TOKYO |
TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's Japan unit will replace any iPod nano portable music players that overheat, it said in an online statement, improving an earlier offer to replace only their faulty batteries.
The concession on Tuesday came after Japan's trade ministry put the world's largest technology company under scrutiny, ordering it to publish an "easy to understand" statement on its website explaining how users of the devices could receive replacement batteries and obtain advice.
The first generation models, sold between September 2005 and December 2006, have been responsible for around 60 incidents of overheating in Japan, including four cases of minor burns, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
Apple described the incidents as "very rare" and has blamed the problem on a single battery supplier, without identifying the maker.
A spokesman for the U.S. company in Tokyo on Wednesday declined to comment on the number of the devices sold in Japan or on the spat with the Japanese government.
"We've worked closely with METI to make sure first-generation iPod nano customers who are concerned with their battery have the latest information," U.S.-based spokesman Tom Neumayr had said on August 6.
METI said it was "truly regrettable" that it took Apple until Sunday to report around 30 of the incidents of overheating.
(Reporting by Benjamin Shatil, Editing by Tim Kelly)
The first-generation iPod Nano
In an online statement, the Japanese unit of Apple Inc. said that it will replace overheating first-generation . Apple had originally only offered to replace the defective batteries, not the whole device. The change came after Apple received criticism from the Japanese government over the defective batteries in the portable music players.

The affected iPod model is the first-generation iPod Nano, about 1.8 million of which were sold in Japan from September 2005–December 2006. Apple stated that the "very rare cases of overheating"  were caused by faulty batteries traced back to a single supplier, whose name was not given. According to Apple, other iPod Nanos did not have the issue, which occurs during the recharging process..

Around 60 cases of malfunctioning iPods overheating have been reported, causing a total of six fires and leaving four people with minor burns. Japan's  (METI) said that it had been aware of 27 accidents related to the devices. Last week, METI announced that Apple had informed it of 34 additional overheating incidents, which the company called "non-serious." The ministry responded by calling Apple's postponement of the report "truly regrettable."

Earlier, Apple Japan had posted information about the faulty devices on their website, but was criticized for not displaying the warnings in a place where they could be easily found. Apple was told to put an "easy to understand" notice on their website detailing how consumers could get replacement batteries for their iPods. METI later reported that Apple appeared to have complied with the order.