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Breathe New Life Into Your Dead iPod
FreakyControl writes "Popular Science is running an article this month about how to change that dead iPod battery, along with links to sites that have other cool iPod hacks. It looks like Casey Neistat figured out how to do it for them, after ruining his own during a similar attempt: 'A few weeks later, PopSci gave him another third-party battery, this time from pdasmart.com ($60), and another iPod from a staffer with the same problem. That one survived and went back to its owner. And Casey ended up spending $400 on a new one.' Looks like all you iPod people may still have hope!"
"Apple does not return your iPod when it replaces the battery; it sends a refurbished model instead. For $68, pdasmart.com will install a third-party battery and give you your iPod back."
So what if yours was engraved? Does AppleCare at least send you a refurbished iPod with your own backplate.
The Awful Truth
My battery works just fine. However, it seems that iPod firmware 1.3 has broken my contrast. I have to turn it all the way up to see anything under the best of lighting conditions. When I turn the backlight on, the contrast inverts or something, such that it's only usable with the contrast all the way down. I know that my screen isn't broken because after reflashing to 1.2.6 and rebooting about a dozen times, it booted with normal contrast. However, the next time I rebooted it, the contrast problem was back. Perhaps a loose connection, but when I opened my iPod, everything seemed fine. Got it for Christmas over a year ago, so no warranty for me (I was 3 days out of warranty when I first called it in), but this problem didn't start until after I put firmware 1.3 on it.
Anyone else have this problem? I heard from a bunch of 3G iPod owners that the latest firmware for them does something similar.
Anyway, although I don't have any problems with my iPod battery, I can't honestly recomend Apple's products to people anymore. If this issue isn't fixed, I'm going to have to tell people not to buy Apple hardware because they'll be left out in the cold when Apple breaks it with an update.
Any electric device with a rechargeable battery will be affected. The iPods are no more vulnerable than most, though.
Casey Neistat also screwed over some of the people who hosted his video by not posting information about the battery replacement services. The providers gave him the hosting on the condition that Casey would give a balanced viewpoint on the problem and would link to the replacement programs.
Sapere aude!
I've had laptop batteries. They do the same exact thing. Replacements for them? 150/200$ for a 3rd party battery. For two or three hours of power.
Not the 10+ hours on a iPod for 50$ from a 3rd party.
Yes, I know why the time differences are there, but I'm just saying, we're already paying how much for new laptop batteries? How is this different? Because it requires more heavy-lifting, or is that it's the same price as a laptop battery if you send it to Apple and have them replace it, thus removing any liability for destroying your device that's causing unrest here?
It's not even that the iPod is a exclusive problem. How many Rio Karma battery replacements can you find at the local store?
Apple offers to replace the out-of-warranty battery for $105.95 including shipping. You can buy your own battery for less and replace it yourself, but you assume the risk of breaking it. Apple doesn't even say that it's easy to do it yourself.
I could have bought an entire working automobile for $800.
That's right, and if you try to perform repairs on that car yourself without really knowing how to, then you'll probably have to spend another $800 on another car.
Concept of the day: your choices carry consequences.
As for the "sane" devices you mention: Looking at my Palm Tungsten T - there's no way to (easily) replace the battery in there, nor can the same be said about the other PDAs (Palm and Pocket PC) I see around me in my office.
Your rationale leaves something to be desired.
For anyone interested in the truth on the iPod battery situation overall, see:
http://ipodbatteryfaq.com/
Some brief notes:
- There is nothing "wrong" with the battery in the iPod...it's just a lithium ion battery like any other lithium ion battery, and a wide variety of factors affect the battery life, both per charge, and overall.
- The reason the iPod/battery issue is getting so much attention isn't because there is anything to it, but because the iPod is the most popular portable music player by far. Note: I'm not saying that people haven't had issues with the batteries, but these aren't specific to iPod; they'll happen with ANY device with lithium ion batteries. The only difference is that iPod uses a battery sealed inside of the enclosure...which brings me to:
- People act as if Apple is alone using an integrated battery. Well, I've got news for you: they're not. In fact, anyone who makes a portable music player that is anywhere CLOSE to the iPod in terms of size also uses - you guessed it - an integrated, non-user-replaceable battery. This includes: Dell DJ, Gateway DMP Series, Samsung YP-910GS (Napster), iRiver iHP Series, and Rio Karma. And guess what else? NONE of them (at this time), with the exception of the iPod, have a manufacturer-provided way of replacing the battery outside of warranty.
- The Neistat Brothers' issue wasn't that the battery died per se, it's that Apple had no reasonable response to the issue (the response was basically either pay $250 flat rate repair fee, or buy a new iPod). However, Apple already had an official battery replacement program in the works...it just wasn't ready when Casey Neistat first contacted Apple. In the interim - BEFORE the iPod's Dirty Secret video was released - the battery replacement program became available. The release of the battery replacement program had NOTHING to do with the Neistat brothers' video. People will try to claim that it did, or that Apple somehow "got wind" of the fact that they were going to release the video, or that it was being forwarded around via email before it got released on the web and that Apple "found out" about it, and a bunch of other ridiculous stories, but the cold, hard truth is that Apple had the battery and AppleCare programs in the works for MONTHS before Casey ever initially contacted Apple with his issue, and before one second of film was ever shot, or one ounce of spraypaint sprayed. It may seem like I'm belaboring this point, and I am: the implication otherwise is that Apple only released the battery replacement service because it was "forced" to by bad publicity, when the truth is that Apple discovered that it would likely need to have an official way to replace batteries for people since ALL LiIon batteries have a finite lifetime, and began developing programs and procedures to take care of these customers.
- This, of course, also ignores the fact that there were at least two third party companies offering replacement batteries for iPod - and one whom would do the battery replacement for you - at the time
- I find it funny that people are now all concerned about the iPod issue, as if there is something wrong with it, and considering buying other music players because of it, when much of the time, the other music players they're considering have integrated batteries as well - and no way to replace them! (As opposed to the numerous different ways of handling iPod batteries.) Not to mention that the competitive products are generally viewed as second-rate, at best.
- Of course, the overriding truth to this entire issue is that the vast majority of people have not had any issues whatsoever with their iPods (sure, everyone's battery life will degrade; it's just a question of whether it will degrade to the point of making it unusable - and for most people, it never will).
- If you want to go out and buy a music player that uses AAs or other easily replaceable batteries and/or bat