Apple faces suits on IPod battery

NEW YORK: Apple Computer Inc. faces five class action suits filed in December claiming it misrepresented the battery life of its iPod digital music player, the company said on Tuesday in a regulatory filing.

The Cupertino, California maker of the Macintosh computer has been buoyed in recent quarters by robust sales of the iPod. But users have complained the iPod battery wears out too quickly.

The lawsuit's complaints include unfair competition and claims of false advertising, fraudulent concealment and breach of warranty, Apple said.

"The company is beginning its investigation of these claims," Apple said in the filing.

The plaintiffs have asked to consolidate the suits, which were filed between Dec. 23 and Dec. 30 in the counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco and Alameda, in San Mateo County. Apple is pushing for Santa Clara County, it said.

Apple also said in the filing that, if it had expensed the costs of stock options for employees based on the Black-Scholes method of determining value, its fiscal first-quarter earnings would have been 9 cents per share instead of the 17 cents per share it reported.

In the year-earlier quarter, it would have reported a loss of 17 cents per share instead of a loss of 2 cents a share.

© Reuters