The newly-released iPod classic has a serious design flaw that very few people are aware of: the metallic silver back half has been re-designed to prevent it from being removed. On earlier iPod models, like the previously-released 5th Generation Video iPod, one could separate the two halves using a do-it-yourself iPod battery replacement kit or, in a pinch, a metal screwdriver.

On the iPod classic, however, a series of small metal teeth have been added to the design. These teeth surround all four sides of the interior of the iPod classic and, once the two halves of the player are pressed together during assembly, the clips engage and that's it - the unit is sealed up like an Egyptian tomb. This makes it very challenging to replace an .

With earlier iPods, if the LCD cracked, or the hard drive failed, or the battery stopped holding a charge, the average consumer could either perform the repair themselves or send it to a third party iPod service company like ipodjuice.com to do it for them. Now that these newer models are being designed with close-once-and-never-open-again cases, this drastically reduces the possibility that you will be able to repair your iPod on your own without having to engage Apple. And as most people know by know, iPods seem to fail or need service shortly after the warranty expires.

It will probably be a few months before this issue surfaces to the general public. It's quite likely that the saavy consumer will conclude that, in the long run, it may be better to keep their older model iPod up and running since they have self-service options available for them instead of upgrading to newer iPod model that can never be repaired.

There are a few iPod battery installation companies out there that are working on ways to open the new iPod classic without destroying the back half of the player in the process, but only time will tell if they will be successful or not.