Judge Says iPhone Battery Lawsuit Has No Juice

A judge in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois Friday said no way Jose Trujillo, an iPhone user who sued Apple and AT&T, claiming that the iPhone maker and its carrier lied to consumers about the product's battery life.

In his opinion, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said, "Apple disclosed on the outside of the iPhone package that the [battery has] limited recharge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by [an] Apple service provider, according to the Apple blog site, tuaw.com. "Under the circumstances, no reasonable jury could find that deception occurred."

A ruling regarding AT&T has not yet been rendered.

Trujillo sued the companies in 2007, and in his court filing said, "This case arises out of the defendants' purposeful and fraudulent concealment to purchasers of its iPhone cellular telephone that they will be required to incur an annual cell fee of $85.95 as part of defendants' battery replacement program."

In court documents, Trujillo also said that "the battery enclosed in the iPhone can only be charged 300 times before it will be in need of replacement, necessitating a new battery annually."

However, as Judge Kennelly pointed out in his decision, Apple spells out details about battery life on the iPhone package. It also advised users about the iPhone charge cycles on its Web site.

"A properly maintained iPhone battery is designed to retain up to 80 percent of its capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles. You may choose to replace your battery when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs."