Chicago (IL) – A United States District Court judge has dismissed an iPhone battery lawsuit against Apple.  Last year, Jose Trujillo claimed that consumers weren’t given fair warning about the factory replaceable nature of the phone battery.  He also alleged that Apple didn’t inform people about the battery’s limited number of recharge cycles, but Northern District of Illinois Judge Matthew Kennelly wasn’t fooled by Trujillo’s lawsuit and granted Apple a summary judgment in dismissing the suit.  So it looks like soft tacos and Mexican Pizzas at Taco Bell for Trujillo and his lawyer tonight.

Mr. Trujillo sued Apple in Illinois state court back in July 2007.  The Cook County, Illinois resident was an early adopter of the first generation iPhone when it was launched last year, but claims he wasn’t adequately notified that the iPhone was a sealed unit with a soldered battery.  As such, the battery is quite difficult for the average person to remove and replace.  Trujillo also said the battery could only be charged approximately 300 times before needing a replacement for which Apple charges $86 (cost of battery and shipping).

It appears Trujillo must not have read Apple’s website, the product box or the hundreds – possibly thousands – of news reports about the phone.  I mean it was one of the most talked about tech gadgets last year and people stood in line for days to buy the first models.  Apple does state that the battery can be replaced by sending it back to the factory and yes the company does charge $86 for the replacement, but the iPhone comes with a one-year battery warranty which means the cost is waived if your battery goes kaboom in the first 12 months.

Furthermore, Apple states quite clearly that the battery doesn’t just die when it hits 300 charges … almost every known battery slowly degrades over time and the same is true for the iPhone.  This is the exact text from Apple’s website, “A properly maintained iPhone battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 400 full charge and discharge cycles. You may choose to replace your battery when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs.”  80% after 400 full discharge cycles certainly sounds more than adequate to me and this should give at least two years of worry free use to even the heaviest iPhone users.

Despite all this information, Trujillo and his attorney, James R. Rowe of Chicago, thought they had a case.  Seeing dollar signs, they hoped to gain class action lawsuit status so that other consumers could join their cause.  Apple asked for and was granted a move to federal district court and on September 23rd, Judge Kennelly dismissed the lawsuit.

“Under the circumstances, no reasonable jury could find that deception occurred,” the judge wrote.

While Apple is now off the hook, Trujillo is still going after AT&T since they were named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit.  Trujillo claims he wasn’t given the terms of service in paper form when he bought his iPhone.  Judge Kennelly denied AT&T’s request for arbitration and a hearing is set for September 29.

Change the battery yourself anyway

Sep 26, 2008 17:49     

Isn't there some web site that shows how to change the iphone battery? Yeah the battery should be user replaceable but it isn't. Everyone knows Apples products are propietary and they always were. So why sue? Just boycott Apple and don't buy their products. I've never owned an Apple product. I can't stand their business model.
J. Doe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +11

i don't get this jose guy

Sep 26, 2008 18:24     

if you can afford to waste $2000 a year on a cell phone than y not the 86$? yeah it's a rip off. hundreds of articles reported its high cost. how do you not research a product? apple is raping their wallets of money. but if you're dumb enough to afford such a highly inflated cost than a bettery shoudln't be too much of a problem.
Jonas report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +7

TB?

Sep 26, 2008 19:05     

Taco Bell eh....that seems to be a pretty insensitive statement considering the gentlemen's name..
Kalt report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

agreed

Sep 26, 2008 19:20     

The references to Taco Bell and Mexican Pizza don't seem so much like unfortunate insensitivity as they do calculated racism. Either way it's an extraordinarily poorly conceived literary device. This Trujillo guy might very well be out to lunch, but it could easily be at McDonald's.
no report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

Hello, I wasn't even thinking about the guy's last...

Sep 26, 2008 19:26     

Hello, I wasn't even thinking about the guy's last name or ethnicity when I put in Taco Bell. You see I treat people of all races equally... yes I know, it's an alien concept to you, but I'm sure you'll get over it.
HumphreyC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -5

Taco Bell is cheap, inexpensive

Sep 26, 2008 19:27     

I'm sorry you don't understand the difference between the cheap, inexpensive food at Taco Bell and the expensive prime rib at Lawry's. You accuse me of racism, yet it's your focus on the guy's last name that makes you the racist. See I don't care about the guy's ethnicity or name because I'm treating him like anyone else. I look at a name and I think a person.. you look at a name and think hispanic. Who is the racist here?

