Issues with Airport Express Station: an Update

The main issue faced by APX owners is the sudden death of the wireless station without any prior sign, nor any chance to get it repaired by Apple. Nothing lasts forever but the problem with the APX is its tendency to die just after the end of the warranty: between 13 and 18 months... giving the APX one of the shortest half-life for a high-tech product...
As you might know, we were the first to report the problem and to start investigating it. Today, with over 200 reports of APX defects, we can draw some conclusions:
- as we originally suspected, it predominantly affects users living in 220/230V-based countries (98% of the reports).
- all defective APX have been manufactured by Foxconn during S2 2004
- as a result, all defective APX have a serial number starting with HS42, HS43 or HS44.
- most of the defective APX have a product number either A1084 or A1088.
We are still missing proof that the large amount of defective APX is based on a design or component failure, even though we also suspect a Samsung-branded fuse to be part of the problem.
In addition, Apple has recently changed the serial number of the APX, probably reflecting the change of manufacturer.
We keep collecting information so if you own a dead APX, please send all available information to: linathael at macbidouille dot com, indicating serial number, model number, voltage, estimated life of the APX, country.
We deeply regret that Apple does not propose, by default, a free exchange program for all defect APX, it is not acceptable to have a 150 € device working only 13 or 18 months. Does Apple really consider the APX problem or will they choose to keep ignoring it?? APX owners/users need to get a clear answer from Apple.