iPod/Bose Battery Life Question

[thirsty moore]

Does the BOSE SoundDock have an affect on the iPod's battery life?  My current iPod is about 4 years old and the battery life is 30 minutes at best.  It usually sits in the SoundDock as I can't take it anywhere.
 
 At some point I will have to buy another one or replace the battery if I want to travel with my iPod.  
 
 Note that my iPod serves as my stereo as well.

[Guiny]

Since day one, my IPOD battery life has been horrible.  I've just been too lazy to figure out how to fix the problem.  So I just re charge it every time I need to use it.  I have a dock, but my problem started way before I got it.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by econo:
  Does the BOSE SoundDock have an affect on the iPod's battery life?  

Yes and no.  When you leave an iPod in a docking station that charges, the battery will begin, after time, to not last as long.  Batteries have a "brain" so to speak.  For example, if you listen to your iPod 2 hours a day and charge it every night, in a matter of months your iPod battery will only last two hours.  The same thing happens to people who use car chargers for 30 minutes at a time while they're driving - it destroys the battery life.  Leaving an iPod in a docking station for extended time is really bad for a battery.
 
 I highly recommend you drain your battery at least once a month and then give them a full charge overnight before using it again.  I'm on year 3 or 4 of my iPod and I still get over 10 hours of playback time.

[thirsty moore]

Is this with or without BOSE use?
 
 

Originally posted by vansmack:
 I highly recommend you drain your battery at least once a month and then give them a full charge overnight before using it again.  I'm on year 3 or 4 of my iPod and I still get over 10 hours of playback time.

[El Jefe Design]

I just learned the other day that on the new iPods having album art appear can screw up the connection to your computer. My iPod was disconnecting itself from my computer at random and would not show up when plugged in.
 
 Just in case this is happening to anyone else.
 
 On the charging your iPod, make sure you do a direct from socket charge instead of through your computer. That made my iPod last around five years.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by econo:
  Is this with or without BOSE use?
 
   

Originally posted by vansmack:
 I highly recommend you drain your battery at least once a month and then give them a full charge overnight before using it again.  I'm on year 3 or 4 of my iPod and I still get over 10 hours of playback time.

[/b]

Without.  I have the Apple Docking station hooked up to my stereo.  It allows me to use the docking station without requiring me to charge the iPod.  Since it runs off the iPod battery, I run it until the battery runs out, then plug the dock into the wall to charge the ipod overnight.
 
 I also rarely leave my iPod hooked up to my computer.  I connect, add/remove the songs, and then disconnect the ipod.  I only charge my iPod when the battery is very low and I won't make my commute without charging it.
 
 My sister has the Bose Stereo and an iPod purchased 1-2 years after mine.  Her battery life is down to 2 hours because she leaves it in the docking station when not using it (and was also plugging it into her car charger while driving, even when the battery had plenty of life in it).  It's not necessarily the BOSE stereo, it's any docking station that has a full time connection to the power source.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by El Jefe Design:
 On the charging your iPod, make sure you do a direct from socket charge instead of through your computer. That made my iPod last around five years.

This is true.  Or, if you must charge from a computer, try to use the firewire port and not the USB cable.  More voltage...

[thirsty moore]

So this will be a problem no matter what as the BOSE acts as my stereo.  What I might end up doing is purchasing a 20 gig hard drive for the iPod and buy another to travel with.  
 
 First world problems!
 
 

Originally posted by vansmack:
 Without.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by econo:
  So this will be a problem no matter what as the BOSE acts as my stereo.  What I might end up doing is purchasing a 20 gig hard drive for the iPod and buy another to travel with.

Probably.  
 
 Once we had an iPod that the battery life finally died in, we just leave it in the stereo dock (at that point it didn't really matter).  It's only 4 gigs (original mini) so we have to change the songs often, but it works.  It essentialy works as a portable music hard drive.  
 
 We have newer iPods that we use for commuting/travelling and other battery oriented uses.

[taperkat]

true on all accounts, I drain mine once a week, but I literally use mine for 10+ hours a day (drive to metro, on metro, listen in one ear at work while I take calls at the Apple Store in the other), back to metro, drive home.
 
 (i work in pcity)

[Chip Chanko]

How to prolong lithium-based batteries

[bikerchickdc]

Actually according to Apple, it shouldn't matter if you leave the iPod on the charger all day long, and you don't need to run it all the way down before charging it again. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=62018#7
 
 That said, I do not know if they would make the same statement regarding a third-party dock/charging station like Bose.
 
 What definitely does shred the battery is letting the unit get very warm while charging, like charging it when it's inside a leather case.
 
 You can do-it-yourself replace the battery-- lots of sites online for how-to's. It is a pain the first time around, till you see how it all comes apart and goes back together. After that first time, it is actually quite simple. Just remember there are a lot of delicate cables and connectors inside, and be gentle. Apple will swap the battery out for you-- actually they just swap your iPod for a refurbed one of the same model, and given the price they charge, I don't think it's worth it, especially since you have to reload all your music and it takes longer if you want any engraving put back on it (mine says Reward if Found on the back and has my phone number and has helped my iPod find its way home when left on a plane). Lots of services online will do this faster and cheaper than what Apple charges.