ITunes is incompatible with Acer PCs, can I get a refund on my iPhone 4S and buy a Galaxy instead?

Question

Ten days ago I signed a contract with Sprint for the 4S iPhone and Apple Care Plus through Radioshack. I also bought a $25 gift card to spend on iTunes Match.
When I got home to use it, and iTunes, I found that iTunes crashes within seconds of opening. Every time, guaranteed. I went through the usual steps recommended on these forums of checking for updates, turning off firewalls, restarting Windows, checking for viruses, uninstalling and reinstalling, running as administrator, pressing shift when opening, etc. No luck.
I went to the Apple store, and to my surprise, they claim iTunes is a whole seperate brand from Apple computers they know nothing about (I guess like how Ford and Lincoln are two seperate companies). Despite my expensive warranty, and the 4S not being remotely as usuable without iTunes (yes, I can still use it as a phone, and listen to Pandora, but I was really hoping to have MY collection of music and photos on it), theres nothing the Apple store would do. They recommended online support, but that breaks down to two options, these forums, and a paid (per minute?) "ExpressLane". According to Radioshack, that Express Lane is free with the Apple Care+ however, I'm afraid, if Apple Inc. considers iTunes a seperate company and service than the 4S, I will be charged a ton of money because technically my issue is with iTunes not the 4S hardware.
Nevertheless, at least at any cost someone on ExpressLane might be able to fix iTunes. But before I tried, I discovered that the problem is literally unfixable.
I discovered this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3224128
Like a dozen people, all with the same Acer Aspire, and assuming by their claims of 1.0Ghz dual core AMD, the exact same netbook model I have. The same problem. (Only they have been able to use the rest of iTunes, just not some feature.) They claim theyve been able to get iTunes running by turning off something called Genius. But I can't seem to do anything fast enough from the time I click the iTunes icon on the desktop to the time it crashes.
If iTunes, one of the biggest features of iPhones, is incompatible with Acer PCs, and my only option is to buy a whole new computer, don't I deserve a refund?
Who would I take it up with? The Apple store was kinda rude. Should I complain to Sprint stores, or to Radioshack? Or Express Lane? Who is responsible for a refund? How does Apple get away with not addressing an issue that affects one of the most popular lower price brands of computers? I don't suppose Acers are all that rare considering their price, they seem to be the PC of choice at Targets, Sears, Kmart, Walmart, etc.

Answer 1

If you want to return your iPhone, you must do so through whoever you purchased the iPhone from. If that was someone other than an Apple Store, either online or physical, then that dealer's return policies will apply; Apple will have nothing to say about it. You may have to talk to Sprint in regards to your contract with them. I believe you have 30 days to return your phone and cancel your contract, but I'm not certain about Sprint.
iTunes works fine under Windows on many, many systems, including Acer. Perhaps if you'll post details here, someone can help you sort things out. The thread you refer discusses an earlier version of iTunes and probably no longer applies even if that were the problem on your system, though I cannot say with certainty.  Note that if you are running Windows 7 Starter on your netbook, that version is reported to have problems with a lot of software, not just iTunes. Many people have installed and run iTunes quite successfully, though.
they claim iTunes is a whole seperate brand from Apple computers they know nothing about
I don't know who you talked to, but either there was a misunderstanding - the statement would apply perhaps to the iTunes Store, but not to iTunes as a program - or that person was an idiot. iTunes, the program, is most definitely an Apple product and should be supported fully by the Apple Store technical staff.
Regards.