qualifications, money etc... to sue a big company in the first place. Let's say you guys really have something very upset about the iPhone, the best I guess you can do is.. "wait for someone that'll sue them". What else can you do than sitting there complain? Sometimes we need random people to do things for us, that might not directly be based on our OWN interest. E.g., I hate my cable company and i'm waiting for the day they get sued for their disgusting business practices.

Secondly, unless you read the original Plaintiff's complaint statement, we could not make a comment based on a SUMMARIZED version of the complaint. It is most definitely bias and written based on reader's interest. (hint: I always read who writes the article)

Seriously, I wasnt aware that the battery replacement for iPhone is $79. I cant imagine having to dish out that plus $6.95 shipping. No phone for 3 days that you can rent a phone from Apple for $29. so that's around 100bucks a year with an AT&T contract. Have fun :D

Just another worthless American trying to get rich quick.

Befor u get your pitchforks and Axes ready let me just say this ... his lawsuit maybe stupid, he might be stupid himself .. but the american legal system will make it so he gets something for his efforts. It always happens and it will happen again.

Well if someone can sue McDonalds for making their coffee to hot when one spills it on themselves, and the person that sued because no one warned him listening to an iPOD at full volume all day could damage his hearing -- does this really surprise anyone?

Anyway the real purpose of this "single-man law firm" is simply to get some attention and he hopes some side business from the attention. If you think about it, it might be a cost effective way to get advertising especially when places like Tom's put this stuff on the front page.

So I guess there was nothing more important to cover today? Geez, Tom's really has a staff of morons working for them...hooptie hooptie...

News flash just in "24 inch spinners fly off Hummer and kill mother and baby on sidewalk" Now that is headline worthy and must be worth a lawsuit. But who do ya sue the manufacturer of the spinners, the concept, or the idiot that thinks there "Cool"?

Hey guys, everyone knows batteries wear out but what the actual problem is that it is sealed inside the iPhone and if you want it replaced you need to send it over to somewhere and few days to rely on someother device. Usually cellphones as well as SmartPhones have their battery very accessible and it is fairly easy to replace it and you definetly don`t have to wait and send device. This is for me the actual idea of this process, not that the battery wears out.

Great comments. However there are choices that people can make in life. If you don't like your cable service, change. If you cannot change service, then deal with it. You are not forced to get cable, but if you are then you have the CHOICE of moving. As per the iphone, I am shocked that you did not realize about the battery replacement issue. Do you know nothing about the similar ipod complaints with the batteries? You should do more research first on a product before getting it. Apple is notorious for doing this battery problem with their products. But don't complain about it, you have a choice. Change from AT&T to something else. Don't blame your ignorance about the battery on anybody else but yourself.

I have a Palm Tungsten E. It has the battery inside that can not be replaced easily (one would have to take it apart to do so; no lid or compartment to easily access it). A device with a sealed battery is not new.

I am glad that I NEVER brought into Apples sealed battery programs...
Never would I pay someone to replace a battery for me in the electronics I buy. I change my cell phone batteries myself, daily, and I have changed 3 car batteries in different cars.
My Nikon digital camera and the Kodak before that all had batteries I was able to replace myself.
ALL of the MP3 players my children and their friends have are replaceable batteries...
The kids replace / recharge them themselves.
I have even changed batteries on computer MB's, both snap in and soldered...
I am glad that some people aren't capable of doing these same things, it means more jobs for Americans. Obviously Apple isn't shipping the phones out of country to replace the batteries.
Maybe Apple has made things so easy that they don't think a typical Apple user can replace a battery???

Man F*** this guy he should be exiled and beatten for being a total idiot.

For those of you out there that don't understand what this lawyer is doing: Lawsuits like this are what keep major corporations from screwing consumers everyday. Yes - the lawyer is in this for money and probably planned the lawsuit from the day he heard apple was selling iPhones. However, corporate fear of class action lawsuits make sure that our razors don't give us gangrene, CocaCola isn't poisoned, and our tv's don't explode when we watch them. Otherwise forget about quality control.

So next time you decide to criticize lawyers, learn something first.

It only lasts 400 charges? and it's using the classic Apple-sealed BS so they can charge $80? Meh. Alas, if only they had it setup like Nintendo DS batteries, where you just order a $15 replacement battery and you're on the way, heh.

Aren't Porche's hoods sealed and you can't open them without a special tool? How come no one has sued Porche?

I don't mind that Apple is being sued for what I consider to be deceptively hidden costs. I don't own an iPhone, but if I were to buy one I would assume that its battery can be replaced just as can any other phone's. If I can't find that out FROM THE MANUFACTURER before buying, that's a deceptively hidden cost.

What I DO mind about the lawsuit is that this lawyer plans to get rich. Some courts in the USA are now beginning to take a hard look at the proportion of damages that go to the law firm, vs what goes to the plaintiffs. If the SF court manages this well, then this lawyer receives a reasonable compensation for his time, Apple is enticed to take corrective action, and injured customers get some relief on the battery replacement cost. If not, the lawyer gets 33% of damages, whether or not a single plaintiff (other than the attorney in question) collects a dime.

There are a lot of consumer products that require replacement of consumable parts. In most cases, this is described somewhere in the user manual. If that's not the case with the iPhone, then shame on Apple. That's what I would consider to be a deceptively hidden cost of ownership. They know you'll need to replace it. They setup a program for it. But they don't tell you about it until you're already hooked.

