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Oh I get all that!
That doesn't mean that a company can't focus on squeezing more juice of their batteries or use bigger ones with more capacity (most of these DAPs look awful anyway! lol).
Also, do you consider HiSound Studio V as a properly engineered DAP? Because that one can go for at least 25+ hours as well (playing a combination of MP3s/FLACs/WAVs) with Ok sound reproduction as well... the UI just completely sucks and was reason enough for me to get rid of it!
Thanks for the link!
The Studio V's UI (and small, monochromatic screen) are also keys to its battery life. Simpler = more efficient. Nowadays, people would like to see album art, among other things, even if not necessarily a touch screen. That's all thanks to the iPod. As for bigger batteries, they're already trying to minimize the overall package. Just because a Galaxy S phone on an extended battery is still pocketable doesn't mean the same extended battery will have space on an X3, X5, DX100, DX50, etc.* Some people expect them to be pocketable, and the ones that they don't will probably still end up a bit too thick.
Also, I kind of remember reading somewhere that keeping batteries too compact with too high capacity can make them unreliable, which is why some designs like the S:Flo went for a battery that can do more charging cycles. It's not a simple matter of, say, 1,000 charging cycles every 10hours of use vs 5,000 charging cycles every 20hours of use (which means they're about equal), but a cramped high-cap bat tends to bloat sooner and before battery life is noticeably weak (heck even "normal" batteries mainstream electronics companies go for have been known to explode, like that guy in Korea who was killed by his own phone). I can't find where I read that before though, someone with more engineering know-how has to chime in for this.
Still, I'd have to say I'd also prefer a bigger battery DAP with a proper amp when the alternative is strapping an iPod and a 9v or 7v-powered portable amp together. Heck, some stack them four-deep (iPod, digital transport, balanced DAC, balanced amp). The thing with a recharging pack though is it doesn't necessarily have to be plugged into (and therefore not right next to) the device all the time as with a portable amp. On a long flight, I can have a relatively large DAP and the battery pack on different compartments of the camera section of my laptop+camera bag, then hook up the cable when I sleep.
*DX50 has a user-replaceable battery, but I don't see a battery door on the photos. I assume that to get around the clunkiness of a battery door, "user replaceable" just means you won't need to pry it open like an iPod, but not necessarily that you could swap them out within a minute like on a Samsung Android phone. That might not have been much of an issue with Discmans (although I've lost one or two) since they aren't in any way pocketable, but my AA-powered MDs were.
