Damn I-Pod Battery!

  • This is just a rant. *

Although on the one hand the I-Pod Mini is the best damn invention since the wheel, on the other hand the battery life claims they make are pure horseshit. I bought a 4G I-Pod Mini back in January which “claimed” to have 8 hours of battery life. From the beginning it was never really 8 hours – probably 5 or 6 at best. But as time went on it got lower, and lower, and lower. Now, after only 9 months, it got to the point where I literally couldn’t play it for more than about an hour (MAYBE 90 minutes), even when fully charged, before it crapped out.

Yes, I was doing everything right. Not using the swirley wheel too much, not using the backlight or the equalizer, not leaving it on the charger too long after it finished charging, only charging it when it was down near zero charge, etc. So I called Apple and they said they have a program where, if the battery life really goes to shit within the first year of ownership, they cover it. You go to their website, find a certain page under the Service section and fill out your info (serial number, date of purchase, etc.). They then send you a special, pre-labeled box, and you put the I-Pod in it, call DHL to pick it up (or drop it off at a DHL location) and send it back within 30 days. In a couple weeks time they’re supposed to send me either the fixed one or a new one. Thank God.

Anyone else get furious by how weak their I-Pod battery got after short periods of ownership? I CAN’T workout without the damn thing! I tried it last night and it’s like Chinese water torture, what with the shit music they play in my gym! AAAAAARGH!! Those 2 weeks can’t pass fast enough!!!

Anyway, if any of you are having this problem, call Apple (or look carefully on their website). Within the first year of ownership they take care of it for free. (Maybe you have to pay the shipping – not sure). Just FYI . . .

Mine went after about 10months…I use it constantly. I didn’t get the free one from apply, I paid 25 for one from a company because they shipped it 2-day for free. Pretty easy to put in. Still sucks that you shell out 300dollars and the battery isn’t very good. Oh well, better than a friggin discman.

BTW, I’ve heard that apple doesnt actually replace the batter but instead ships you back a refurbished iPod. Not sure why or if it’s true.

Don’t pay Apple to replace it. They charge out the ass. You can do it yourself pretty easily.

I did mine myself for a total cost of about $20. Whereas Apple wanted $99.

Just do a search on Google on how to do it.

[quote]futuredave wrote:
Don’t pay Apple to replace it. They charge out the ass. You can do it yourself pretty easily.

I did mine myself for a total cost of about $20. Whereas Apple wanted $99.

Just do a search on Google on how to do it. [/quote]

If it’s within the first year of ownership, Apple does it for free (minus the shipping).

Well well well. My little $89 RCA Lyra 2010B that came with an arm strap and clip-on ear phones doesn’t seem like such a bad investment. Yes, it’s only 256mb, but it’s got a memory card slot. And my workouts rarely run over 90 minutes, so I don’t need all that space.

Damn it’s nice to be cheap.

the battery length they give is for one song on repeat because that way it doesnt have to access the harddrive. If you use shuffle or the light etc. it uses extra battery. I was getting 4 hours from my ipod brand new but i did their test where you drain the battery, do a full charge, then play one song on repeat and time it and it was near the recommendation.

I just wanted to add to this thread that iPods are overrated.
:slight_smile:
Its the simplicity and jive-ass commercials that suck the consumer in. If you look out there at the other mp3 players on the market…youll be damned well upset at what you could have bought after you picked up your ipod.

…then again…
when the video ipod is available, we will see how that goes. so far doesent seem too special though.

Golden rule of the world. If you buy an ipod you are a pathetic trendy boy and you must pay for your crime.

REPENT, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED!

Check out the new M:Robe from Olympus. 5Gigs for the price of the iPod Shuffle’s 1Gig.

Yes, I sell this stuff.

I’m very happy with my Rio Chiba (this is my second Rio product - the first one, a Rio500, got stolen). 256 meg able to be upgraded to 712. Don’t need any more than that.
I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories about the Ipod battery. My little Rio uses one AAA battery and it lasts pretty long. I can buy a lot of AAA batteries for $25. Came with a nice belt clip too.

[quote]gibran wrote:
If you look out there at the other mp3 players on the market…youll be damned well upset at what you could have bought after you picked up your ipod.
[/quote]

This argument really annoys me. I don’t own any mp3 player at the moment, but I’ve looked at what’s out there… and the iPod has the best combination of features (dimensions, hard drive size, interface), at least for my needs. People make these claims all the time… and they always seem to want to sell you some lame-assed flash player. Screw that.

Have you seen the Nano version? Damn catchy tv ad. But then again, we`re talking Apple here…

[quote]DAN C wrote:
Have you seen the Nano version? Damn catchy tv ad. But then again, we`re talking Apple here…[/quote]

Yeah, the Nano looks damn cool! I bought the 4G Mini in January, then they came out with a 6G Mini a few months later, with 18 hours of battery life! (Mine “has” 8). I was steamed! Now they come out with the Nano (much tinier and has 14 hours) for the same price. Bastards!

Go sony, 50-70 hrs on 1 AAA battery, excellent sound and great price. It is also cheap, i would never dish out for an ipod, sony is smaller, great sound great battery life, and I have rechargeable batteries so, it costs me almost nothing.

I have Duracell rechargeable batteries which work excellent, I would recommend both products, even 8, 10 or 20 hr battery life to me is crap. Sony will replace your product if there are any problems within the first year, you can also get a plan to extend that, for price its the best overall value. check it out