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If approved new regulations would mean batteries on iPod and iPhone would have to be readily replaceable

Among Smartphones, the best selling device on  the market right now according to NPD Group is the Apple iPhone 3G. The iPhone is also the second best selling mobile phone of all right behind the Motorola RAZR V3.

One of the biggest criticisms of the device is that the battery is not user replaceable. For the vast majority of consumers not being able to replace the built-in rechargeable battery is not that big of a deal. When the original iPhone launched, there was an outcry against the non-replaceable battery. Apple ended up announcing an $86 mail-in replacement program for the battery.

AppleInsider reports that new directives being proposed could see Apple having to redesign all of its products -- including the iPhone -- to accommodate removable batteries that can be thrown away when the life of the product is over.

If approved the new directives wouldn’t be the first time a European program has forced product manufacturers to redesign products that are sold globally. RoHS went into effect in 2006 and many manufacturers went back to the drawing board for redesigns that would meet the specification.

Apple was specifically affected by RoHS with its iSight camera, which would have required a redesign to meet RoHS specifications. The result was Apple pulled the separate camera off the global market and integrated the iSight into its computers.

The new batteries directive would force all products sold in Europe to have batteries that are readily removable at the end of the product life to prevent the item from being sent to landfills or recycled with the battery inside.

The proposed directives are not intended to force manufacturers to redesign the products in a specific way reports AppleInsider. Rather the goal is to keep toxic materials out of landfills. No matter the intention of the regulations, the side effect could be something that consumers have been clamoring for since the iPod and iPhone were introduced -- removable batteries.

If Apple had to redesign to meet the criteria in Europe, it would mean that products globally would see the same features since it would make no sense to build and market products with two different designs. This could lead the way to an iPhone or iPod where the user could simply pop in a new and freshly charged battery on the run for additional run time.

AppleInsider quotes Gary Nevison of New Electronics saying, "the requirement is clearly intended to ensure that users can remove batteries by opening a cover by hand or after removal of one or two screws. The producer will also have to provide the user with details on how to remove the battery safely."

Knowing how closed Apple likes to keep its product ecosystem, if the new EU regulations are approved Apple could designing the product to require screws to be removed to access the battery. This would effectively prevent a user from popping in a new battery on the go; few would want to have to resort to removing screws for a few more hours of use.

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Make Sense
By SpaceJumper on 10/7/2008 12:02:48 PM , Rating: 4
This way, consumers do not have to relying on Apple for the battery replacement. It is better for the consumers and the environment.




RE: Make Sense
By SandmanWN on 10/7/08, Rating: 0
RE: Make Sense
By martinrichards23 on 10/7/2008 12:32:53 PM , Rating: 4
quote:
hardly, now we'll have cheap knock-off iphone batteries coming in from china. users will buy these and chunk their old batteries into the garbage.


RTFA.

The whole point is to stop waste. Batteries are recycled, you are not allowed to chuck them in the garbage, which is sensible, given how amazingly toxic they are.

The current situation means the whole product is garbaged (probably with battery) just because the battery runs out.


RE: Make Sense
By Spivonious on 10/7/2008 12:42:34 PM , Rating: 3
Does the trash man look through your garbage for batteries? If they find any, do they fine you?

Until those answers are both yes, people throw batteries away in the trash.


RE: Make Sense
By PrinceGaz on 10/7/2008 2:58:50 PM , Rating: 4
Yes. And yes.

In Britain, it is not unknown for the local council to have inspectors check what people are putting in their bins to ensure they are complying with recycling requirements. I've seen them do it on my local estate, they came round in a pick-up truck type vehicle on which they emptied the contents of bins onto the back and sorted through the rubbish. And I know they weren't identity-theft fraudsters because it was an official council truck and they were doing it in daylight then put what they found back in the bins, unlike the fraudsters who only ever do it at night and leave the rubbish lying in the street.

So I never throw away batteries in my bin :)


RE: Make Sense
By Springfield45 on 10/9/2008 1:10:07 PM , Rating: 3
What a country. Inocent people are sent to prison for trying to defend themselves, thugs walk free, and the local council rifles your bins. I lived there for two years. Until sanity is returned to the Isles, I never will.


