Is the battery that big of a problem? I’ve replaced all my computers and iPods before the battery conked out. I still have a 1st Generation iPhone, and the battery is fine. Do most users even need to replace the battery?
I have to use a MacBook at school. It was issued to me, so I didn’t have to buy it.
It’s just different enough from Windows that I bang my head against the wall every time I try to do something. The USB ports are designed in such a way that I can’t use more than one USB device at a time because the flash drive and cable end or whatever won’t fit next to each other. There is, frankly, nothing special about this computer, except that it’s a Mac and not a PC.
Case dismissed.
I am no Apple fanboy (the only thing I own of theirs is an iPod) but Apple hardly has locked-in the computing model. PC still rules by a large margin the business computing world. MS Office Word, Excel, and Powerpoint are still the de facto standards for data and word processing. The thing is, it has been ubiquitous for so long now that folks almost don’t even notice it. While there are millions of iPhones, they are still a fraction of the cell phone market. iPads are cool, but 95% of the population won’t buy one. The onloy real thing that Apple is the de facto standard in is the iPod, and even that is becoming more and more obsolete as folks use their cell phones for that purpose. I am not saying that aren’t big and important, and the way they have revived themselves almost from the dead is remarkable. They are a truly innovative company and Steve Jobs is the reason, what they have managed to do is wow the tech press, for good reason, but in the everyday business world they are actually pretty minor players.
And yet, the restrictions they place on what users can do go far beyond just preventing “crapware.” Change your batteries? Hell, you can’t even change the iPhone background image without jailbreaking the phone first.
The reason you can’t change batteries is because Apple sells a lot of their products on the ‘slim and light’ platform. Making a user-serviceable battery involves adding all the connectors for that battery, a casing for the battery so that it can be safely carried ‘naked,’ and a slew of other engineering concerns that would add bulk to the device.
Do you also bitch about your wristwatch not having a user-serviceable battery?
Bullshit.
Every wristwatch I’ve ever owned has had a user-replaceable battery. For that matter, my current watch allows me to program new functions into it. (Right now, I have it programmed to function as a wireless mouse.) I didn’t even have to jailbreak it.
That’s right. My wristwatch is a more open platform than an Apple product. 
Might depend on your usage patterns–I know a few people who have had to replace the batteries in their 1st-through-4th generation iPods, while ironically my Creative Zen Touch (which has an easily replaceable battery) hasn’t ever needed it.
Yours doesn’t? Every single watch I’ve ever owned takes those button batteries and either had a screw-down cover or an unobtrusive notch for opening the back cover without scratching it.
Sorry, I offereed evidence of Bloated Crapware produced by Apple, as requested. If you are of the opinion these are not bloated crapware, please provide evidence to support it.
Please provide step-by-step instructions for changing the home screen background image on an iPhone 3G without jailbreaking it. Thanks in advance.
It’s my expert opinion that both Quicktime and iTunes do exactly what they were designed to do.
I use them both regularly, and they perform admirably.
Settings -> Wallpaper
(I think this was in a software update a while back.)
If that’s true, then every Apple product also has a user-replaceable battery, and you’re just whining about how you haven’t yet seen the proper youTube or website that tells you how to replace the battery in your Apple hardware.
Just a question for the OP: did you know about these battery-changing limitations before buying the product? It’s certainly public enough info on the CNET-style boards out there. If not, then maybe some research was in order? If so, then you made your bed, sort of.
And Second Stone, when you say
You are exactly right. Without the iPhone, would we have a Droid or the Sprint HTC? (I love that funny video, great to make fun of the Applebots).
Sorry. I think that’s disingenuous. A wristwatch battery is meant to be replaced by the user. I’ve never heard of anyone specially taking it to a–where the hell would you take a wristwatch–to replace the battery. It takes no special tools or any particular technical know-how. Changing the battery in an iPhone or unibody MacBook Pro all requires a modicum of mechanical and technical savvy. They’re not meant to be replaced by the user, although it certainly is possible with the right tools and videos.
For 3GS and up, yes. Not supported for 3G.
Not on all wristwatches. For example, the Seiko that’s currently on my wrist doesn’t have any visible screws/notches. When the time comes to get its battery replaced, I will likely be taking it to a jeweler, rather than futzing with trying to pop the back off and then snap it back on without damaging anything.
“Courage”? “COURAGE”?
Oh my fucking og that is hilarious. “Courage.” Yeah, uh huh.
The whole world is out to stop Apple but only they have the COURAGE to keep making overpriced baubles that no one really needs but desperately want nonetheless!