Apple has started off the week on a slightly sour note, first by being accused of ripping off customers for iPhone repairs, before also hearing news that a Chinese inventor has found a way to hijack the iPod Touch and turn it into a phone.

A mixed start to the week for Steve Jobs, let’s leave him to some quiet time with his iPad.

Starting with the news the repairs kafuffle, it appears that Apple has been taking exorbitant amounts from consumers to repair simple, problems; at times adding £100 (about €122) to a job as simple as replacing a cracked screen.

The Telegraph reports that in the UK, Apple “charges £139 for even the simplest work on a handset, such as replacing a cracked screen, but dozens of companies offer similar repairs for as little as £39.”

The report continues, “Customers pay £139 in store or £146.29 for Apple’s mail-order service. Those rejected for repair by the company must spend from £450 on a new handset. The Sunday Telegraph found a host of firms willing to carry out repairs for much less. While simple jobs can be done for as little as £39, more complex work that such as software reinstallations, can be done from £49.”

Consumers are being “seduced” by the Apple brand though, claimed some experts; with many Britons happy to pay the premium for fear of dealing with anyone outside of Apple’s in-house service. Perhaps they think other retailers or electronics experts use hammers and Stone Age axes to open up iPhones to repair them?

Interestingly, Rebecca Healy, of Ipswich-based iPhone Repairs, said it sourced replacement screens from the same Hong Kong supplier as Apple. “People end up paying a massive premium for parts that happen to have the Apple stamp on them,” she said.

Apple said it did not have a comment to make about the price of repairs. Meanwhile, the company’s opinion on the Apple Peel 520 – which can turn an iPod Touch into a smartphone – isn’t known either.

Invented by a 22-year-old programmer who lives in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, the Peel 520 is a case that fits around the outside of the iPod Touch. It contains a battery, dock connector and SIM card that allows voice calls. Apparently, users will also have to install special software to enable a text messaging function, and to allow the device to properly work with the iPod Touch; with users having to break into the software of the iPod in order to download the necessary applications.

Once installed, the Apple Peel gets around five hours of talk time and 120 hours on standby, according to a CNN report.

The inventor, who only wants to be known as ‘Maxpy’ said he created the Peel 520 because the iPhone is “too expensive in China”. Maxpy said he began building the device last April, revealing the final product online about a month ago via a company he started called Yosion Technology.

The iPhone, which was officially launched on the Chinese mainland last October, more than two years after its debut in most parts of the globe, costs between $588 – $740 while an iPod Touch is around $235. The Apple Peel sells for $57.

Whether or not the Apple Peel 520 will appeal to Chinese consumers or have any impact on iPhone sales in the country remains to be seen. So far, according to Maxpy, only around 150 of the devices have been pre-sold on Taobao.com, a popular Chinese e-commerce site. Two were sent to technology websites for review.

Still, it’s a cool idea nonetheless, and there are plans to mass manufacture the gadget in the future. However, Maxpy says those plans are on hold until the company can ensure there are no intellectual property right violations.

“We have no detailed plans,” he said. “But of course we want to make a profit from it.” Apple’s lawyers will no doubt be in touch.