The iPad won't be available for a few more weeks (April 3rd to be exact).

However, Apple has already posted a FAQ on what happens if the battery dies; as in, really dies. Kaput! Finished! Lifeless as a lugnut dead.

Answer: you get to buy a replacement iPad (which may or may not be someone else's mostly-dead iPad that has been refurbished) for $99 + shipping and handling.


This just doesn't sit right with me:

- On the one hand, would it be such a scandal if Apple sold replacement batteries for a hundred bucks? Answer: not really. I think that's steep. But, it's par for the course. A replacement battery for my Roomba is about $70, by comparison.

- Going with that line of logic, a whole new iPad sounds like a sweet deal. Right? Answer: not really.

1. Why not just fix your iPad and return it, instead of fixing someone else's iPad and returning it to you?

2. So, Apple just resells an iPad and makes money on it all over again?

3. So instead of taking responsibility for a failed unit, Apple turns it into a secondary revenue stream?