Australian company tackles the iPod repairs that Apple won't touch

Tony:

I bought an iPod Nano, and like it so much that I take it with me on my daily half hour walks. Unfortunately, while the ear headphones that come with the iPod have a reasonable sound quality, they are extremely uncomfortable to wear for any length of time (hard edges hurt the ears).

So I decided to look for options. Naturally enough I looked at my local Apple reseller's Web site. There I found (and bought) a pair of Apple iPod in-ear headphones. They're comfortable and fit in the ear but their sound quality is awful (high pitch tinny and squeeky). This at a cost of $59. There is no way I could put up with the poor sound these ear phones create.

So, back on the Web searching around again. This time I discovered Koss Sparkplug ear phones. These have snug cone inserts which are like cushions when inserted into the ear (sheer bliss). A spare set of cone inserts comes with the Koss Sparkplug ear phones but I probably won't ever need them. The Koss Sparkplug ear phones come in white or black but I chose black which matches my black iPod Nano (Apple doesn't sell earphones in any colour other than white). The Koss Sparkplug ear phones have much, much better sound quality than Apple's earphones (the base is just amazing). The Koss Sparkplug earphones cost $59 too. So, while the mistakes I made have cost me, I did end up with a good solution.

Just goes to show, while Apple are certainly innovative and make great products, good third party accessories can sometimes be just as good or even better.

So, it's not just Apple servicing costs one to be wary of.

Anonymous:

A company in Melbourne called Synergetic Australia has been doing these repairs for over a year now and their service is very quick and offers a 6 month warranty on the parts replaced (1 year on batteries).

Paul:

Synergetic seem to charge $50 - $60 more than auiipodrepairs for repairs e.g. logic boards

Haden:

www.dcoda.com does ipod repairs as well, located in Sydney but repair Australia wide, great technicians, work down to board level. The coolest!

Adam:

Is this not the same postal address as www.ipodrepirs.com.au. I was very dissapointed with this companies service so used auipodrepairs instead. I found the service to be excellent.

macman:

I was very dissapointed with auipodrepairs service so used Macmedic.com.au instead.
I found there service to be excellent.Check them out see there site www.macmedic.com.au

Anita:

I found that MacMedic were helpful but they do not offer the same number of repairs that auipod repairs do . I needed a logic board replaced on a video iPod and auipodrepairs replaced it the same day. I think that their service was excellent and I`m glad that there is competition in ths market. They are all 10 times better than Apple!

macman:

bollox, you obviously work for or are auipodrepairs...yadayda

Anonymous:

There is also a company in New Zealand now providing exactly the same service. Phone +64 212997538 for details. Web site in progress.

Anonymous:

I`m glad you have featured this company. I found their service to be second to none. I had my screen replaced the day they received it. I didn`t even know you could repair iPods. The Apple store told me to buy a new one! The venture with Mac1 stores sounds as thiugh it will really benefit the customer.

Francesca:

I was travelling around Australia and did not have a fixed address. auipodrepairs fixed my broken screen on my video iPod while I waited which saved me a lot of messing about with Apple! I was impressed by their speed and service.

Andrew:

I just had my iPod repaired by taking it to a Mac1 store and was very impressed with their service. Lets hope this is the start of out of warranty iPod repairs!

Colin:

I dropped my iPod in at Mac1 Canberra and found the face to face service brilliant. Visit www.mac1.com.au for their stores. At least there is an option for repairs now. Apple have offered no support at all.