Your ipod asplode...

[Chodon]

My ipod died this morning.  When I turn it on and try to listen to anything it runs for ~10 seconds, then says the battery is dead and stops working.  It's fresh off the charger, so I'm pretty sure the battery should be charged.  I have one of the old-school ipod minis.  It's green and about three years old.  Anyway, on to the questions.

1) Is there any way to replace the batteries in this thing?  Apple doesn't make this model any more, so I'm not sure if I should just bring it to the apple store and ask away or try tearing the thing apart myself.

2) If I can't get it up and running what is the best deal in portable music lately and where should I buy it?  I'm mildly interested in video, but I've gone along this far without it so it's not a must.  I need >8GB of storage for my music and podcasts.  Is there anything out there besides the Zune that has an FM receiver?  Funds are kind of tight, so I'd like to keep it under $150 if possible.  What would you recommend?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[oddpod]

you shuld beabul to get baterys for it
if you live in the UK try maplin electroniks

[SFEley]

1) Is there any way to replace the batteries in this thing?  Apple doesn't make this model any more, so I'm not sure if I should just bring it to the apple store and ask away or try tearing the thing apart myself.

Yes, there are plenty of third-party battery kits and instructions for replacing the battery yourself.  Google on "ipod battery" and you'll see a number of options to choose from.  A friend of mine did use iPodJuice.com and was satisfied with the results, FWIW.

2) If I can't get it up and running what is the best deal in portable music lately and where should I buy it?  I'm mildly interested in video, but I've gone along this far without it so it's not a must.  I need >8GB of storage for my music and podcasts.  Is there anything out there besides the Zune that has an FM receiver?  Funds are kind of tight, so I'd like to keep it under $150 if possible.  What would you recommend?

If you really want to be cheap, keep watching Woot.com every day -- they only sell one item per day, but seem to have deals on various MP3 players at least once every week or two.  The other day they were selling the Zune for $120.

(And FWIW, almost every player besides the iPod does come with FM radio built in.)  >8->

[Russell Nash]

Apple has gone up and down on the cost of battery replacements.  Last I heard was about $70 at the Apple store, battery, labor and guaranty. 

I have fixed my aging Powerbook a couple of times using the detailed instructions at Ifixit.  They sell parts for all apple stuff and have fantastic instructions with pictures for free on the website.  I'm not an electronics repair guy, but with their instructions I've replaced the HDD and the main hinges on my powerbook.

[Chodon]

Excellent info, all.  Thanks a million!  I'll let you know what I come up with.

[Listener]

My brother-in-law-in-law turned me onto this:

http://macsales.com/

For $20 I got a kit to replace the battery in my iPod mini.  It also came with the tools to do it.  Took me about 30 minutes.  The iPod isn't EXACTLY the same as when I started, but it works, and that's the important thing.

[Chodon]

My brother-in-law-in-law turned me onto this:

http://macsales.com/

For $20 I got a kit to replace the battery in my iPod mini.  It also came with the tools to do it.  Took me about 30 minutes.  The iPod isn't EXACTLY the same as when I started, but it works, and that's the important thing.

That's the place I ordered the battery from.  It's 650mAh, so it should last longer than it did before, and it was well under my budget at $25 shipped.  I'll let you know how it goes once I get it.  I think I'm going to start the surgery tonight to get the old battery out.  ::snaps on rubber gloves::  Wish me luck! 

[Listener]

My brother-in-law-in-law turned me onto this:

http://macsales.com/

For $20 I got a kit to replace the battery in my iPod mini.  It also came with the tools to do it.  Took me about 30 minutes.  The iPod isn't EXACTLY the same as when I started, but it works, and that's the important thing.

That's the place I ordered the battery from.  It's 650mAh, so it should last longer than it did before, and it was well under my budget at $25 shipped.  I'll let you know how it goes once I get it.  I think I'm going to start the surgery tonight to get the old battery out.  ::snaps on rubber gloves::  Wish me luck! 

They SAY it should last longer, but mine doesn't last longer when it's not running.  Running it constantly is fine, but not when it's paused and turned off.

[Chodon]

My brother-in-law-in-law turned me onto this:

http://macsales.com/

For $20 I got a kit to replace the battery in my iPod mini.  It also came with the tools to do it.  Took me about 30 minutes.  The iPod isn't EXACTLY the same as when I started, but it works, and that's the important thing.

