Apple plans 'abuse spy' for your iPhone

This system could save Apple a lot of money. However, there is a tradeoff: the perceived quality of Apple's customer service will take a hit.

One of the reasons Costco became really popular was their return policy. You were able to return any consumer electronics device without any questions asked. If word spreads that Apple refused to accept faulty devices, they'll end up pissing off their existing customers and scaring away new customers, even if the fault was due to abuse.

Another issue: will they count jailbreaking as "abuse"? What about using an unofficial app store like Cydia? (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=746198)

Interesting concept - reminds me of the black box on airplanes...

From a privacy perspective, there shouldn't be any automatic upload of this information to apple's servers-only when you go in and ask for a replacement. We'll have to wait and watch though.

I also wonder if this requires them to add a few sensors to the phone that are not present in the 3G or 3GS versions - which would mean this would only be applicable from the next version

I've broken three ipods in the last two years. All in the course of doing what I'd consider normal things to do with a portable music player. One from getting too much sweat on it, one from a waist level drop, and one from condensation from a water bottle. I won't buy another iPod again. I'm not sure if they're much more vulnerable than other brands, but they're sure more expensive, and too expensive to break that easily.