HumphreyC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

2000 = cheap

Sep 26, 2008 20:05     

hey jonas. U riding around in 12000$ car? U can even pay less than that u know.
vic magna report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -5

intentionally racist or not...

Sep 26, 2008 21:05     

Putting a comment like that in the title of an article shows very poor judgement. But hey, it's not like this is a real news site anymore.
Thorn report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +6

Racist?

Sep 26, 2008 21:53     

Obviously racist... And from your comments I see that you're the hostile type, so I'm not surprised. Taco Bell, Soft Tacos, Mexican Pizza...Trujillo??? Hmm...Why all mexican food with so many other cheap foods to choose from? Maybe you're just dumb for not seeing the connection.
Jo report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Simple really

Sep 26, 2008 22:02     

Thought you'd like to know that Taco Bell sells soft tacos and Mexican Pizza. You seem more upset about the guy's last name than I am. Hostile? If making sense seems hostile to you, then I feel sorry for you.
HumphreyC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -3

@vic

Sep 26, 2008 22:14     

u must not be able to read. did you not see my point that the iphone is way too expesive. and that $86 dollar for a bettery replacement is ridiculous, but something he could have easily found out with some tiny research.
Jonas report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Blame for the airtime

Sep 26, 2008 22:38     

Yes, the airtime is expensive, but you can't place all the blame on Apple. The $86 charge for the battery replacement is only after the first year (because of the one year warranty). Given Apple's product cycles - basically a new model every year - I really don't think the non-removable battery is that big of an issue.
HumphreyC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -4

Taco Bell = Mexican food?

Sep 26, 2008 23:21     

Obviously you haven't been to a true Mexican restaurant. But not all of us live down near the Mexican border, so I'll go easy on you. But those of us who do live near the border don't consider Taco Bell as "Mexican" food. It's the equivalent of considering Pizza Hut as an Italian restaurant. Taco Bell is very much an American adaptation of food. Those crying Racism need check yourself for being too sensitive. Taco Bell is well known as a strong competitor on the less-than-a-dollar menu. Don't pretend to read words that weren't written.

9Nails report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +5

apple/nvidia

Sep 27, 2008 01:46     

apple is the biggest scammer and so is nvidia.
x1reme report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -3

Hey Humphrey C

Sep 27, 2008 09:50     

You should have gone for Ramen Noodles. Come on, man. You know if you want cheap you get those. A meal of Mexican pizza and tacos at TacoSmell will cost you over $7 these days. Shoot, you can get better food at Roscoe's for that price. Ramen Noodles= $1/pack = every student knows those. Oh wait your last name is Cheung, hmm...Eh I don't know maybe Asians go to TacoSmell when they want cheap food, weird. Taco Bell definitely not Mexican (yes we know) but you have to admit those connotations were pretty ignorant in your article. I mean Trujillo and Mexican food names in the same sentence and you call us racists?

John report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

What i don't understand is what this person gets fo...

Sep 27, 2008 10:31     

What i don't understand is what this person gets for standing up for a major corp. that practices douchebagery as a business model.
J report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

@HumphreyC

Sep 27, 2008 11:04     

we know you're not the article writer. they put edits in your comments as a response. (Edits like these?? HumphreyC) and yeah, the writer is obviously pro-apple and there are much cheaper places to eat than taco bell. he wrote it to be an a** and get more comments/views on his article. (Actually I'm not pro-apple. I don't own an iPhone and have a three-year-old iPod - HumphreyC)
Lester report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Racist?

