iTrip Battery Life Test Results

[djducat]

Well guys, I got my iTrip a week ago, and unlike many, I REALLY like it. Denver and Colorado Springs have ample empty frequencies to choose from, and it works great for me.

However, it seemed to me that my battery life went down qucikly when I used it, so I decided to do a formal test.

I have a 10gb ipod I purchased new 2 months ago. Right after I bought it, I did a battery test on it. I set the volume to about 80%, plugged in the earbuds, and hit random. Much to my suprise, the battery life was actually BETTER than advertised. it finally died after 11:45 hours. VERY nice.

Now, I got my itrip, and tried to duplicate the test. I charged it full, plugged the itrip in, and hit random. It ran out of battery only 8 hours later!!!!!

A few side notes. The LED was on for the test, and I have not done a more recent regular test since the one a few months ago., it is possible that my overall battery life has gone down since I got it, but still, this thing appears to really hit the battery harder than they imply on the web site.

Has anyone else experienced similar battery life issues? Although 8 hours is still good, and I can live with it (I do not always use the iTrip), I cannot imagine getting a redesigned itrip like this for the new ipods, which start at 8 hours (best case).

I'm gonna run a regular earbud test again tonight to verify the 11:45 number.

Dan

[mrkablooey]

That's probably about right, and not surprising. I used my iTrip all day listening while cleaning the house and it was quite nice to give it a work-out. I also got about 8 hours on a 10GB gen2 iPod. For what it does, I'm happy with the 8 hours.

[djducat]

Yea, I agree that it is not bad, but their quote on the web site reads:

Another advantage of the iTrip is that it needs no batteries, it receives its tiny amount of power from the iPod, and it can rotate out of the way to charge the iPod while still in use. No more batteries ever again.

I would not characterize 30% batteey life loss as "tiny". if you had one of the new ipods, you would be cut down from 8 hours to just over 5. Yikes!

Ah well, I only use it for drive time to listen to bible studies. I do not fiind music quality good enough, but for the spoken word, it seems adequate and convenient.

Originally posted by mrkablooey
That's probably about right, and not surprising. I used my iTrip all day listening while cleaning the house and it was quite nice to give it a work-out. I also got about 8 hours on a 10GB gen2 iPod. For what it does, I'm happy with the 8 hours.

[thenightfly42]

Thanks for taking the time to run this test, djducat. Could you possibly rerun the no-iTrip battery test to confirm if the battery has lost any umph? That would be very useful. Might be time to invest in a powerjack for the cigarette lighter.

[djducat]

Originally posted by thenightfly42
Thanks for taking the time to run this test, djducat. Could you possibly rerun the no-iTrip battery test to confirm if the battery has lost any umph? That would be very useful. Might be time to invest in a powerjack for the cigarette lighter.

Will do, but not until later this weekend. I'm off for a 6 hour drive in the mountains. No station bleeding out there. Pick a frequency, any frequency. I'll run the test this weekend if I get a chance.

8 hours is still good, considering that the ipod gets used about 1/2 time onthe itrip and 1/2 time with the buds when I travel. still gives me an entire days driving, and we would just charge it in the hotel.

Dan

[Wolfman200]

I don't see how the iTrip could draw that much power. It gets its power from the headphone port, so how can it use more power than the rmote?

[mrkablooey]

Originally posted by Wolfman200
I don't see how the iTrip could draw that much power. It gets its power from the headphone port, so how can it use more power than the rmote?

unlike the remote, the itrip is constantly "on" and working. the remote is only active when buttons are used.

[jjclub]

djducat,

Thanks for your experiment. Finally someone noticed this is also an important issue for using an iTrip. I asked this issue on the old forum but got no response. I do think this kind of test has to be reported in a review. But it is not there in any review.

Thanks!!!