iPod's dirty secret

[Sildantar]

As an iPod owner (twice now, got the second generation 20GB, now the 3rd generation 40GB iPod), I've never had any problems with battery life save for the documented software issue where the pod's firmware would believe the battery was dead after current fluctuations. Fixed easily by a patch, and finish.

A previous poster here suggested opening the case yourself - this is impossible with the 2nd and 3rd generation iPods save the user disfiguring the iPod tremendously by sticking a crowbar into the thing, thanks to the case being fitted tightly all-round. Of course, I don't know the full story about the previous poster's friend who managed this, but I would assume, given it was two years old already, that it was a first-generation iPod, which could be pried open fairly easily without damaging the case.

Also, I've heard the iPod's battery should *not* be discharged fully & recharged, like another poster mentioned. The battery life is designated as ~500 complete cycles (i.e. full charge, full discharge). Partial cycles work, though, so it's always recommended to 'top out' your battery, i.e. always plugging it in when near a charger.

On my second-generation iPod, I did the same thing - discharging the battery every other week by playing at the loudest volume with the backlight turned on, and then regarging. This didn't have any notable effect whatsoever - after I stopped discharging completely every so often and just topped it off, the battery life did not deteriorate.

Yet another poster (forgive my laziness, I won't look up names) sarcastically asked '8 hours at half volume?' - not true. My 2nd gen iPod lasted full 10 hours as per specifications, at full volume. I tested this on an intercontinental flight with noisy babies in the same cabin as me, and I was blissfully unaware of their hollering for a full ten hours. It just made the remaining two hours of the flight all the more fitful. Similarly, my 3rd Gen iPod lasts a full 8-hours at maximum volume.

Hope this helps,
Sildantar