Apple's nasty business practices

I've never been a fan of Apple and have just been the owner of one iPod. My wife, however, is on her second iPad and bought it because it first came on the market ahead of the other tablets. The first iPad she owned died when its battery failed to recharge.

We didn't throw it away as we were under the impression that Apple would replace it for about $100, but since my wife didn't want to wait for that, she purchased a replacement one. Recently, we finally contacted the Apple Store, and after a rather convoluted protocol, we ended up having to make an appointment at their nearest store to carry on that battery replacement.

We were bounced from one associate to the next and after about 15 minutes past our stated appointment, we were told that Apple didn't change batteries in its iPads and that we would be “given” the option to purchase a new replacement one for $300.

All told, another half day totally wasted! Nowhere during the time I booked the appointment was I told about our lack of options, even though we had to give both the model serial number and date of purchase.

If this sounds like highway robbery, it certainly is and we won't buy another Apple product anytime soon. What I will though, buy a battery replacement kit, including one new battery, the tools to handle it and the video for installing it.

Then, our next tablet is more likely to be branded Samsung or Asus...