IPOD and Creative Nomad Zen Battery Life

[blues008]

Hi all,

I've been thinking of purchasing either a Zen or IPOD mp3 player but am worried over a few reviews I've read at CNET.

The batteries for these devices are not replaceable, and after a year of service many people complain that the battery life does not last very long:

The IPOD will last 10 hours of the box and the Zen will last for 12.

After a year of service the IPOD battery life drops to about 6-8 hours.

The Zen actually has been reported to having problems after a few months of service dropping down to 8-10 hours.

Is anyone here experiencing those problems with their Zen or IPOD?

Thanks!

 

[blues008]

up

 

[nord1899]

I have a Nomad 3 JB. When I had one battery in it, I would routinely get between 8-9 hours of playback between charges. I now have the two batteries and thus have much more time.

 

[mpitts]

My iPod generally get about 10 hours of playback time. It is about 6 months old.

If in another 6 months, I get 2 hours less of playback time, I will be fine with that. It is awesome.

 

[sk560]

there is a firmware update on iPod which suppose to improve the battery life..... i think it was out less than 2 weeks ago. u might wanna check it out.

 

[neomits]

I have had the zen for about 2-3 months and battery life has remained steady at about 10 hours.... its kinda hard to tell though. Haven't really done and SUPER extended long sessions of playing

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: sk560
there is a firmware update on iPod which suppose to improve the battery life..... i think it was out less than 2 weeks ago. u might wanna check it out.

A firmware upgrade will improve performance so that the unit uses slightly less power during certain functions and will marginally improve how long it'll run on a single charge. It does not change the fact that each time a rechargable battery is charged it loses a bit of it's power. Every subsequent charge degrades the battery further so that the play time on a single charge decreases and firmware can't change that. A unit that starts with a 10 hour battery life can easily drop to only a couple of hours within a year and to nothing at all shortly afterward if it's used heavily.

The design of the iPod and the Zen is unbelievably bad to not incorporate user-changable battery packs. Every designer on earth is well-aware that rechargable do degrade over time and will eventually become totally worthless. To require that the unit be either tossed away or returned to the factory for service when that happens sounds like an intentional decision to force users to pay more down the road. Ignore the overpriced, overhyped iPod and buy a Treo 15. You'll save $300 and get a unit where you can have unlimited extra battery packs for $20 and swap them out in seconds.

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: blues008
Hi all,

I've been thinking of purchasing either a Zen or IPOD mp3 player but am worried over a few reviews I've read at CNET.

The batteries for these devices are not replaceable, and after a year of service many people complain that the battery life does not last very long:

The IPOD will last 10 hours of the box and the Zen will last for 12.

After a year of service the IPOD battery life drops to about 6-8 hours.

The Zen actually has been reported to having problems after a few months of service dropping down to 8-10 hours.

Is anyone here experiencing those problems with their Zen or IPOD?

Thanks!

The newest iPod firmware fixed any battery problems I had. I'm back to ~ 10 hours. My iPod is 13 months old.

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt


A firmware upgrade will improve performance so that the unit uses slightly less power during certain functions and will marginally improve how long it'll run on a single charge. It does not change the fact that each time a rechargable battery is charged it loses a bit of it's power. Every subsequent charge degrades the battery further so that the play time on a single charge decreases and firmware can't change that. A unit that starts with a 10 hour battery life can easily drop to only a couple of hours within a year and to nothing at all shortly afterward if it's used heavily.

Wrong.

The problem with the iPod's battery life was the monitoring function thought there was insufficient power when there wasn't.

Link

I do agree that changable battery packs would have been nice, but the iPod beats every other mp3 player in almost every other category. The iPod is expensive, but it is not overpriced and overhyped.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: BDawg

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt


A firmware upgrade will improve performance so that the unit uses slightly less power during certain functions and will marginally improve how long it'll run on a single charge. It does not change the fact that each time a rechargable battery is charged it loses a bit of it's power. Every subsequent charge degrades the battery further so that the play time on a single charge decreases and firmware can't change that. A unit that starts with a 10 hour battery life can easily drop to only a couple of hours within a year and to nothing at all shortly afterward if it's used heavily.

Wrong.

The problem with the iPod's battery life was the monitoring function thought there was insufficient power when there wasn't.

Link

I do agree that changable battery packs would have been nice, but the iPod beats every other mp3 player in almost every other category. The iPod is expensive, but it is not overpriced and overhyped.

No, you're wrong. Learn something about rechargable batteries. There was a problem with the iPod eating batteries faster than it should, but rechargable batteries degrade with every charge and will eventually get to the point where they will no longer hold a charge at all. Apple can upgrade their firmware all they want, but unless they've re-invented the battery yours will fail.

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: BDawg

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt


A firmware upgrade will improve performance so that the unit uses slightly less power during certain functions and will marginally improve how long it'll run on a single charge. It does not change the fact that each time a rechargable battery is charged it loses a bit of it's power. Every subsequent charge degrades the battery further so that the play time on a single charge decreases and firmware can't change that. A unit that starts with a 10 hour battery life can easily drop to only a couple of hours within a year and to nothing at all shortly afterward if it's used heavily.

Wrong.

The problem with the iPod's battery life was the monitoring function thought there was insufficient power when there wasn't.

Link

I do agree that changable battery packs would have been nice, but the iPod beats every other mp3 player in almost every other category. The iPod is expensive, but it is not overpriced and overhyped.

No, you're wrong. Learn something about rechargable batteries. There was a problem with the iPod eating batteries faster than it should, but rechargable batteries degrade with every charge and will eventually get to the point where they will no longer hold a charge at all. Apple can upgrade their firmware all they want, but unless they've re-invented the battery yours will fail.

Yes, the ultimate problem will be maxing out the number of charges. The current problem that degraded the iPod's battery life is the monitoring function. I also know that mine, my dad's, and my brother's iPods all last within 30 minutes of 10 hours after over a year.