[Taphil]

Anyone getting disappointingly short battery life in actual real world usage?

My songs are all encoded with LAME APS, and I'm pretty sure I can get about 14 hours if I just press play and let it go untouched. However, in actual usage, meaning some FF/RW/changing tracks and backlight set to 10 seconds, it seems the nano barely lasts 7-8 hours. I know the battery meter isn't always accurate, but for example, my nano was fully charged before I unplugged it last night, and today I used it for no more than 2 hours, and the battery meter is down to 3/4 already. With other iPods I've had, fidgeting around did shorten battery life, but nothing like 40-50%.

 

[Zuerst]

All the songs I loaded on my 4gig are APS, at volume~=1/2, skipping around a lot on shuffle mode, I'm thinking I'm only getting around 5~6 hours max. Dissapointing. Ditto on the sound quality and preset EQs.

 

[ilovesocks]

Wow, what a coincidence - my girlfriend just got a nano and she's having the same problem. She's only used it for a few hours since first charge a few days ago, and the battery indicator has gone down 1/3. She thought it was because her computer only has usb 1.1 (does this matter in charging?), but perhaps it's a defect?

 

[kloan]

hmm, i've read several complaints about short battery life as well..

so let's see, easily scratched, less than optimal battery life, some lcds mysteriously busting....... not looking good..

 

[doomlordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kloan hmm, i've read several complaints about short battery life as well.. so let's see, easily scratched, less than optimal battery life, some lcds mysteriously busting....... not looking good..

Mine isnt scratched at a week old, the battery indicator is way off , mine lasted 5 hours in the red! It lasted about 6 hrs after first charge but now i get 12hrs roughly with a lot of menu fiddling.

 

[<GNEFF> killbot]

Mine is also a week old today. No scratches front or back. battery meter seems to drop quickly at first then slow down. I get several hours in the red. Don't know how many hours I get total, but I'm sure it's more then I got with the shuffle. 160kbs aac, 3 sek. backlight and some jumping around. Volume at 1/3 to 2/3.

 

[Flagger]

my 2c: 4gb black nano, week + half old now, scratches on back only, none on front (cause plastic cover still stickered on). used at work, album mode, stop start frequently, getting about 8 hours and battery indicator down to 1/3 capacity, so not too bad

 

[Rodent]

Run the battery down fully and then recharge, this will make the batterymeter more accurate. Then tell us how long it lasts!

 

[insomniac]

My 4G 20GB iPod has always lasted for several hours with one/no bars in the battery meter. For the longest time, I'd re-charge everytime it hit one bar thinking it would die on me any minute. But it actually goes quite a long time before it dies, I found out one day. I guess the battery meter isn't that great on iPods. You could try recalibrating as suggested above.

 

[Chri5peed]

You do realise the headphones you use affect battery life.

 

[Spad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed You do realise the headphones you use affect battery life.

As does the bit rate.

BTW, it's a very bad idea to routinely fully discharge any L-I battery. They will last longer if topped up frequently. The battery gauge on any L-I equipped gear is only a rough approximation of the charge state.

 

[jefemeister]

I was messing around with one at the iPod store in Chicago and noticed that the menus scroll very slowly. Like, I'd press to go into the artists folder and the screen would kind of slug along in a choppy fashion. Same deal when I went to play the song. I have a 4g ipod and have never noticed this. Is it perhaps due to the album art feature? Maybe the battery was low? perhaps just because too many idiots at the ipod store have dropped it or something? sorry if this is a little off topic, but anyone have any insight?

 

[jefemeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spad ...BTW, it's a very bad idea to routinely fully discharge any L-I battery. They will last longer if topped up frequently...

I've heard the exact opposite. Can you provide a link or some more info? Maybe this is exclusive to Li batteries? I know for cellphones, cameras, and the like they always recommend fully discharging before recharging to avoid battery "memory" problems.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefemeister I've heard the exact opposite. Can you provide a link or some more info? Maybe this is exclusive to Li batteries? I know for cellphones, cameras, and the like they always recommend fully discharging before recharging to avoid battery "memory" problems.

Theres a sticky on this board about charging Li-Ion batteries.

You're mixing up your battery-types, Li-Ion batteries should only rarely be fully discharged, constant full discharges strain and shorten the life. Li-Ion batteries do not have memory.

 

[abitdeef]

Im getting about the same as taphil maybe 8 hrs at the most, and I have fully charged and discharged the cell many times. I am using lame vbrs 192, 256 and use the rock setting.

When the battery meter gets to the red it does take a long time till you discharge the cell, but mine gets to the red really fast, all told about 6-8 (total) hrs depending on how much I access the menu.

If I set it on a table and turned off the eq and backlight and didn't touch it, I bet it would go 12-14 hrs

I wish it lasted as long as my mini, but I guess there is a price to be paid for such a thin unit. I still don't like the feel of the select button , wish it was more tactile, stiffer.