Apple replaces first- generation iPod nano due to overheating battery issues

Apple has unveiled a worldwide replacement programme for the first-generation iPod nano music player due to overheating battery issues, telling owners to stop using the product and get it replaced for free, Xinhua reported. Affected devices were sold between September 2005 and December 2006, Apple said in a note on its Web site, Apple said. "This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect," the firm said. "While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages."

Other versions of the iPod are not affected. The first-generation devices have a black or white plastic front and a silver metal back. The company said the issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. Since the product is five or six years old now, the likelihood of an incident increases.

"This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect," Apple said. "While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages." Apple promises a replacement unit about six weeks after the company received the affected one.

The company urged users to stop using their first-generation iPod nano and order a replacement online. In 2008 Japan's economy, trade and industry ministry launched an investigation into Apple after dozens of iPod overheating cases were reported, including several incidents of iPod nanos heating to the point of catching fire and causing minor burns to owners. You'll need your iPod nano serial number to verify eligibility, and Apple will send a replacement unit about six weeks after it receives the current model.

Last August, a commuter train in Tokyo was delayed during rush hour when passengers complained of a strong burning smell from an overheating iPod nano that had burst apart. The company urged users to stop using their first-generation iPod nano and order a replacement online. You'll need your iPod nano serial number to verify eligibility, and Apple will send a replacement unit about six weeks after it receives the current model.

The portable music player also cost Apple $22.5 million settlement in 2009 when a class action lawsuit in California alleged iPod nano is prone to scratches and its alleged defects were not disclosed by the company. "The company likely kept some stock around for inventory replacement for at least another year, but any trace of first gen nano inventory is long gone by now," the blog said. "So unless Apple has taken the extraordinary (and expensive) step of putting the original nano back into limited production just to fulfill this replacement program, participants are likely to receive something much more modern in return."

The issue actually dates back to 2008, when Japan's Trade Ministry announced that the devices had caused three fires and minor burns. In July 2009, Apple agreed to a recall of its first-generation nano in South Korea, and expanded that to include Japan in August 2010.

Apple released what it said was a fix for the problem via iOS 5.0.1, but users still complained about battery issues and Apple later acknowledged that the update might not have done the trick.

In other iPod news, meanwhile, Patently Apple reports that a recent patent application suggests that Apple might be crafting an iPod nano speaker clip. "Apple points out how they may use a space age material in the design of the speaker that was once used in NASA's Apollo lunar module."