RE: Make Sense
By overlandpark4me on 10/9/08, Rating: 0
RE: Make Sense
By SandmanWN on 10/7/2008 12:52:39 PM , Rating: 2
lol, oh please. do you honestly believe people will be more responsible with recycling batteries if they are allowed to remove them from their iphones. way too naive!

Cause recycling is what everybody freaking does today right! Just dont turn your back before they find the nearest disposal.


RE: Make Sense
By SandmanWN on 10/7/2008 12:56:29 PM , Rating: 3
if apple is responsible for the batteries it creates one choke point for the environmental lobby to keep an eye out for improper disposal. nothing can stop the end user from dumping it wherever they choose to do so, especially if they have to pay for disposal.


RE: Make Sense
By ceefka on 10/8/2008 7:04:53 AM , Rating: 2
In The Netherlands you pay for disposal when buying anything electric, like a sort of tax, so there's no escaping that.

quote:
nothing can stop the end user from dumping it wherever they choose to do so,

Yes there is: the end user can stop him/herself. To dispose of it properly it simply takes a bit of consideration from the consumer. How much effort is it really to dispose of it properly? It's not like you have to drive miles and miles to do that. We have a special bin for batteries and other chemical waste.


RE: Make Sense
By tmouse on 10/8/2008 1:19:47 PM , Rating: 2
You seem to be missing the point; the vast majority of people will chuck the whole thing since it will seem to be cheaper to get the new version with new batteries. This increases battery and electronic waste. If there are removable batteries many would find it cheaper to replace the batteries (depending on whether they are user replaceable or not). Apple will either have them not replaceable or the battery will be a custom form not available (although others could still make knock off types). Keep in mind this is not an anti Apple law many companies are making sealed devices (and many more will seeing Apples success with compelling people to upgrade by placing battery replacement costs within earshot of device replacement costs. Apple is in business to sell devices not replacement batteries. The interesting thing is how a company championing throw away devices is still looked on as a champion of greeness.


RE: Make Sense
By SandmanWN on 10/8/2008 1:49:41 PM , Rating: 2
my point was that if they can replace the batteries then they'll just buy a new one and chunk the old one. then a year later chunk the phone and the second battery, basically doubling the waste.

what im really pushing at is if apple handles this correctly by offering discounts on bringing old phones in for new ones including the battery then there is a more likely chance this will succeed than by hoping and praying that people do the right thing.

i find it funny that you say they arent in the business of replacing batteries when they've already incorporated that into the current business model. maybe you missed the point.


RE: Make Sense
By tmouse on 10/8/2008 2:28:43 PM , Rating: 2
First off let’s say it again: It Is Not An Anti-Apple law. Most of the companies making disposables do NOT have a program to replace them, Apple itself did not until pressure and bad press compelled them. So, by and large, for the vast majority of disposables there is no gatekeeper. The goal (even for Apple) is NOT to sell replacement batteries but to sell replacement equipment. You force the consumer to consider replacement when the battery runs out. Apple has no plans to recycle old phones that I am aware of, maybe they will but unless the public outcry is big enough I doubt it. I do not follow your logic in your first paragraph If people cannot replace the batteries most will dump the entire unit and buy another, this doubles the waste. If you can replace the batteries many will; thus keeping the unit longer and only producing the battery waste, which is there either way. Relying on a company to lose money to recycle is a bad strategy and if they can make a profit then the cost to the consumer will probably lead to the same state we are in now with cell phones filling up landfills. Just because a company offers a service does not make it a real part of its profit model. $86 for changing a battery, not to mention the time lost during the service, do you really think more than a small fraction of the people using Apples stuff will do this? They now have sealed music devices, phones and laptops. There is no nano replacement program.


RE: Make Sense
By SandmanWN on 10/8/2008 4:27:37 PM , Rating: 2
to cut the ordeal short... im going to agree to disagree with you.

i think if you create a loop there are choke points where you can have better control of the process. you think the millions upon millions of end users will be more responsible.

so be it.


