Apple has created an iPod + iPod mini Lithium-ion battery page that explains how to take care of your batteries and maximize their life and performance. Apple has also posted a page for maximizing the lifespan and battery life of your iBook or PowerBook.
Paying attention to just a few common sense pointers will pay off with a longer battery lifespan and battery life for your iPod. The most important thing is to keep your iPod out of the sun or a hot car (even the glove box). Heat will degrade your battery
“keep your iPod out of the sun or a hot car (even the glove box)”
where does it go in your BMW
1st post
“…that explains how to take car of your batteries and maximize…”
Oops. Missed an “e” on the end of car.
I like when a vendor gives its customers “common sense” pointers. To me that is a nice way of calling the customer stupid.
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That’s when you are not in the car. If you are in the car, you probably have the A/C on if is too hot.
I already do what they recommend on the website. And, of course, I have no problems with my iPod’s battery life. I have a first generation iPod (purchased used, on top of that). And I can easily get 8 hours of play time.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> I think what really helps is completely draining the battery whenever possible before recharging.
do not taunt happy fun ipod…
“”keep your iPod out of the sun or a hot car (even the glove box)”
where does it go in your BMW”
I think that’s relating to leaving it in your car while you shop at the mall, rather than while you’re just driving around town.
i never use even half my mini’s battery. what’s so hard about putting it in the charger anyway?
Mac Beth, you make an important point, which Apple missed, and that is that these are *not* nicad batteries. Lithium cells have no memory, so they do not need to be discharged all the way so that they will charge up all the way. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Charging early and often maximizes life. Don’t worry about full discharges – when it happens, it happens, but if you can, charge.
Mike
This should be a user-changeable battery, like on every other consumer device on planet earth. This is expensive and cumbersome to send this back to Apple. You dont even get your same iPod back.
It doesn’t take a minutes more of planning to get this user changeable. Apple dropped the ball on this, or they are using it as a dumb way to make a few extra bucks off iPod customers.
BMW’s have air-conditioned glove boxes. My VW Passat also has air in there as well. Common sense for any electronic gizmo is: no extremes of hot or cold. I agree that Apple should have user-replaceable batteries for the Pods. But they don’t at the moment so take heed. You can now have your battery replaced from various sources at a reasonable (ok, near reasonable) cost.
Sure they could’ve made it user changeable. But that would have added bulk to the iPod size.
And a nasty ugly break in the elegant case design…and a latch, likely, too.
I never park my beemer in the sun and my original iPod, long in the tooth as it’s getting, works lover-ly. Still, the tips are overdue (talk about missing manuals).
The battery problems are exaggerated by most people and unfortunately this has become a reason not to buy an iPod. I do not think that a replaceable battery would compromise the sleek design of the iPod. Apple should look at the way Nintendo implemented the rechargeable battery in the Gameboy Advance SP, a device that has been as much a triumph of form and function as the iPod.
i get about 3 hours from my ipod. i put it to sleep everytime i’m finished using it. sometimes i have to press random buttons for 3-4 minutes just to wake it from sleep. if i don’t put it to sleep, and let the ipod just sleep naturally, and then use it from a cold rest again, i’m lucky to get at most 2 hours of life. also my ipod buttons just freeze at times when i’m trying to advance songs – for 10-15 minutes at a time. then, it executes all the buttons i pressed in succession after coming back to life. it’s annoying – maybe i got a lemon, but fuck if i’m going to go through the endless crap to send my ipod back to get fixed, etc. i hate doing that for my powerbook, much less a friggin walkman.
i think maybe a goddamn on/off button would be a good fucking idea, at least for piece of mind.
Mac Beth and M. T. Mac Phee , this link explains it a little better.
http://www.apple.com/batteries/
> think maybe a *** on/off button would be a good *** idea, at least for piece of mind.
turn it off by pressing the play button for two seconds.
I’ve replaced my iPod battery with elastic bands and now get 16 hours playback if I twist them enough.
MacUser (UK) had an excellent editorial about this a few months ago. They questioned how people can be so stupid when it comes to batteries, assuming that they can’t wear out. If batteries never ran out, cities would run on them, just have huge warehouses full of everlasting batteries.
Reality is, everything wears out sooner or later, even humans
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> But being Mac users, we earn more than PC people so can afford to replace things when they eventually do.
I run my iPod on the Energon cubes that the Autobots gave me
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Question on Powerbook batteries: On the Apple site, it says to charge and discharge at least once per month. It also says (in the link to the right) to calibrate the battery every few months. What’s the difference between the two?
iSteve – I got your reference. That was one of the funniest product commercials…