14 DAY TRIAL // iPad 2 units bearing identical serial numbers are being recalled following reports that some stores have been forced to send back more than 100 tablets. Apple, however, said in a statement that the number of iPads being recalled was ‘extremely small.’
When compared to the total amount of tablets sold since the iPad 2 arrived, the units being recalled should indeed not affect Apple’s bottom line too much.
Apple confirmed to AllThingsD on Friday that iPad 2 units being recalled were specifically those crafted to work on Verizon’s CDMA network.
“Duplicate MEID numbers were flashed onto an extremely small number of iPad 2 units for the verizon 3G network,” an Apple representative said on Friday.
As any Apple retail staffers will tell you, the serial number, or mobile equipment identifier (MEID), it required in the activation process of a CDMA iPad 2.
These identifiers are unique to each device, or at least should be, now that we know mistakes are being made in this area as well.
As noted above, a single store is said to have sent back more than 100 tablets, despite Apple’s claims that the number of iPad 2 units being recalled was ‘extremely small.’
Apple has had its share of problems with the iPad 2, including malfunctioning units.
Numerous early adopters reported light bleeding from behind the tablet’s LCD screen.
Others said they had bad pixels on their displays, though such reports were extremely small in numbers.
Of course, in any such case Apple will replace the customer’s tablet with another, free of charge.
However, the company is known to provide refurbished units as replacements, not brand new ones.
A refurbished Apple product is pre-owned, but one that has undergone a stringent refurbishment process, including re-boxing, which effectively makes it a new device.