IpodBattery
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Switched On: And smartplayers for all
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. A few weeks ago, Switched On noted the challenges that even wildly popular, highly penetrated devices such as MP3 players and portable GPS devices have faced in the era of the converged device. Some of these devices, such as digital cameras, still hold on because of genuine advantages such as better image quality or optical zoom. For others devices, though, such as MP3 players and portable GPS devices, the grim news is that one of the main reasons consumers use them is to save smartphone battery life.
Elecom's AVD-DCAA2: +2 hours of portable iPod juice
Here you go, another way to stretch the untethered playback of your iPod. Meet the Elecom AVD-DCAA2 series of external battery packs which will keep any iPod sportin' the universal dock pumping the tunes for up to 2 hours (as tested with 1G nano) off 2x AA batteries. Remove the batteries and the whole kit compresses for easy portability. Sure that off-center slab ain't pretty, but it has to slide to the side to maintain access to the headphone jack, Jack. Available Martin and Lewis or Amos and Andy starting mid November for ¥1,890 or about 16 bucks. [Via Akihabara News]
Prolonging your iPod's battery life
Sure, you can repair your iPod's battery when you need to, but wouldn't you rather just avoid the issue in the first place? Chris Breen thinks so, and he's offering several tips for keeping your battery healthy and strong for as long as possible. A few of his suggestions I already do, like flicking the "Hold" button to avoid accidental activation, keeping the backlight duration to a minimum and keeping up with software updates.Other rules I don't follow so religiously, like keeping it charged (I'll go several days without plugging it in) and keeping it warm (it sits in my car sometimes, and here in New England, it's still pretty chilly at night). It's a good list of suggestions. Check it out.Photo from iPod's Dirty Secret.
