[sjino]

There's a note on Apple's website saying that the new Shuffle's rechargeable lith ion battery is NOT replaceable. Was this the case with the 1 gen Shuffle batteries?

I'm sure third party providers will find a way to crack the case and change out the battery the way they did for the 1 gen Shuffle, but I'm surprised Apple didn't make battery replacement an (expensive) option through them. This indicates how tough it must be to open the new Shuffle's case without ruining the unit.

Gee, do they suppose most people will just throw away the Shuffle and buy a new one after the battery wears out in a year or two?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjino There's a note on Apple's website saying that the new Shuffle's rechargeable lith ion battery is NOT replaceable. Was this the case with the 1 gen Shuffle batteries? I'm sure third party providers will find a way to crack the case and change out the battery the way they did for the 1 gen Shuffle, but I'm surprised Apple didn't make battery replacement an (expensive) option through them. This indicates how tough it must be to open the new Shuffle's case without ruining the unit. Gee, do they suppose most people will just throw away the Shuffle and buy a new one after the battery wears out in a year or two?

The decision to make the new Shuffle a permanently sealed case - and thus making the batteries non-replaceable even through Apple - is a sound one. That's because the estimated cost of replacing a battery in that Shuffle would have been higher than the cost of a new Shuffle itself. (Or put it this way, replacing the battery would have been more expensive than simply buying a new player.)

 

[zip22]

ipod shuffle: $79
official ipod battery replacement: $65.95

do you think a lot of people would want to do that?

 

[sjino]

I agree that it probably doesn't make business sense for Apple to offer battery replacement as an option. Apple knows users would balk at the price they'd have to charge to make battery replacement worthwhile, so they don't even offer that option.

What bothers me is that Apple knowingly designed the new Shuffle as a throwaway device because the battery cannot be replaced by them or end users. How hard would it be for them to have the same cool design and still make the battery replaceable the way it is in the Mini and new Nanos? Because the case is aluminum, all they'd have to do is have a removable screw-on back that would provide easy access to the battery.

Conspicuously absent from Apple's website is an estimate on battery life expectancy: how long you can expect the Shuffle to last before you have to toss it and buy a new one. Maybe it's as long as two years, but maybe it's as little as one year of heavy use.

Yeah, I know, if you expense it over a two year period the cost of the Shuffle works out to a little more than $3 a month, and someone is bound to point out that it's worth the cost of a small latte to have portable tunes. But it still bothers me. I've been planning to buy the new Shuffle (even though I have a 5g 30gb iPod), but now I'm leaning more towards a 2GB nano.

 

[sjino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjino Because the case is aluminum, all they'd have to do is have a removable screw-on back that would provide easy access to the battery.

I know it's not comparing apples to apples, but the Nintendo Gameboy Advance costs about $79 U.S. and has a lithium ion battery. On the back there's a small panel that can be unscrewed when it's time to replace the battery. I can't imagine Nintendo product designers saying, "Heck, let's just make this a sealed unit. When the battery goes, users will have to buy a new unit."

 

[zip22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjino What bothers me is that Apple knowingly designed the new Shuffle as a throwaway device because the battery cannot be replaced by them or end users. How hard would it be for them to have the same cool design and still make the battery replaceable the way it is in the Mini and new Nanos? Because the case is aluminum, all they'd have to do is have a removable screw-on back that would provide easy access to the battery. Conspicuously absent from Apple's website is an estimate on battery life expectancy: how long you can expect the Shuffle to last before you have to toss it and buy a new one. Maybe it's as long as two years, but maybe it's as little as one year of heavy use.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/

http://www.apple.com/batteries/ipods.html
Quote:

Charge Cycles A properly maintained iPod battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles.

Quote:

A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle.