As for it being appropriate for consumers to replace Li-ion batteries: How many consumers properly dispose of / recycle used batteries? Don't ask your fellow tech-savvy friends, either. Get on a city bus, look around, and ask yourself how many of THOSE people would dispose of a battery properly. Now consider the environmental impact of a discarded battery, and consider whether perhaps Apple had an environmental consideration to their design? I doubt it, but I would be very pleased to find that they decided to take things in that direction publicly as part of their address for this problem.

Mmmmm,... remember the IPaq, sealed battery, Dell PDS sealed battery. Mmmm... IPhone sealed battery. Look like he can't read ENGLISH, Just Layerish. Please go back to School of Stupidity and get an update on your Stupidity degree.

Ok, I agree that sealing the battery is a stupid idea. But to sue Apple for not informing him that batteries lose their charge over time is completely idiotic. Honestly, how does he survive in this world? Imagine this guy is your lawyer... might as well plead guilty from the start, cause you aren't going to win with him.

If he was in it for the money, he would sue for the money. If he was in it to tell Apple that this is a mistake and the next version should come with a "replaceable" battery that any person could take care of, then he should sue them to warn them of this nature. Lawyers can persude any way, shape, and form they like and they can do good as well. But when it comes to a "multi-million dollar" lawsuit, he's not looking out for anyone other then number one.

1. You CAN replace your own battery in your I-phone if you know how and have special tools/knowlege.

2. Just look at your car.

-Is the battery user serviable? yes, if you have the right tools/knowlege...

-How about the water pump, it only lasts 100K miles
-How about the timing belt, 100K as well.
-How about spark plugs

In no way is Apple required to make it EASY or Idiot Proof to replacy any part of thier device.

Nuff said...

Clearly the man is in it for the cash, he is probably not dumb since he runs a single man firm. And like the others said he is not worried about ohters, just himself. Having said that, I hope he wins, because I believe that Apple should be taught a lesson about closing their products, if they were more open/upgradeable then maybe I would consider buying them. Having the battery sealed in is just unacceptable, charging $80 (plus shipment plus renting a phone for 3 days) is even more so.

Isn't the real question here whether a consumer would really have not bought an IPhone if the consumer knew that the device had a sealed battery and had a limited life. The answer is: the majority of consumers wouldn't have cared a bit, they wanted an IPhone from Apple, period. Class actions have a beneficial purpose in our commercial world, and if this lawyer hadn't brought this one, someone would have. My opinion: Apple wins this one because what he is complaining about wasn't material to the consumer.

I totally agree with eeto. People commenting these articles are a bit too trigger-happy with their criticisms to me. I am a lawyer. I DON'T know the full arguments of this guy who's suing Apple, but I DO know that most suits are much more complex than they may appear on their face.
Furthermore, the case seems to have at least some merit. People here are talking of design trade-offs. Remember the printer cartridge debate some time ago? Companies like HP were designing printers and cartridges so that only their own brand could be used together. IIRC antitrust authorities found that this was unlawful because it was binding consumers to the companies in two distinct markets: the printers themselves and the consumables. Same thing could apply for phones - the devices themselves and their batteries may be considered distinct markets and Apple's practice may be preventing competition in selling/installing replacement batteries.

... came just in time to answer my question: "Where on Earth did this dumbass graduate from?".

You know why the battery is sealed? In case it might EXPLODE.

I am seriously tiered of all you Apple fanboys. I have yet to see a good product from them. Every single person I know who has bought an apple product has had major defects with their purchase. Oh sure, PC's have problems too, but nothing as serious or as potentially hazardous as the ones from apple.

Case discoloration, CPU fan stopped turning, wires between CPU and heat sink, power adapters melting down, batteries not being recognized and exploding, monitors with vertical lines etc... Take a look at appledefects.com, you'll have a laugh.

For a company who likes to slander Microsoft every turn it gets, I should hope they get their shit together.

Good job on taking responsibility and fixing all of those, but until you can make a product that doesn't blow up and that works as ADVERTISED, I'm staying the heck away from that lot of trouble.

I like the fact that he is suing apple. I hope he wins and apple looses alot of money. Who do they think they are selling a phone that you need to send back to replace the battery? Which professional out there could do without their phone/PDA for a couple of weeks? I cant think of any. How stupid of apple they deserve to be sued.

to FQC....yeah, I saw appledefects.com. I did get a good laugh, especially at the picture where the guy had a burned laptop, blamed it on Apple's battery...
Unfortunately the burn was nowhere near the battery or power supply. He probably thought he could jump on the "Sue Apple" bandwagon, and it's no wonder, with Apple haters believing anything they hear...
"If I hear it on the Internet, it MUST be true..."

Sure, apple has potentially hazardous defects, but PC has just as many. Theres the laptop batteries that had potential for catching fire... theres security problems that could lead to identity theft and all sorts of other problems. There are no perfect products, that should be figured out using common sense by anybody. The iphone manual specifically states "Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually
need to be replaced. The iPhone battery is not user replaceable; it can only be replaced
by an authorized service provider. For more information, go to:
www.apple.com/batteries" If you're not capable of looking into this (it took me less than 5 minutes), then you really have no right to be blaming apple for anything here. They use internal batteries that the majority of users can't replace, and this isn't the first time. Its your own dumb fault for just not figuring out that this will be a problem for you and by no means is Apple at fault for that. Thats they're design, buy someone elses phone and stop bitching about that if you see problems there. Apple doesn't deserve to be sued for this. The repair process takes approx. 3 business days... so for the person that complains about weeks, you obviously are just going off of what you think and haven't actually read into any of the given information (you can read alot if you do that, and have the intelligence to decide how much is the truth or not). A rental of $29, which lasts from the day of turning your phone in for repair to 7 days after isn't exactly an awful deal. What other company offers this? Break your phone from verizon and you lose all information, whose gonna sue for that?