An extended warranty on a TV appears, at first, like a decent idea. After all, TVs are expensive, very high-tech, and pretty complex, right?
However, dig a little deeper and you'll find that extended warranties are almost always a waste of money.… Read more
Apple has pulled its AppleCare warranty product from store shelves in Italy following scrutiny over the company's compliance with local consumer protection laws.
Reuters reports that Apple last week removed the product from its retail stores, and stopped providing it to its own resellers in the country. Nonetheless, the product can still be purchased from Apple's online store in the country, with mention that the paid plan adds "benefits" to the two years local buyers get under the Consumer Code.
Last December, Apple was hit with a 900,000 euro (then $1.2 million) fine for … Read more
Europe's Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has written to EU member states asking them to examine the way Apple has been advertising its product warranties, according to Bloomberg.
Reding believes that the iPad and iPhone maker may be not be properly informing customers in the European Union's 27 member states that they're entitled to a minimum two-year warranty for products under European law.
According to a copy of the letter sent to EU ministers and obtained by Bloomberg, Reding wrote:
Apple prominently advertised that its products come with a one-year manufacturer warranty but failed to clearly indicate the … Read more
The budget is a big topic this presidential-campaign season, but I've come across a solution to our fiscal woes that doesn't get enough press -- dealing with all the dollars flushed down the toilet (sometimes literally) due to the scourge of dropped, soaked, and otherwise damaged iPhones.
According to gadget warranty outfit SquareTrade -- which also recently informed us of the most dangerous states to be an iPad or iPhone -- damaged iPhones have cost Americans $5.9 billion since their introduction in 2007.… Read more
If you're an iPad sitting in an Apple Store, you probably cringe each time the customer with 3-year-old triplets walks over to check you out.
Now we also know there are certain stores, and even entire states, you don't want to end up in either, thanks to new data from device warranty outfit SquareTrade that details which states seem to have the clumsiest iPad and iPhone users.
Looking at its own internal claim data for iPhone and iPad breakage and damage, SquareTrade found Mississippi and South Carolina seem to have particularly high rates of iOS device abuse -- both states made the top five when it comes to claims for both iPhones and iPads, with Mississippi racking up the most collective damage to iPhones and South Carolina taking title as the most dangerous state for iPads.… Read more
Every iPhone owner should have two things: a protective case, and a warranty that covers accidental damage. You know, the kind inflicted by toddlers, car tires, and sudden bursts of gravity.
Don't believe me? A post I wrote two years ago -- "Shatter your iPhone 4 screen? Here's how to fix it" -- has been viewed more than any other post I've ever written. In other words, iPhone damage happens all...the...time.
You can buy a case, yes, and you can buy accidental damage protection from the likes of Apple or SquareTrade. Or you … Read more
LAS VEGAS -- A young hacker here at Defcon 20 has pulled back the dense curtain of text and ambiguity surrounding warranties to show consumers how they can hack the warranty system -- and to tell companies how to improve their warranty management.
"Darkred," as he prefers to be called, explained to a standing-room only session that it's the way manufacturers manage serial numbers and warranties that allows the system to be hacked.
"The serial number makes you the owner of a product," said the 17-year-old, a high school senior from Texas. Darkred declined to … Read more
A Portuguese consumer advocacy group said today that it's moving forward with a lawsuit over Apple's AppleCare policies.
In a statement (translate), the Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection (DECO), said that it has tried since last March to work with Apple to address what it calls "misleading information on consumer rights" related to the warranties customers get after buying one of the iPhone maker's products.
DECO claims that Portuguese consumers automatically receive a two-year warranty on products that applies to all potential defects. Apple, the group charges, mischaracterizes the warranty to get people to buy … Read more
Third-party gadget warranty service SquareTrade today expanded its coverage, and now supports jailbroken iPhones.
That procedure -- which gives device owners deep system-level access, letting them install third-party software from places other than Apple's App Store -- voids Apple's own warranty, and that from carriers.
A company spokesperson said the change affects both new and existing coverage holders.
According to Vincent Tseng, SquareTrade's VP of strategy, this extends to iPads and iPods, which the company also covers as part of its warranty service. The three gadgets share the same operating system. It's also in effect for … Read more
If you were one of the millions following along today (hopefully on CNET's Live Blog) as Apple released its latest iteration of the iPad and have now decided you must buy it, be sure to add AppleCare+ to your order (pricing has not yet been made available).
First, everyone should know what sort of coverage is offered with every new iPad purchase. For included coverage, Apple shows that it truly believes in its products. Your new iPad will get one year of hardware coverage against manufacturer defects and malfunctions. That means, if your hard drive dies, some of your … Read more
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