RE: Make Sense
By BZDTemp on 10/7/2008 1:10:31 PM , Rating: 2
Just because you haven't seen the light yet does not mean it is so in Europe.

Almost everybody over here recycles if possible. It is simply good sense and I suppose you can think of it just as people don't throw garbage out their car windows. Sure some do but most people put garbage in a trash can.

Over here people sort their garbage. There are containers for glass, metal, electronics, batteries, paper, untreated wood, treated wood (like furniture), mineral oil...

Sure it costs to set up the systems and it is a little inconvenient but makes for a cleaner environment, less energy use and we don't get mountains of waste near every city.


RE: Make Sense
By SandmanWN on 10/7/2008 1:53:36 PM , Rating: 2
yeah right, ive been throughout europe for many years. yeah they are a bit more mindful but your implication that they have some sort of massive adoption rate that far exceeds anyone elses in recycling is bogus at best. it still happens and it still happens on a pretty profound scale even in europe.

i see the economic benefits of the batteries being removable but im hardly naive enough to believe this will resort in some sort of in crease in environment consciousness for cell phone batteries. far too many get tossed away and i think apple may be on to a better way of cutting down their ewaste. a simple discount for bringing in your old phone for a discount on a new one will probably spur a much higher rate of proper cell phone battery disposal than opening up the possibility that the generally stupid public will take the responsibility upon themselves.


RE: Make Sense
By Oregonian2 on 10/7/2008 2:09:15 PM , Rating: 2
We used to have to sort things for the recycle pickup, but they changed to only a two-way sort with glass in one container (well, and oil in jugs sit next to that one) and all others go into a single big container that they sort themselves. Recycle bins are "free" while garbage pickup is not, so recycle percentage is high (eighty-something percent I think). But coverage is less. Things like batteries, sharps, toxic stuff (paints, solvents, etc) need to be delivered to a place ten miles away (but they take it there for free). Also one is stuck with things like TV sets unless one can convince a Goodwill to take it -- else one has to pay for recycling those so they tend not to be (think that's being "fixed" by a new program in a few months).

So, recycling varies a lot in the U.S. depending where one is because it's done by local governments. It's also influenced by whether or not that local government has something it can do with it after it collects it. Wish they'd take those stupid sytrofoam peanuts that shipping packages are filled with (although less so in recent years). We've recycled the stuff to ship-it stores, but they'll take only so much. Need to start selling stuff on ebay to 'recycle' it ourselves, kinda. :-)


RE: Make Sense
By afkrotch on 10/9/2008 9:49:22 AM , Rating: 2
The best recycling programs are the ones best left out of the hands of the consumers. Take S.Korea for example. There are no special bins, no special trash bags, etc. You take all trash and toss it in a bag. All the sorting is done at the dump, by those who work there. They will go through and sort your glass, metals, papers, plastics, etc.

Here in Germany you sort by paper, plastic/aluminium/styrofoam/wax covered paper (like milk cartons), and rubbish. Glass is recycled by color and there may or may not be a pickup. If there is none, then you have to cart your ass to the nearest recycle center. For those who live in a city environment (like myself), we don't waste our time recycling. We just dump it all into the big dumpster and avoid the recycle dumpster like a plague. These type of programs both work and don't work.

Japan is terrible with it. Not only do they not recycle (cept plastic bottles, it seems), but trash is burnt. You get burnable and non-burnable trash and then plastic bottles. Not only do you create a lot of waste, but you pollute more by burning it.

Anyways, I really wouldn't expect users will be pulling batteries out when throwing away a product. They probably won't add another bin for batteries, as no one is gonna create a whole ton of battery waste. Also it's inconvienent to have the user take the batteries to a recycling plant. Now if Apple or any other company for that matter had a type of recycling programs where they rewarded the users (like 5% off next Apple product purchase or whatever), this would probably have more of an impact than some regulation to force manufacturers to make replaceable batteries in all products that use them.