It doesn’t surprise me that they have replacements ready to hand out. I’ve heard (but don’t know for sure) that replacements may refurbished phones that have been returned in the past for some reason. Personally, I’m a fan of refurbished items because I figure any problem has been fixed and the item has been tested.

I’m more surprised that the battery was charged. Perhaps if it was a refurb, they charge the battery as part of the testing process?

Also note that the replacement handset they pulled out did *not* have a SIM card in it. I noticed when the genius guy pulled out the SIM holder that it was empty. To me this implied that this phone was packaged to be a replacement. (i.e. They would not sell it as new because there’s no SIM.)

—o1 – snip —
I wonder how many they replace a day. I’ve heard numerous anecdotal accounts of problems with the iphone. What’s the warranty period? Will that phone be covered?
—o1 – snip —

Not sure what the replacement rate is. Note, however, that since the phone has been on the market for less than a year *all* phones are currently under warranty. Thus, anyone that walks in the store with an iPhone right now is eligible for service. I figure that they’re pretty liberal with there policies at this moment in time to keep the early adopters happy and the buzz positive. (Esp. after the price reductions…) Plus, it is a first generation device. I’d expect a higher than average problem/return rate.

As far as my warranty, I assume it’s still one year from my original purchase date… but you have a good point. I’ll check on that…

–truk snip–
I’m still trying to figure out how a strange receptacle could have killed your phone.
– truk snip—

I know, right? I wouldn’t have been surprised if it didn’t work for some reason (I’ve read that many iPod accessories aren’t compatible with the iPhone) but I’m really surprised it fried.

–truk snip–
I’m already seeing some memory effect issues with the battery
–truk snip–

I’m guessing you’ve read the stuff at Apple about this:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/

Esp this line: “Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity slightly…”

The way I acted upon this information is to reduce the number of full charge cycles I put my phone through. For example, if my phone is not dead (or very low) at the end of the day I don’t charge it. By the same token, I don’t use my cradle as the default holder. Rather, I just put it on when I need to sync or charge.

This is probably easier for me to do than some people because on a typical, non-traveling day I don’t actually spend a ton of time talking on the phone. Thus, a single charge often lasts me several days.

ta,
-peebo

The new battery would be the biggest bonus of this story to me. I’m already seeing some memory effect issues with the battery, and I’m betting I will have to buy a replacement battery within the next 6-7 months…