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Meet the iPod Doctor: He Makes House Calls
money.cnn.com — "Heavy-set guy" strolls around Manhattan fixing broken iPods with cheap, Chinese spare parts.
mdrudge- 844 diggs
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- DrCrankenstein, on 06/24/2008, -9/+23He can also walk on water and cure disease. WITCH!!!!!
- Shaidown, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2He turned me into a NEWT!!!
- satandumpling, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1I got better....
- brundlefly76, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2warranty limitations, repair turnaround time, nonreplacable batteries - all of these are Apple's policies designed to encourage upgrade or replacement over repair.
Its nice to see someone making an honest buck filling the void by providing top level onsite service.
- Shaidown, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2He turned me into a NEWT!!!
- michaelwong38, on 06/24/2008, -6/+11what a cool idea.
- burninlover, on 06/24/2008, -2/+32This is a really great idea! I would rather have my iPod fixed for cheap then go and spend another couple hundred on a new one. The house calls make it that much more appealing.
- mattymow, on 06/24/2008, -5/+14Pretty Awesome actually, plus, he kinda looks like Venkman in GhostBusters
- 101phones, on 06/25/2008, -1/+0HAHA, he does!
- kkiran, on 06/24/2008, -8/+1Who will be the iPhone doctor?! Not a possibility given the carefully sealed unit!
- Rudegar, on 06/24/2008, -10/+1wonder if he fix these too?
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/16/ibuzz-ipod-vi ...- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3No i don't fix those.
- mynameistux, on 06/25/2008, -16/+9but, who would buy an ipod?
- thesportoflife, on 06/25/2008, -10/+18A person smart enough not to buy a zune.
- banmaster, on 06/25/2008, -15/+2Idiots too stupid to buy a Zen.
- noerrorsfound, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2There are more music players than just iPods and Zunes.
- thesportoflife, on 06/25/2008, -10/+18A person smart enough not to buy a zune.
- aliguana, on 06/25/2008, -2/+27"but.. but... they're supposed to be disposable. You're not supposed to fix them, you're supposed to buy a new one... call Apple Legal stat!" - Apple AGM
- xatx2, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1yeah, according to apple, he's breaking some kind of law or eula
- aliguana, on 06/25/2008, -1/+4to hell with that. If my iPod broke down (out of warranty), and I could possibly fix it up into a usable player, of course I would. Apple culture relies too much on short shelf-life, and prompting the user to buy "this year's model"... when in reality they are perfectly good mp3 players/computers, if given a bit of TLC.
This doesn't exist outside the Apple bubble, in the PC world you're positively encouraged to take your machine apart, fix it up, recycle and reuse. The less PC/players/TVs/fridges/washingmachine etc that go to the dump, the happier I'll be.
- aliguana, on 06/25/2008, -1/+4to hell with that. If my iPod broke down (out of warranty), and I could possibly fix it up into a usable player, of course I would. Apple culture relies too much on short shelf-life, and prompting the user to buy "this year's model"... when in reality they are perfectly good mp3 players/computers, if given a bit of TLC.
- xatx2, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1yeah, according to apple, he's breaking some kind of law or eula
- macmangb, on 06/25/2008, -13/+15It's great that Apple provides this type of service.
- prophetpimp, on 06/25/2008, -17/+4did you even read the ***** article retard.
- trieste, on 06/25/2008, -3/+13I'm sorry macmangb. Subtle sarcasm is seldom rewarded on digg.
- Yashar, on 06/25/2008, -3/+13Ha, I thought the article said "Geek-Immigrant father."
- sporg, on 06/25/2008, -8/+1Place biscuits in oven and bake them at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes...
- cdigioia, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1...what?
- iDoraemon, on 06/25/2008, -10/+2$70 repair fee?! Holy crap, that's $20 more than what I paid for my iPod Shuffle!
/likes his simple Shuffle- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3I don't fix the shuffle.
- banmaster, on 06/25/2008, -5/+22" fixing broken iPods with cheap, Chinese spare parts"
But the iPod IS made from cheap Chinese parts, and cheap child labor too.- FinestCall, on 06/25/2008, -1/+0No wonder Nike got into the business too.
- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -0/+10We only use Original Apple parts or OEM Apple parts in our repairs.
- hapax, on 06/25/2008, -7/+3Chinese medicine FTW
- TechCF, on 06/25/2008, -1/+7We have a "Dr.Ipod" in Norway too. Great service. dripod.no
He doesn't make house calls though.. - DownloadThis, on 06/25/2008, -6/+8How long before Apple comes down on this guy and ruins a great service in the name of money?
- reformation, on 06/25/2008, -4/+5For ever?
ipod repairs are nothing new - no need to act like a jerk.
- reformation, on 06/25/2008, -4/+5For ever?
