Oops! Lawsuit filed in Chicago over iPhone battery

According to Bloomberg, Apple, which may have sold as many as 450,000 iPhones in its first two days of sales, is being sued by a consumer who says it did not immediately disclose the limited life of its batteries or their $86 replacement cost.

The suit, filed last week in Illinois state court, accuses Apple of consumer fraud and seeks class-action status. The plaintiff, Jose Trujillo of Chicago, also wants money damages.

"It's a nondisclosure issue," said Trujillo's attorney, Larry Drury, on Tuesday. Apple did not disclose the nature of its battery replacement program until after the phone went on sale, according to the complaint.

On Wednesday, Apple shares in New York were up 50 cents at $132.74 in late trading. The stock plunged almost 7 percent on Tuesday.

Some investors are speculating that Apple is reducing production of either its popular iPod music players or the iPhone, perhaps by as much as 50 percent, said Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray Companies in Minneapolis.

"The iPhone is a sealed unit with its battery soldered on the inside of the device so it cannot be changed by the owner," according to the complaint.

The batteries can be recharged only about 300 times before needing replacement, according to the lawsuit.

The Apple Web site says the iPhone battery keeps 80 percent of its original capacity through 400 full charges.

Apple requires an iPhone user to pay $79 plus shipping to send the phone to it for battery replacement and $29 more if the user wants the company to provide a temporary phone during the three days needed for the procedure.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/01/business/iphone.php