View Full Version : Battery Life Concerns
interior_decor
09-07-2005, 04:30 PM
Leave it to Apple to make you scratch your head when it comes to discussing battery life.
The 2G minis had 18+ hours of battery life with their clunky harddrives and "old" chipsets; the nano boasts only 14 hours with a flash drive and an updated chipset, I'm assuming.
Outside of the shuffle (12 hours), the nano yields the least amount of battery life on the iPod line -- despite the fact that it is using flash memory, which supposedly uses up less energy than harddrives. I complained about the shuffle's battery upon its release, and someone mentioned that 12 hours is more than enough for anyone. Maybe so, but longer battery life means fewer charge cycles and therefore a longer overall lifespan of the device.
Thoughts?
madmaxmedia
09-07-2005, 04:44 PM
Personally, anything over 10 is good enough for me. Especially something like this, which is small enough to keep with you always (meaning you can always dock it when you're at a computer.)
The battery is obviously much smaller than the Mini battery. I think it was a worthwile sacrifice to get the whole package so thin and small (thinner than a Shuffle!)
The decrease in battery life will likely be due to the decrease in size of the nano compared to the mini, it is quite a bit thinner. 14 hours is plenty, especially if Apples estimates are as conservative as they are on the shuffle and mini.
TOM
ipodlova
09-07-2005, 07:04 PM
also the color screen prob takes more batttery life then the monocrome screens in previeous gens.
talksalot81
09-07-2005, 07:55 PM
The obvious suggestion is that the battery is smaller. I too would have liked longer life, but perhaps they were set on the form factor and this is all the life they can currently squeeze out of it....
I guess, as is rightly said above, 14 hours should be enough. The thing is, with the current push towards no AC adaptors, that means you NEED a pc in order to charge it, thus it is only portable between charges, it is far from able to be portable using its own steam (unless you like carrying and not listening to it)! This is of course true of many such machines.
This whole area is difficult though, different people need and want different things. Id say many people will be caught with the vacation difficulty..... you go on vacation, you want your music..... but you are forced to have access to a pc (or i guess purchase an external dock or charger if it is available).
If I was trying to be as universal as possible, id like a battery to cover a short vacation without a charge. So 7 days, possibly 6 hours a day (for a heavy user) so a 40 hour battery.... this would essentially make the device fully portable which would be something of a revolution in ipod terms!
It's late here, im babbling in debate as to whether to get one now, wait and see if a 5G comes out in paris (unlikely i reckon), wait for the sony HD update (rumoured this month) or wait and get a nano in a couple of months when the bugs have been fully ironed out (and someone can say for sure what the battery and sound performance are like!!!)..... decisions decisions!
talksalot81
09-07-2005, 07:56 PM
The obvious suggestion is that the battery is smaller. I too would have liked longer life, but perhaps they were set on the form factor and this is all the life they can currently squeeze out of it....
I guess, as is rightly said above, 14 hours should be enough. The thing is, with the current push towards no AC adaptors, that means you NEED a pc in order to charge it, thus it is only portable between charges, it is far from able to be portable using its own steam (unless you like carrying and not listening to it)! This is of course true of many such machines.
This whole area is difficult though, different people need and want different things. Id say many people will be caught with the vacation difficulty..... you go on vacation, you want your music..... but you are forced to have access to a pc (or i guess purchase an external dock or charger if it is available).
If I was trying to be as universal as possible, id like a battery to cover a short vacation without a charge. So 7 days, possibly 6 hours a day (for a heavy user) so a 40 hour battery.... this would essentially make the device fully portable which would be something of a revolution in ipod terms!
It's late here, im babbling in debate as to whether to get one now, wait and see if a 5G comes out in paris (unlikely i reckon), wait for the sony HD update (rumoured this month) or wait and get a nano in a couple of months when the bugs have been fully ironed out (and someone can say for sure what the battery and sound performance are like!!!)..... decisions decisions!
talksalot81
09-07-2005, 07:57 PM
The obvious suggestion is that the battery is smaller. I too would have liked longer life, but perhaps they were set on the form factor and this is all the life they can currently squeeze out of it....
I guess, as is rightly said above, 14 hours should be enough. The thing is, with the current push towards no AC adaptors, that means you NEED a pc in order to charge it, thus it is only portable between charges, it is far from able to be portable using its own steam (unless you like carrying and not listening to it)! This is of course true of many such machines.
This whole area is difficult though, different people need and want different things. Id say many people will be caught with the vacation difficulty..... you go on vacation, you want your music..... but you are forced to have access to a pc (or i guess purchase an external dock or charger if it is available).
If I was trying to be as universal as possible, id like a battery to cover a short vacation without a charge. So 7 days, possibly 6 hours a day (for a heavy user) so a 40 hour battery.... this would essentially make the device fully portable which would be something of a revolution in ipod terms!
It's late here, im babbling in debate as to whether to get one now, wait and see if a 5G comes out in paris (unlikely i reckon), wait for the sony HD update (rumoured this month) or wait and get a nano in a couple of months when the bugs have been fully ironed out (and someone can say for sure what the battery and sound performance are like!!!)..... decisions decisions!
canyonblue737
09-08-2005, 12:58 AM
for a device that is thinner than a pencil, thinner than an iPod shuffle etc. while having a color screen etc. i think the battery life of 14 hours is just fine. while apple could have made it a bit thicker and gotten 18+ hours out of it, the ability to make it even smaller was well worth the slight trade off. 14 hours is just fine for this product.
Cr4wford
09-08-2005, 01:26 AM
pscht. why does it need to be that thin? it could certainly have gone a little thicker for some extra battery life.
and, talksalot81 if what your talking about is at all important to you, may i suggest you check out the iAudio line of flash players, the G3, and I5. The G3 runs for 50 hours (probably more like 45) on a AA battery. I'm not too sure about the I5, but the it's powered by a AAA battery. Bring a couple extra batteries and you'll be set for a long time without even the need for a wall socket.
CA_Steve
09-08-2005, 01:42 AM
Wait a year for flash memory to move to the next lithography step and the battery life will improve for the same amount of memory....
talksalot81
09-08-2005, 04:09 AM
Cr4wford, to get 50 hours isnt so important to me personally, I will always have my laptop with me. I was speaking more in respect of those who dont have and dont want to carry about a laptop. Id have liked more, but 14 hours I can live with.
Adam