MacResQ has announced iPodResQ which is a nationwide repair service for Apple iPods. iPodResQ offers iPod owners in the United States with 24-hour repairs and battery replacements for iPods. No mention is made of iPod mini service at the time of this article’s posting.
The cost of the iPodResQ 24-Hour Repair Service is $29 for a basic repair or $79 for a new battery.
In addition, the FAQ on the iPodResQ site mentions the possibility of upgrading iPod hard drive capacity in certain cases.
More info here.
Also, some companies sell iPod batteries for you to put in yourself, even cheaper: $49. The Mini will get the same, I’m sure–and I’ve now seen two reviews in major publications (WSJ) stating that the Mini gets more than Apple’s stated battery life.
http://ipodbatteryfaq.com/
Obviously, over time, battery life will diminish. 2-3 hours is what I expect to need before I can get back to an outlet, so the rest is just a nice cushion!
As soon as I typed that I ran across iPod batteries on special for $45:
http://www.smalldog.com/wag14009/atdealmacex/
http://www.smalldog.com/wag14010/atdealmacex/
Paying for it to be done for you is a nice option to have too, though.
I have a 1st Generation iPod 20Gb that still works just fine, I use it in the car on trips with a transpod.
The Mac Team
A guy at a bar showed me his Rio Cali Sport which he had upgraded to 1 Gig Flash. The total price ended up at around 300 USD cuz of the high cost of another 256 MB flash. The user interface was clunky and the capacity still 1/4 of the Minipod but the one thing that did seem kinda cool was that he said it was shock proof and water proof. Any anecdotal stories about how tough the ipod is? I am always treating mine very nicely cuz I don’t want to break it.
I can anecdotaly say I’ve never heard of a broken iPod
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
Seriously though, a hard disk is a more shock-sensitive device than a flash player. If that makes flash RAM worth the huge cost, then do consider it. But iPods are made with measures to protect against shock, so they can be used in active situations. I have no stats to offer no how likely an iPod HD is to be damaged by a drop. It’s possible, I’m sure. But any player can potentially be broken by a drop. And I for one will feel the need to baby anything that costs over $100
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
I would not drop an iPod in water… but then again, “water-resistant” watches are likely to fail when wet too. The key is the word “resistant.” What word does Rio truly use?
Also as far as shock resistance: a shock can make your music skip, or it can do actual damage. A skip is the more likely consequence. Rio advertises “no skips.” An iPod will skip only rarely–it loads from HD to RAM and plays from RAM until more data is needed from HD. So if you plan to bounce a player around a lot, and don’t mind being locked out of iTunes, and don’t need the iPod’s ease of use… then you’ll still be better off with an iPod mini. It holds 4x the music for $50 lower cost. But it may skip occasionally when jolted
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
There is more danger in it getting stolen than skipping.
And no the iPod is not waterproof to 300 meters