Following Apple's taking responsibility for a flaw in the iPod nano that can result in cracked screens in a very small number of cases, some of the press coverage has been simply laughable. Here's the rundown:

What Apple Said according to Macworld UK:
1. On cracked screens: There is a flaw affecting 1 out of 1000 nanos sold. Apple will replace them.
2. On scratched screens: nanos are just like other iPods: shiny and scratchable. Be careful.
3. On nano battery life: Apple said nothing.

What The Press Said Apple Said:
1. Apple admits there are two flaws. (Wrong, there is only one.)
2. Apple denied the iPod had a design flaw. (Technically true, but the headline makes it sounds like Apple denied there was anything wrong, which is not true.) Registration required; I suggest using bugmenot.com instead.
3. Apple admitted that there was a problem with battery failure with iPod nanos. (Completely untrue; the battery issue never even came up in Apple's release.)
4. Apple recalled the nanos. (Wrong. Apple merely said that affected iPods would be replaced. A recall is where an identifiable batch of products are recalled to the factory based on serial numbers, usually for safety reasons. This is a minor point, but I believe in holding the press to the same high standard that they hold Apple to.)
5. Apple is "brushing aside" the nano problem. (Wrong. Apple is facing the issue head on and offering free replacements.)

So I'll step up to the plate with a public "shame on you" directed squarely at The Inquirer (UK), PC Pro (UK), The Guardian (UK), NME (USA), and AVInfo (UK). "Golly," you say, "All those except the 'minor' one are in the UK. What's the deal with that?"

I'll leave that up to your speculation. (Personally I think the UK press, BBC included, just generally sucks, but that's just my opinion.)  

Bravo to Apple!

Macworld is reporting that, in response to numerous customer complaints of cracked iPod nano screens, Apple has researched the issue and acknowledged that they have discovered a "vendor quality" issue for about one-tenth of one percent of nanos shipped. Evidently this means that the materials or parts supplied by a third party vendor were not all they were cracked up to be.

Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller says that any customers who have experienced this issue should contact AppleCare and their iPod will be replaced.

Also of note: a number of users have also complained that their iPods scratch unreasonably easily, but Schiller reported that this is not a flaw in the product; the material used is the same as 4G iPods, which have not had similar complaints. The fact is that all iPods scratch pretty easily. My theory however, is that the size of the nano encourages user behavior which subjects the nano to more light abuse than other iPods. That, combined with the larger number of nanos sold, probably accounts for scratching issues.

Schiller echoed FreeiPodGuy's earlier post: if you want to protect your iPod, buy a case.

Matthew Peterson at flawedmusicplayer.com has praised Apple for fessing up and fixing the problem, though he's still pretty hard on Apple for not giving him a new nano immediately without hassle. Personally, I think that's unreasonable. Apple had to receive substantial numbers of complaints before concluding there was an issue, and then, had to do research to determine what it was. Until that happened, Apple employees were reasonable in assuming that screen damage was caused by abuse.  

In what must undoubtedly be a fit of jealousy over having the ROKR phone upstaged by the iPod nano over the last 20 days, Motorola CEO Ed Zander had some nasty words for the nano.

Using big CEO words like "screw" and "hell", Zander lambasted the hit music player and doesn't seem to mind getting a jab in to American gadgeteers while he's at it:

"Who listens to 1,000 songs? People are going to want devices that do more than just play music, something that can be seen in many other countries with more advanced mobile phone networks and savvy users"

Perhaps he's frustrated over guys like Steve Jobs getting all the girls.

Zander has since said that his comments were a joke, and they were taken out of context. Don't you just hate journalists? Me too. I hate journalists too. Oh yeah, and bloggers.  

BBC News has an interesting article comparing the iPod mini to the 1954 Regency TR-1 transistor radio.

Billed as "the first pocket radio", the TR-1 came in many different colors (including several resembling those of the mini), and featured a tuning dial reminiscent of the mini's click wheel.

Believe it or not, it cost more than the iPod mini: $49.95, which in 2005 dollars would be about $345.00.

Click here for more on the Regency TR-1.