MP3 players forum: replacing batteries......

It's a pretty big, noticeable problem. After ~12-18 months, the iPod battery will die and you will have to pay extra money for it to be replaced.

That's where the Zen Micro, which is a very well priced and practical player, and iRiver H10, which is very very nice, but a bit on the pricey side, come in. They'll both serve you well, and in addition to the fact that they keep battery costs low, you can pack two and double the battery time of your mp3 player when on an especially long trip.

The Creative Zen Micro has a user replaceable battery, and the batteries only cost 30-40$ each.
My AV420 also has a replaceable battery that runs 30$

The one thing I like about players that use AA and AAA batteries is that the ones I've had can use rechargeables. I use energizer fast chargers, so I get 13-15 hours of play time with 15 mins charge

I agree that Apple should have allowed an easily replaceable (and affordable) battery with the iPod. I'd prefer to have a the type of battery I've seen on some two-way radios, where you simply twist the bottom of the radio to remove the battery and put in a new battery, with only one way to attach the battery.

If designed properly, it would allow users to quickly and easily replace battery and to have a spare battery while not ruining the clean look of the iPod (a faint line would be the only evidence that the battery is removeable). It would also allow existing iPods to be fitted with longer-lived batteries as they become available.

My understanding of the estimated battery life of an iPod is based under ideal conditions, meaning:

- All songs are encoded at 128bits and are less than 4 minutes.

- The iPod is turned on and left to run until it dies, without touching any buttons and not using the backlight.

The magazine "Popular Science" recently had an article about batteries and battery life. One way mentioned to increase the battery life of devices like the iPod is to use slower-spinning hard drives, unlike the currently used hard drives which are intended for laptop computers (and can spin up to 7,200 rpm). It is mentioned that a spinning speed of 4,200 rpm would adequate for music use and would reduce power consumption.

A replaceable battery would nullify the issues of batteries with the iPod (the battery life and that it only good for 500 charges), especially if the batteries are readily available. The battery runs out, pop in a new battery and go on, versus having to charge it for a few hours.

Thanks for reading.

you actually can buy some self-replacement ipod batter kit from the Internet. such as:

http://www.ipod911.com

go to google and type ipod battery, you will get more info.

I agree with you about the advantages of AA and AAA batteries, plus the fact that they are readily available everywhere (as mentioned in another post). Also, the rechargeables are inexpensive (less than $10 for a set of two).

Thanks for reading.

do a search at shopping.com. search for "mp3 player" and narrow your search by price.