Start Getting Your Money Ready: iPods Only Designed for 4-Year Lives

Makes me wonder if this is “planned obsolescence” or what. Yes, I realize that even if the iPod was designed for a longer life, it will most likely be technologically obsolete long before then, and most people will want to update. I was reading a Chicago Tribune article, which was brought to my attention by a follow-up Macworld UK article. The original article was about the problems that people seem to have with iPods, in terms of reliability. You might remember, for example, the article I wrote at RealTechNews about the nano’s seemingly fragile screen. From either of the linked articles:

An Apple spokeswoman, Natalie Kerris, said iPods have a failure rate of less than 5 percent, which she said is “fairly low” compared with other consumer electronics. “The vast majority of our customers are extremely happy with their iPods,” she said, adding that an iPod is designed to last four years.

My wife is really against change … if it works, don’t fix (or change) it. So despite any technical obsolescence she won’t change a gadget or electronic device she uses. Thus, the only way to get her iPod updated would most likely be this 4-year life (or me buying her a new iPod as a present).

My problem with short lifespans like this is that you used to be able to buy something, even electronics, and have it last a lot longer than 4 years. Nowadays things are so cheap, also, that it’s cheaper to buy a new one than to repair it. For example, I had a VCR fail (despite my PVR I still have uses for a VCR) and it was cheaper to just buy a new one.

People are even throwing away PCs, if they become filled with viruses or spyware or can’t boot for some reason (NY Times article, registration required). Do we really want all this stuff in our landfills, with all the toxic chemicals in them? I think things should be built to last, not so you have to replace them (or upgrade, as more likely the manufacturer would like you to do).

Tags: Apple, iPod, MP3