[Thank The Cheese]

I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience. I'm afraid I've had mosty good experiences myself. Are you sure it's not faulty though? Some of the things you're describing dont sound right.

The fact that you got it off eBay increases the likelyhood of this. I'm always a little weary when I see people selling items on ebay that were only released a few weeks/months ago. Why would they buy an iPod and then sell it a few weeks later? often because it's faulty (or they dropped it) and the store won't give them their money back.

Just speculation, of course, but that is what happened to my brother in law recently when he bought a video card. Seemed like a great deal because it was brand new, but when he got it it had clearly been dropped and it didnt work properly.



The click wheel
It does take some getting used to to land on the right menu item without going too far, but it's hardly as dramatic as you make it seem. It shouldnt be that sensitive. For example, in order to increase the volumefrom 0 to 100% it requires more than a 360 degree spin.

Can't turn it off
Well, clearly it is faulty. WOuld be nice if Apple could ensure all iPods worked but they can't make that guarentee. Should be still under warrenty, shouldn't it?

Battery Life
15mins and 50% gone. Again- faulty. I had mine going for around 4 hours during a party the other week and it was just above 50% at the end of it.

Puch and Plastic
No arguments here. My pouch looked like a dead rat 48 hours after opening it, and my iPod is scratched despite my absolute best efforts. It would be nice if Apple made it from tougher materials, or included those clear protective films, but they're under no obligation IMO. It's plastic -- plastic scratches. it's what it does. You should see my mobile phone.

iCal sync
Haven't had a problem, but haven't used it much so I'm not in any position to say.

No dock or charger
I was a little miffed at first, but then I thought about it and realised that Apple released a new iPod with a colour screen, video capablities and re-made, thinner design, but did not increase the price. As such, they had to save money somehow. They could have included the dock and charger, but then it would have been an extra $100, and people would have been even more pissed off.