1 charge cycle = 12 hours. 400 charge cycles x 12 hours = 4,800 hours. lets say 4 hours/day average (very liberal) = 1,200 days = 3.29 years. there are other factors that can contribute to li-ion aging, but those are even more difficult to account for numerically (but apple mentions them).

i'm sure the battery in the shuffle can be replaced. you have no evidence to support your theory that the case is impenetrable. it was just a matter of demand, and i don't think apple sees any in the future.

 

[grawk]

Oh come on. You're seriously comparing a gameboy advanced to a new shuffle? The shuffle would fit in the battery compartment for the GBA.

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjino I've been planning to buy the new Shuffle (even though I have a 5g 30gb iPod), but now I'm leaning more towards a 2GB nano.

is the 2G nano's battery replaceable? i think there are far more important reasons to get the nano over the shuffle or vice-versa...i didn't think a replaceable battery was one of them. but that's just me.

 

[sjino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk Oh come on. You're seriously comparing a gameboy advanced to a new shuffle? The shuffle would fit in the battery compartment for the GBA.

No, I'm not serously comparing the two, which is why I said it wasn't comparing apples to apples. I brought it up to point out design philosophy that is user-friendly. Size-wise, there are many small devices (such as pedometers and heartrate monitors) that have easily replacable batteries.

 

[sjino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zip22 i'm sure the battery in the shuffle can be replaced. you have no evidence to support your theory that the case is impenetrable. it was just a matter of demand, and i don't think apple sees any in the future.

I agree that some enterprising small business will find a way to crack the new Shuffle case and offer a battery replacement, because that's how it's been with the old Shuffle, the Mini, Nano, etc. That's the beauty of free enterprise: Apple obviously doesn't believe the margins justify battery replacement, but someone else will find a way to make it work.

I never said the new Shuffle case is impenetrable. I DID say it would have been nice if Apple had made the case more accessible.

Cheers.

 

[grawk]

They could have. But it wouldn't be the size of a matchbook. And wouldn't be as resistant to the elements.

 

[aluren]

i don't get why replacing the battery is such a big deal. i mean, its not like apple is selling you a disfunctional battery to begin with.

and if you're itching to buy the new shuffle now, then sooner down the line you'll be itching to buy the latest shuffle and sell the old one you have...

 

[Echopac]

If you are concerned about the battery, purchase the service plan either from Apple or Best Buy or whoever might provide it, when the battaery konks out, get a new Shuffle.

So let's move forward and compare other things that use batteries, that at times can be a real kick in the aarse. POWER TOOLS.......You go out and purchase a battery powered drill and then you need the battery replaced, you find out,.....cost as much as you paid for the original drill, with it's battery, charger, and probably a nice case. What are we to do?????????

 

[erlik]

Personally I would be very reluctant to buy a device whose battery can't be replaced at all.

Heck, I even think that here in Europe they are passing legislation that would make a replaceable battery mandatory (mainly for ecological reasons, it quite costly to dispose of electronic devices in a proper way and I dont think it's fully covered by the recycling tax you pay when buying the device).

Not everybody wants to replace a device after 2 or 3 years. My third gen. ipod and its brand new battery have a long life ahead of them, currently as my main unit and when I upgrade as hand-me-down to my sister or my mother.

 

[Lacene]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjino How hard would it be for them to have the same cool design and still make the battery replaceable the way it is in the Mini and new Nanos? Because the case is aluminum, all they'd have to do is have a removable screw-on back that would provide easy access to the battery.

if they made the battery user-replaceable for the new shuffle, they would have to incorporate a threaded hole for the screw, and added reinforcements around the opening for the screw-on lid or plate.....

they probably would have to add components to snap the battery into place, to allow for un-snapping, or easy removal by the user. Maybe just incorporate contacts into the shuffle's body....that would still involve additional component design. I'm sure the battery now is just straight-soldered to the motherboard, like the Nano's battery is...

is the clip of the new shuffle removable? That would have to be redesigned, to allow for access to the screw, unless the front screws off....

the shuffle would definitely be larger....