Question about an mp3 player

[mrmitchell]

In the last "recommend me an mp3 player thread" I got recommended an iAudio U2 1GB player.

And it looks pretty good, but the amazon.com description says it has an integrated battery.

How long will the battery last? How can I replace it?

[mrmitchell]

I hate to bump my own thread, but I think someone else has one of these. It's a Cowon iAudio U2 1GB mp3 player. Was it Ramo?

And if the battery doesn't last very long, how can I extend its life?

It has a fast charge mode (two hours to charge) and a slow charge mode (6-7 hours). What's the difference between these two? Why would you have two charging speeds?

[laurentius]

From what I've gathered the usual battery life is somewhere around 17 hours on flash players. Thats not exatcly that much so I would recommend something like MPIO FG100 wich has ~43 hours playtime with a single AA alkaline battery. Its also packed with 1 gig of flash+FM Tuner. Sold for around 170 euros here.

http://www.mpioamerica.com/mpio/productInfo.html?productId=56

[Koyaanisqatsi]

I think he meant how long the battery would last over its lifetime, not a single charge cycle.

I don't know that player, but people I know with iPods have had to get the battery replaced at about 1.5 to 2 years.

[laurentius]

oh yes, I misread his post a bit it seems.

[Tattila the Hun]

Hum, I wonder if the players sold in E-bay, from HongKong or someplace, are any good...

[Zopperoni]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
It has a fast charge mode (two hours to charge) and a slow charge mode (6-7 hours). What's the difference between these two? Why would you have two charging speeds?

I think the "fast charge" mode goes very quickly to ~80%, but you'll need to wait the full 6-7 hours ("slow charge") to get to 100%.

[Riesstiu IV]

I got an Ipod shuffle 512 mb as a gift for my performance at work. When I got, I noticed that there is no way to open the case and replace the battery. Lithium-ion batteries that are rechargeable last a long time but like all batteries they'll eventually die. My question is can if you replace the shuffle's battery eventually and how do you do it? It seems like this was meant to be a disposable music device.

[mrmitchell]

I think with all iPods you can send them in to Apple and get a new refurbished one? Not sure if this extends to the Shuffle.

Note, I mean a totally new one. They'll trash the old one. Won't transfer your music to it.

Will Cowon do this for the iAudio U2? I'd like an mp3 player that lasts me longer than a year or so...

[Riesstiu IV]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
I think with all iPods you can send them in to Apple and get a new refurbished one? Not sure if this extends to the Shuffle.

Note, I mean a totally new one. They'll trash the old one. Won't transfer your music to it.

Your kidding me?! This has to be one of the most wasteful and costly business practices done by apple. Why couldn't they just make it so it uses AAA batteries? Then you don't have to throw away a 100 to 400 dollar device.

[Winston]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
I think with all iPods you can send them in to Apple and get a new refurbished one?

No, you can send it to Apple, and they'll put in a brand new battery and charge you $200.

That's how it is here, you ship it to their plant in Ireland and get it back a couple of months later. Or you could of course buy a new one, which Apple won't object to in any way, form or manner.

[mrmitchell]

I didn't mean for free...I think there's a minor fee, or you have to buy their "applecare" plan or something. I'm not getting one, so I'm not worried about it.

Winston, that's what you get for not living in the US.

[Winston]

The point is, it's borderline fraud to market a player for which you cannot replace the battery unless you pay $200, and the average time from the purchase to the death of the battery is 12-18 months. It's been in the news here quite a bit; a lot of people feel severely cheated by Apple - I'd say all of them will, once the gruesome realities start dawning on them...

[Riesstiu IV]

It just dawned on me now! The hell I'm paying that much money just so apple can replace the battery or device, and take 50 billion weeks sending it back using UPS ground shipping. Well, at least it was free. Maybe when the batteries die I could use it as a paperweight.

[Nostromo]

No need to get hysteric, people. If your iPod's battery stops working properly before your warranty expires, Apple will replace it for free. If you're worried, you can even buy extra warranty for about 60$ usd.

If your iPod's battery stops working properly after your warranty expires, Apple will replace it for a fee. Its 59$ usd, slightly more expensive than a brand new battery. Some third parties sell batteries, so you can change it yourself, if you want to, although its trickier on some models, like the iPod Mini. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, they can do it for you. For more info, read the following:

http://www.ipodbatteryfaq.com/