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Washington Post Covers iPod Battery Ruckus
An anonymous reader sent in a link to 'Battery and Assault: When His iPod Died, This Music Lover Tackled Apple. Stay Tuned.' in the Washington Post. The article (good reading even if you're familiar with the situation) has Apple reps being rather callous about the issue - I think it's a fairly reasonable assumption that if you spend several hundred dollars on a gizmo, it shouldn't be "disposable". A replacement battery for my cell phone cost $10; one for my cordless phone cost $10; Apple is presumably making a good deal of money on their $99 replacements.
Or you could just head over to ipodbattery and get a replacement battery for half of what apple charges.
Sure you have to install it yourself, but it's not hard at all.
http://www.xpurple.com
It's not an Apple battery.
It's a battery from a third party manufacturer.
Apple doesn't make batteries.
(PS. Apple has switched to a new battery manufacturer)
(PPS. My old first edition iPod still works perfectly. Most of them do.)
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
If i'm not mistaken, the iPod batteries are the same as my iBook's. Litium Ion, which needs to be regulated harshly to prevent it from burning up or frying your computer/iPod.
The iBook batteries are expensive too, same concept, they both have built in circuit boards to make sure the batteries or device is not damaged, unlike this guy's cell phone which is much cheaper akaline (?) or something of the same caliber.
Error 407 - No creative sig found
What drive brand are you using?
Uhh, it's not an "off the shelf IDE" drive. It is an off the shelf PCMCIA ATA drive. You can buy a replacement- or even an upgrade- at a number of computer stores. I bought one for use in my PDA- cheapest 2 GB in PDA storage you can get, only US$70.
If it's "off the shelf" why are you asking about a replacement?
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
First, lithium-ion batteries are not as simple as other rechargeable batteries. If the battery and control circuitry aren't set up right, the battery will explode or catch fire.
Second, whose cell phone batteries are only $10? A new lithium-ion battery for my phone costs about $50, and that's just something you can snap on and off yourself. To have someone open up your iPod and replace the battery, then mail it back...doesn't sound that unreasonable.
It's just what you get for buying a device that doesn't have an easily replaceable battery.
That said, there are ways to increase the lifetime of a lithium-ion battery. Back when I started college, we were all required to buy laptops. I was one of the few who actually read the manual, and it said the battery was good for a couple hundred full recharges, and about 800 partial recharges. Some people don't understand that lithium-ion batteries don't have the same memory effect that nickel-cadmium ones do. So for the duration of college, I kept the laptop plugged in whenever possible, and only ran the battery all the way down when I needed to use it for that long. Other people had to buy new $250 batteries, but my old laptop still gets about 2 hours life out of its five-year-old battery. I do the same for my cell phone; keep it on a charger whenever possible, and it still had good battery life when I need it.
If you use your iPod away from any source of recharging power so much, then I guess you just have to live with it. It's a fact of lithium-ion batteries, Apple's doing the best with what technology is available. And $99 isn't too expensive a replacement cost, if you had 18 months of wireless music. If you're willing to plug in whenever you sit down near a wall outlet, and don't wait until the battery is dead before recharging it, then your iPod will last much longer.
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The battery on the iPod is the one and only reason I won't but one.
Here is a CNet article on other reasons not to buy one...
But all the ones I've ever owned use either lithium ion or lithium polymer battries. Prior to that, they were nickel metal hydride or nickel cadmium.
Now I just picked up a new battery for my cellphone, a high capacity one since the normal one wasn't as big as I'd like. I decided to buy a genuine Motorola one, rather than a generic, despite them being more expensive. It was $30 all said and done, for the battery and a backplate to accomidate its physically larger size.
Now, given that, I cannot concieve how Apple thinks their battery ought to be $99.
sounds like apple is taking the steps they need to be taking, they just dont have a fix yet. On the other hand I think this battery bussiness is not so widespread but just a few defective ones. I know loads of people with ipods that have no problems.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
There is simply no reason these devices can't use replaceable batteries. Nokia, Ericcson, and Samsung have mastered the ability to create replaceable batteries that take up no extra space, are inexpensive, and work great. Why should these Apple and Handspring devices be any different? It's planned obselescence.
Apple doesn't sell Apple-branded mini-to-RCA cords.
Not sure where you saw that but it wasn't an Apple cable. Yes they are totally guilty of absurd mark-ups (they took a page from Sony's book), but not to that extent.
They do sell a Monster cable on the AppleStore that is mini-to-RCA. $46 CDN.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Was it Apple branded or was it 3rd party? Because to my knowledge Apple doesn't make it's own dock connector --> RCA patch. For what it's worth, the Apple store online has a kit from Monster Cable which includes the mini-stereo to RCA connector, a dock connectior to firewire cable, a dock, & the power adpater. That's USD80 and actually worth it. The dock and the power adapter will cost you $80 by themselves if purchased separately. I think you just got hit by a greedy retailer --- no reason to blame Apple for that.
My battery died under warranty, 3G 30gb, it always had battery issues, never seemed to hold a charge very well, so I sent it back, and they replaced the whole unit as they mentioned may be done.
Showed up a week later, brand new plastic, case, screen, wheel, and back case, all perfect. Plus a new battery.
Can't believe how much I missed it..
