Apple Computeris stock took a beating in Friday morning trading, as investors reacted negatively to news that Apple had settled a class action suit involving iPod battery life. The stock traded some 5% lower in heavy trading over concern that Apple could pay upwards of US$100 million in the settlement.
At issue was a class-action suit over the battery life of second and third generation iPods. The settlement offer of $50 vouchers towards the purchase of new iPods, and extended warranties for affected iPods, could involve as many as two million owners of 2G and 3G iPods. For more information on the suit and the settlement, read TMOis full coverage.
Appleis sell-off came in the midst of a broader technology downtick that included iPod suppliers Synaptics, Inc. (down 1.2%), and Portal Player (down 1.2%). A disappointing jobs report from the United States Labor Department also contributed to broader stock declines.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small stake in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.
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