DO NOT BUY AN iPOD - and tell your friends

I do realize that I will not have any affect on their sales as to say that my readership is small is more than an understatement. But I am peeved.

One of the things I was missing most while out and about was my music. So I finally bought an iPod October 2007. Ok, maybe I should have done some research, but I didn't have much time and I was influenced by the advertising and sales.

I bought an 80gb Classic iPod, loaded it up with all the music I could find and went on a contract to Kenya. I enjoyed my music during November and December, but by early January, it was not charging anymore. Only one click on Google turned up all kinds of complaints about the batteries. I was in Kenya.

We had an expat returning to Amsterdam in Feb, so he did me a favour and dropped it off at the Mac repair centre there. Yup, the battery was screwed. Mid-March, they emailed me in Kenya to let me know they had a replacement for me in Amsterdam to pick up. We had an expat coming down the last week of March. He agreed to pick it up and bring it down for me.

I don't have my own computer, yet. This means it is always a hassle for me to load my songs. So I wasn't able to properly load my tunes to my iPod until June, when I got to the UK. I then enjoyed my music during July and August. However, I didn't want to be affected by music on the camino and I didn't want the extra weight, so I left it behind. On November 10th, I pulled it out and connected it to a computer to charge, but.... oh, oh. A message on the iPod advised me that it must be restored. F@#*!! I unplugged it to do the next day. Next day, NOTHING, it wasn't even being registered by the computer.

Today I am in Amsterdam. I went to the tech support centre and yup, the iPod is screwed. BUT my warranty is up. They can't do anything for me. Despite the fact that my iPod was replaced in Feb, and this current iPod has been in my hands for less than a full year, my one year warranty is up. I let off some controlled steam, and they agreed that much was lacking in customer support, and in the products, but they could only advise me to contact customer service by email.

I will do this, but I am leaving for Ethiopia, with no music.