I hate spyware and spies
As far as I know, nothing from Apple is made in the USA. I know the clamshell iBooks were made in Taiwan. I know my iPod wasn't made in the US (though where escapes me) I don't think ANYTHING Apple makes is made in the US. /. post)
I'll probably get modded flamebait for this, but the main reason Apple products cost so much is because Apple fans will pay that much. The best description I ever saw of Apple is that "Apple isn't a hardware or software company-it's a cult" (shameless ripped from an old
I've got an Archos Jukebox Recorder. It has a 20GB harddrive, digital output, can record, has replacable software so you can use open-source stuff on it, mounts as a USB harddrive using USB 2.0, and is powered by 4 AA NiMH batteries which give it lots of playing time.
So what does the iPod do that makes it worth more and require a more expensive battery? Is it just the firewire? Is it better at playing MP3s? Seriously, I'd like to know. I've never used an iPod, never even seen one up close, but the Archos does a hell of a job and I don't understand why people are willing to spend so much more on an iPod.
Branded Toshiba Li-Ions can be had for <$70.
YAW.
Your head of state is a corrupt weasel, I hope you're happy.
It's a Li+ battery, good for around 500 charges. That's about 1.5yrs battery lifetime on your iPod if you use it every day, like I do.
Recently, I did a battery replacement on my iPod. I wrote about it here in my journal.
For people who claim to be all for working on your own hardware, you're all getting pretty bitchy about performing a five-minute, three step process.
Oh, and my battery cost me half of what Apple is charging. So nyah.
____ _______
Duty now for the future!
That was true 6 months ago, but not anymore. I owned an iPod and sold it; now I have a Rio Karma (which is the same size/weight as the iPod). The iPod's interface was a little simpler in some ways, but I prefer the Karma's. Even though its wheel is not as slick as the iPod's, the Karma requires fewer button presses to do many things. Also, the Karma has bookmarks, gapless playback, Ogg, FLAC, ethernet, over twice the battery life, and is more than $100 cheaper.
Actually the $99 you pay gets you a refurbished iPod, not the iPod you sent in in the first place. Read the Apple site:
NOTE: iPod equipment that is sent in for battery service or service requiring other repairs will be replaced with functionally equivalent new, used, or refurbished iPod equipment. You will not receive the same iPod that was sent in for service.
iPod Battery Replacement
Getting a new or refurbished unit isn't all that bad of a deal. I'm pretty sure they won't send you a dinged-up scratched to hell unit
I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
Whatever, dude. I just figured the typical Apple product user is like the typical cell phone user; they'll go to the dealer and buy a new battery. Of course I am perfectly aware of sources to get things cheaply, and have the tools and experience to replace an iPod battery should I need to. And I thought my post was pretty clear about lithium-ion batteries not having a memory effect like ni-cads, and mentioned the number of full and partial charge cycles. I'm suggesting that the iPod's battery is specified within the technological capabilities of today's battery science, and that if users insist on using the iPod in the way that is most efficient at using up full-discharge cycles, then they should expect the battery to wear out. In a continual full-discharge/full-recharge usage pattern, they will get about 4000 hours of listening time on that battery. A $99 replacement fee works out to less than 2.5 cents per hour for not having to tether the iPod to an external power source. A company's sole purpose is to make a profit, anyway...Apple's mission is not to cover the world in fruit-named colors and cheese graters, it's to make money hand over fist. If people are aware that continual use of an iPod will kill the battery in 18 months, and there is a $99 replacement fee unless you buy the extended warranty, then it is up to them to purchase from Apple or not. I happen to know that a lithium-ion battery will not last forever, and others should do their research before buying a $400 toy. Again, Apple's reason for existing is to make money, and if people still buy their products, they have no reason to change the way they do things.
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The iPod does have a micro-contolled charging system - all devices that use Lithium Ion batteries do. The iPod will stop charging the battery when it is full ans switch to maintenence charge.
The damage comes from frequent short cycles since the battery itself is limited to a limited number of charge cycles (not imposed on you by some counter that ticks down, due to the way the battery works). The battery can also be conditioned into a lower capacity state with frequent short cycles, so the pmu thinks the battery is full when it isn't.
The days of non-intelligent chargers are long gone.
my cell phone batteries have all costed me around $30-$40.... I don't know where the heck you're finding ones for $10
GBA: 13.5 x 8.0 x 2.5 cm = 270cm cubed volume
It's easy to add everything. Problem is, you end up with a "fat" product. Just ask MS. Apple know what to cut - and that's why people are comfortable carrying around an iPod in their pocket.
Oh, and the reason that those batteries are so cheap (relatively) is because they're AAs. Failed to mention that bit. Interestingly enough, it's Nintendo that are making the $$$ on the batteries - that's way too much for a set of rechargables.
I call bullshit. The battery service has only been offered in the last couple of months. How long has the iPod been around for? If it was designed to be a revenue stream, the battery service would have been around for almost as long as the iPod itself. It hasn't been.
-- james
Somebody obviously forgot to tell Virginia Tech about your unsubstantiated garbage. It just so happens that the third fastest computer in the world is based on Apples.
You do know why they picked Apples, don't you? Because Dell, IBM, HP and everyone else selling non-Apple branded products were more expensive.
MS, on the other hand, are a great example of a Co that overcharges. Their OSes are more, their gaming consoles are more, even their mice cost more than the competition.
-- james