Sep 27, 2008 16:23     

You guys can't be serious. Taco Bell isn't mexican. It is, however, about the cheapest fast food place there is, and has been for at least 20 years (anyone eating 7 bucks of tacos and bean barritos for one meal is either morbidly obese or posesses a very fast matabolism). When I think of Mexican food, I think of Ninfas, Papsitos or Julios, though all of those are technically Tex Mex. Regardless, this was not racist in any way shape or form. The lawyer is eating taco bell, and his name doesn't sound hispanic in any way shape or form.

youcan'tbeserious report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

@Lester

Sep 27, 2008 19:42     

What are you talking about? My comments are appearing just as I type them. I'm not worried about the title because I really can't help that some people are too sensitive to function in daily society.
HumphreyC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +5

What I don't get is Lawry's,,,,

Sep 27, 2008 20:13     

Are there actual Lawry's restaurants? The only thing I know of Lawry's is Taco Seasoning packets. And I'd rather have Taco Bell then use those....
Thorn report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Lawry's

Sep 27, 2008 22:49     

Yes, there's a Lawry's in Beverly Hills La Cienega Blvd. Ate there once ... count on approximately $50 per person. If I remember correctly, any side dishes like corn, mash potato, etc are about $8/each.
HumphreyC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

@John

Sep 28, 2008 02:45     

I survived on Cup of Noodles and Didi Reese Cookies when I went to UCLA. I actually do love Taco Bell.
HumphreyC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

@youcan'tbeserious

Sep 28, 2008 12:17     

This is right off their menu across from work (prices for Burbank,CA) 2 tacos supreme (soft or hard)combo $5.49 add a Mexican pizza $2.19 tax at 8.25% = $8.32 like I said a meal with tacos and a Mexican pizza WILL cost you $7 or more. If you go off the value meal $7 gets you 4 tiny tacos @ 1.50 tax. I'm 5'8 and 147 pounds (pretty much average to slim) and that will barely fill me up. So much for morbidly obese.

John report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

[enter product placement of Taco Bell]

Sep 29, 2008 08:15     

All this commenting on Taco Bell and Ramen noodles is making me hungry. I think I'm gonna take a break from reading hear and run down to my local Chino Latino restaurant. I'll pick up some "Chorizo" for Trujillo and some "Cream of SumYungGuy" for good ol' HumphreyC. Racist or not, that was just a lame attempt at bad humor. Like this comment. :P
fanboy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

replace battery is not tha main problem.

Sep 29, 2008 09:21     

yea, pay 80$ for apple to replace battery is not the problem. problem is that sometime they give someone else to ipod iphone to you instead of your own.
andy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Taco Bell is American you numb nuts

Sep 29, 2008 09:56     

You guys (stupid knit picking commenters) are retarded. You guys always find something to B**ch about, misspelled word, incoherent sentence, insensitive title. Dudes get over it. Im Hipsanic (native) and I found no insesitivity in that title .... fir you people that are too ignorant to realize the reference was towards Taco Bell being cheap and this dude making a frivolous(spell??) law suit.
09 F9 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ramen Noodles

Sep 29, 2008 09:59     

Yeah if he says Ramen noodles then he'll have people say he is being insensitive to Asians
09 F9 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Last time I went to TB they were out of taco shells...

Sep 29, 2008 12:36     

Last time I went to TB they were out of taco shells and cheese.. =( I told her there was a Wal-Mart down the street that carries TB brand Tacos, and lots of cheese, but she thought I was being a smart ass. Maybe I was, I don't know. All I know is that I didn't get to satisfy my unbelievable hunger for TB Tacos that night.. I had to go get Jack in the Box's 2 Tacos for $.99 cents. The horror. I damn near drowned in the grease. After that I took a blood oath never to look at another Taco Bell again. and everybody knows Mexicans don't eat TB... they make their own meat/cheese/tortilla meals, and sell what they don't eat to middle class white people. Duh.

P report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

get a life, crybabies

Sep 29, 2008 19:12     

This article is not racist. This is the most benign article ever. If you're offended by it, you're way too sensitive. I feel sorry for you because you're going to blow a fuse when you experience how "offensive" reality can be. Go watch a Dave Chapelle episode just to open your mind a bit. The key here is that Taco Bell is seriously the cheapest fast food ever. It's not "Mexican." Its like 89 cents for a taco, and at least to people I know, it's renowned for it's ultra ultra cheap shit. Thus the plaintiff will be short on funds and go to taco bell.

jman report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

You people are morons for wasting your lives like this.

Sep 29, 2008 20:48     

Morons maybe too strong,I apologize.
YeAhYeAhYeAh report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2