Mac News: Business: Apple Settles iPod Class Action for $45 a Head

Two Canadian class action suits against Apple regarding the battery life of certain iPod models has been settled. Canada residents who bought certain iPods on or before June 24, 2004, may be eligible for about $45 of free credit at Apple's online store. The suits and their outcomes are similar to a U.S. lawsuit Apple settled in 2005.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has agreed to settle a pair of class action lawsuits in Canada alleging it misled customers about the staying power of their iPods, the latest courtroom truce over the dwindling battery life of early generations of the device.

According to a court document, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is offering credits for its online store of about US$44.75 to people who live in Canada and bought certain iPods there on or before June 24, 2004.

Drained Batteries

To be eligible, the battery life of their iPods -- while continuously playing music -- needs to have dropped to five hours or less for the first and second generation of the device and four hours or less for the third generation.

The lead plaintiffs in the lawsuits -- iPod owners Ines Lenzi and Bradley Waddell -- claimed Apple misrepresented iPods' battery life by claiming they were capable of eight to 10 hours of continual music playback. After recharging, however, the iPods' battery life began declining.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment beyond the notice of the settlement agreement Apple posted on its Web site.

Previous Settlements

Motions to approve the settlement are scheduled for June 11 in Quebec Superior Court and June 20 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the two courts where the lawsuits were filed.

In 2005, the company settled a separate class action lawsuit in the U.S. over similar claims about iPod battery life. In that case, Apple agreed to give some iPod owners $50 in store credit or $25 in cash if the battery life in their early-generation iPods dropped below certain levels.