My iPod is broken. It's one of the older touch wheel 20GB models. My
educated guess is that just the contact is broken, because it operates
fine but for the rather inconvenient fact that no sound comes out of
it. Apple's service fees are, as far as I can tell, exorbitant -- but
I have a suspicion some clever fellow somewhere offers this service
for less. My question is, who will repair it, and for how much?

ams100272...

Your model sounds like a 20GB dock connector model, shown here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61688#dockconnector

A repair site that specializes in iPods and touts itself as being
the best-priced out there is iPodMods.com. I didn't come across
anyplace that looked less expensive:
http://www.ipodmods.com

On their parts page, the 20GB dock connector model matches
what they call a 3G:
http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/ipod-parts.html

The 3G parts page is here:
http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/g3-ipod-parts.html

Notice the first item is diagnostics - price: $.01

Their page on diagnostics explains how they waive the
diagnostics fee and only charge you for return shipping
if you decide not to have it repaired subsequent to
receiving their quote for parts and service:

"...once received, a Certified Technician will determine
 the problem with your iPod. You will be sent a detailed
 and affordable repair quote 24-48hrs after your iPod is
 received. If you approve the quote, we can re-bill your
 credit card for the repair(s). If you do not approve we
 will offer to buy your iPod for salvage value or send
 your iPod back and just charge return shipping."

More on the page:
http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/mail-in-diagnostic-repair.html


If the problem with the touch-wheel is contained in the
front panel assembly, a new one costs $75:
http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/g3-front-panel.html

I'm sure there is an additional charge for labor, but
I doubt it would be prohibitively expensive, as this
looks like an easy part for an experienced tech to replace.


Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that  
the answer cannot be improved upon by way of a dialog  
established through the "Request for Clarification" process. 
 
A user's guide on this topic is on skermit-ga's site, here: 
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/answer_guide.html#how_clarify 
 
sublime1-ga


Additional information may be found from an exploration of
the links resulting from the Google searches outlined below.

Searches done, via Google:

"ipod repair"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22ipod+repair%22

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ams100272-ga on 24 Sep 2005 08:41 PDT

Hi -- I think I should have been more specific in my question, but
this answer lacks some of the information I was hoping for. For one,
it only offers one possible service. For two, it offers no independent
verification of the suggested service -- something analagous to an
eBay star rating -- which is especially important if in fact it is the
only choice. If I were to write the question over again, I would ask
for both.

---

Clarification of Answer by sublime1-ga on 24 Sep 2005 14:01 PDT

ams100272...

Given that researchers earn 75% of the question price, I thought
it more useful to focus on providing you with the best results,
rather than list several others that don't seem as promising.
http://answers.google.com/answers/pricing.html

This type of service is relatively new, so there aren't a bunch
of reviews out there. The first one I found was glowing.

The author of EphPod software reviews ipodmods.com here:

"The staff at iPodMods deliver exactly what they advertise,
 and they do it in the fastest possible way. If you're
 looking for a way to personalize your iPod in way that
 distinguishes it from the others around you, this is the
 best solution right now. If my iPod broke out of warranty,
 I would definitely send it to iPodMods to fix it up."
http://www.ephpod.com/ipodmods/

...and here:

"Company founder, Ben, drew a business plan based on his
 knowledge of business and engineering from Western Michigan
 University. Identifying this newly emerging market for
 electronic customization, he quickly assembled a crack
 team of electronic surgeons to take advantage of the
 iPod's popularity. His company specializes in iPod
 hardware repair, parts replacement, as well as extreme
 make-overs."

He's not just the Founder, he's a user of the service:

"So what mod does Ben have for his own iPod? 'I have the
 Patriot mod on my 40 GB iPod, with 'IPODMODS' engraved
 on the back. The touch pad buttons are colored red, white,
 blue, red and paired with a blue LCD screen. I get a lot
 of compliments.'"

Ben compares iPod repair to open-heart surgery:

"According to Ben at iPodMods.com, 'a lot of people who
 try to replace their batteries themselves end up tearing
 the ribbon cable that connects the logic board to the
 battery. Cracking open an iPod is a skill that requires
 patience, practice and some really solid soldering skills.'
 iPod repair, like open-heart surgery, takes a skilled
 surgeon. One wrong move on the operating table and you
 can lose the patient. Luckily, iPodMods offers a complete
 guarantee for all their work."

Read the whole 3-page review starting here:
http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/reviews/podmod/modpod1.shtml

Here's a gallery of their modification and repair photos:
http://exiledkzoo.com/v-web/gallery/albums.php


Here's an attempt at a review on the Gizmodo blog, with 
600,000 readers, but it didn't generate any dialog:
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/ipodmods-023557.php


And here's a commented blog on iPodLounge started by
iPodMods, and generating the usual controversy:
http://www.ipodlounge.com/ipodnews_comments.php?id=3530_0_7_0_C


News flash from MacNewsNetwork in March 2004, indicating
they used to charge $20 for diagnostics which are now free:
http://216.22.45.41/news/24021



As for competition, there's plenty, but they don't seem
to have the reputation of iPodMods:

http://www.ipodresq.com

http://www.iPodRepair.com

http://iPodMechanic.com

http://www.brokenipods.com

http://www.minilec.com

http://www.macipodrepair.com


Searches on epinions returned no reviews. Searches on Google
Groups turned up no reviews.

Additional searches done, via Google:

"ipod repair"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22ipod+repair%22

ipod repair services
://www.google.com/search?q=ipod+repair+services

reviews "ipod repair services"
://www.google.com/search?q=reviews+%22ipod+repair+services%22

reviews ipod mods
://www.google.com/search?q=reviews+ipod+mods

reviews ipodmods
://www.google.com/search?q=reviews+ipodmods

"ipodmods" site:www.epinions.com
://www.google.com/search?q=%22ipodmods%22+site%3Awww.epinions.com

Fabulous answer! Request for greater detail was richly rewarded. Awesome researcher.

I am an actual customer of what I found to be the absolute cheapest
and the best ipod repair site www.docipod.com they are the best I
checked all of them out and I smell spam here I hope i am wrong but
free world and everyone is entitled to an opinion do the research for
yourself and check them out you can buy legal music and any other
elctronic device from them or just hang out in the new forums they
just posted dont take my word for it check them out www.docipod.com
they have a cool intro as well good luck