If you live in New York City, you may remember seeing those dancing silhouette ipod posters defaced with the following spray-painted message: "iPod's unreplaceable battery lasts only 18 mos." This public service graffiti was the work of multimedia artists Van and Casey Neistat. The Neistats and many other ipod consumers were disgruntled over faulty batteries in early models of the music player. You can watch a short film of the pair's Apple ordeal at their website, ipodsdirtylittlesecret.com.

A class action lawsuit filed on behalf of iPod consumers alleged that Apple shipped iPods with faulty batteries that would drain in as little as four hours, well short of the promised 10-12 hours. In addition, some batteries also saw a significant drop in performance over time, often after the warranty had expired.

Under the terms of a tentative settlement agreement, Apple will offer owners of third generation iPods a one-year extension on the battery warranty if they fill out claim forms, which are available at appleipodsettlement.com. If the iPod fails within that year they can request either a new iPod or a replacement battery. Consumers who bought first- or second-generation iPods have their choice of either a $50 coupon good for the purchase of any Apple Product (except iTunes) or a $25 payment.

Approximately two million consumers will qualify for the the offer, which could end up costing Apple $100 million if the settlement is approved.

In November 2003, Apple began offering replacement batteries for $99. Consumers who paid the $99 for a new battery can ask for $49.50 back in cash, according to the terms of the settlement.

According to MTV news, Casey Neistat had the following reaction to the settlement news:

'Are they crediting me?!' he yelled over his cell phone as he maneuvered his bicycle along the city streets. 'This is totally my doing! This should be called the Neistat Brothers Act. I think it's about fucking time! But more importantly, this is a perfect example of consumers empowering themselves and holding corporations accountable.'