- Kalakov, on 06/25/2008, -7/+3I hate people wearing those bluetooth headsets... makes them look smug.
- OpCzar, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4He actually has a reason to own one - his business is in fact on wheels!
- cdigioia, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2And...by smug do you mean really really nerdy?
- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1Hey I think that guy looks really COOL!! :)
- chkdg8, on 06/25/2008, -0/+6Only in New York.
- jcpeden, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1Superb idea; I wonder how much he makes...
- aussieNickuss, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2If he charges a fee of $70, and just say he fixes four iPods in a day (probably more....who knows), that's about $1400 a week (for a five-day week).
- kurtu5, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Before starting work today I did the maths for 8 repairs a day.
120K a year. So at that rate in NYC he can afford to eat mcdonalds.
- kurtu5, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Before starting work today I did the maths for 8 repairs a day.
- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Not enough!
- aussieNickuss, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2If he charges a fee of $70, and just say he fixes four iPods in a day (probably more....who knows), that's about $1400 a week (for a five-day week).
- moisie, on 06/25/2008, -0/+6Why the concern from the Daily Show guy about getting his music off the old drive? It's in his iTunes library!
- directive0, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2Unless, like me, he has it set to manually managed and simply drags and drops music off his friends computers. Great way to get a taste of everything, makes backing up your booty a bitch.
- xatx2, on 06/25/2008, -5/+1stupid
- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -2/+3Great Idea! wish I had thought of it!
- marioestrada, on 06/25/2008, -8/+1"The screen was cracked. It still worked, but at that point, it was just a 4-gig iPod shuffle. You couldn't see what song was playing."
Isn't that the way the shuffle is supposed to work? :S
(I know... he was referring to a nano :P) - DaviDaviDaviD, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4What a delightful story! I'm glad there are some people left that repair instead of the modern day attitude of throw away and get a new one.
- mochaman, on 06/25/2008, -2/+3I tried to get him to service my 4G iPod, I knew that my drive was out, but the guy didn't give me a good price . He wanted to buy it from me for cheap I said screw it and did it myself. It's not hard to do if you don't mine getting down to the nitty gritty.
- dhirajj, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2what is this guy's contact info?
- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1ipoddoctor gmail
- soxnoslo, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2http://nycipoddoctor.com/
- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1ipoddoctor gmail
- dhirajj, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2what is this guy's contact info?
- kaiquan, on 06/25/2008, -3/+1please fix my 1st gen shuffle!!! (which i'm no longer using)
- cdubd, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Smart business man. Talk about tapping into a HUGE customer base.
- shaba1, on 06/25/2008, -3/+1$70 for the fix...could easily buy a used one off ebay or something
- Skurt, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2If you can get one that isn't fake/stolen/already broken... Shipping is $20.00 more
quick glance on ebay brings the cheapest ipod at $108 for a 8GB nano 3g + $5 shipping on the time ending soonest page with 10 min to go, then same at $118 w/ $5 shipping then a 30gb 5g for $130 w$15 shipping
so $70, maybe for an old 30gb 4g that is dubious...
+ we all know that these ebay auctions go right up at the very end.
- Skurt, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2If you can get one that isn't fake/stolen/already broken... Shipping is $20.00 more
- Skurt, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Wish he was in Venice, CA... I could use my 4g ipod's click wheel fixed... I literally have to pound/punch the menu button with my finger to get it to do anything, all the rest of the buttons work but that damn menu button to choose stuff is hell...
One day I'll take it apart and see if it is coated with dirt or something. I think my polishing paste got under the wheel.
Good thing my 5g works fine.- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1I do offer mail in service
- Skurt, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Thanks, but you live across the country ;) cost more to ship both ways than just get a new click wheel.
I took it apart the other day and as suspected, polishing paste had gotten all over everything (menu button is on top)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6049/dscf062601 ...
I used some alcohol and a soft tooth brush to clean it all up. Sadly, I still have to pound the damn menu button hard to get it to 'back up' and forget holding select/menu to do a reset.
I found a couple of places that sell a whole new faceplate with click wheel for 15 + 5 shipping so for $20.00 I think that should fix it.
- Skurt, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Thanks, but you live across the country ;) cost more to ship both ways than just get a new click wheel.
- TheiPodDoctor, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1I do offer mail in service
- Pegasus_Strain, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1Who else read "Surprisingly, he is self-taught. His Greek-immigrant father was a superintendent in an apartment building " and saw "His GEEK-immigrant father"?
- soxnoslo, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3I think this is his website....great idea.
http://nycipoddoctor.com/ - yerich, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4"Heavy-set guy" strolls around Manhattan fixing broken iPods with cheap, Chinese spare parts.
You know, iPods themselves are originally made from cheap Chinese parts. - bippitybop1, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1aussieNickuss ftl. YOST SAID THE YASTE MEISTER!
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