That's the place I ordered the battery from.  It's 650mAh, so it should last longer than it did before, and it was well under my budget at $25 shipped.  I'll let you know how it goes once I get it.  I think I'm going to start the surgery tonight to get the old battery out.  ::snaps on rubber gloves::  Wish me luck! 

They SAY it should last longer, but mine doesn't last longer when it's not running.  Running it constantly is fine, but not when it's paused and turned off.

I suppose it would be tough for a user like me to quantify the mAh rating.  I usually listen to it on the way back and forth from work and at work, then charge it at night.  That's a good 12 hours a day or so. 

The disassembly and removing the old battery went well.  I had dropped it before, so the corner of the case was bent making the screw removal a little difficult.  A pair of needle-nosed pliers did the trick though.  Now I just have to get the new battery...tick tock, tick tock.....

[SFEley]

They SAY it should last longer, but mine doesn't last longer when it's not running.  Running it constantly is fine, but not when it's paused and turned off.

Sorry, I'm having trouble parsing that.  Last longer than what?  Are you saying your iPod's batteries run down faster when you're not using it?

If so, that's...different.

[Russell Nash]

They SAY it should last longer, but mine doesn't last longer when it's not running.  Running it constantly is fine, but not when it's paused and turned off.

Sorry, I'm having trouble parsing that.  Last longer than what?  Are you saying your iPod's batteries run down faster when you're not using it?

If so, that's...different.

That sounds like you have some kind of short.

[Chodon]

They SAY it should last longer, but mine doesn't last longer when it's not running.  Running it constantly is fine, but not when it's paused and turned off.

Sorry, I'm having trouble parsing that.  Last longer than what?  Are you saying your iPod's batteries run down faster when you're not using it?

If so, that's...different.

I took that to mean that it lasts longer than the standard ipod battery when it's running continuously, but it lasts the same time as a standard ipod battery when it's turned off.  That kind of makes sense, because it has to hold more charge, which is tougher for a battery. 

The best analogy I can come up with is it's like a helium balloon: a bigger balloon isn't going to last longer when it's all closed up because the surface area has to be bigger (the helium will leak through the balloon and the more surface area the faster the leak), but if you just open the nozzle (assuming they're the same size nozzle) the large helium balloon should take longer to deflate. 

I don't think I got enough sleep last night because that barely made sense to me....

[Chodon]

So I ordered that battery at 6:00pm last night.  They shipped the battery at 8:25pm and it is going to be delivered to my house today.  I didn't pay anything extra for expedited shipping (I just payed the basic UPS ground rate).  I can't say enough good things about the shipping of this "Other World Computing" place.  I wasn't expecting to get this battery until sometime next week.  Granted, they're only a few states away, but still.  I'm impressed.

Now we'll see how the quality of this battery is, and if I can get my ipod back together without destroying it...

[Chodon]

The surgery went well...the ipod is back online.  Thanks everyone for the suggestions, and macsales.com did a great job getting me the new battery in <24 hours for the cost of standard shipping. 

[Listener]

They SAY it should last longer, but mine doesn't last longer when it's not running.  Running it constantly is fine, but not when it's paused and turned off.

Sorry, I'm having trouble parsing that.  Last longer than what?  Are you saying your iPod's batteries run down faster when you're not using it?

If so, that's...different.

I took that to mean that it lasts longer than the standard ipod battery when it's running continuously, but it lasts the same time as a standard ipod battery when it's turned off.  That kind of makes sense, because it has to hold more charge, which is tougher for a battery. 

The best analogy I can come up with is it's like a helium balloon: a bigger balloon isn't going to last longer when it's all closed up because the surface area has to be bigger (the helium will leak through the balloon and the more surface area the faster the leak), but if you just open the nozzle (assuming they're the same size nozzle) the large helium balloon should take longer to deflate. 

I don't think I got enough sleep last night because that barely made sense to me....

I understood it.

Yeah, though, it is weird.

The iPod itself is a refurb, and my brother-in-law-in-law said Mac has a TERRIBLE reputation with their refurbs.

Next time I'm probably going to get a Creative, or if RIM has a Blackberry that's a true music player plus business app running phone, I'd shell out $400 plus a contract for that.  I think we're at a point where businesspeople want a single, handheld device that plays music, lets them surf the web and check email, etc... like an iPhone but minus the suck factor of all the stuff it doesn't do.

I have to ask AT&T if they'd sell me a sim card for the OpenMoko.  (http://openmoko.com/)  It does everything the iPhone SHOULD have done, apparently.  If anyone gets one, let me know how it is, because it looks pretty ideal except for the touch screen.  (I don't like touch screens.)