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IRL: the Kindle Touch, a repurposed Army bag and a non-user replaceable laptop battery
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. Hi there, folks. It's that time of the week where we share our close and very personal experiences with various gadget paraphernalia. This week, Brian makes the switch from the Nook Simple Touch to the Kindle Touch, Ben explains why he'd rather replace his own laptop battery, thank you very much, and Don makes the case for a laptop bag that looks anything but.
Nokia N8 battery swap: it can be done (with a Torx+ screwdriver, patience, and white gloves)
It's still kind of freaking us out that Nokia chose aesthetics over maximum functionality by putting the N8's battery out of the user's reach -- but is it really? The Nokia Blog has scored a customer service manual showing the step-by-step process for replacing the battery, and as long as you've got access to a size 4 Torx+ screwdriver and a little patience, you should be able to pull it off. Turns out the battery is just a plain old BL-4D, the same kind of pack used in the E5 and N97 Mini -- so if you're upgrading, you might even already have a spare lying around by the time you buy your N8. All things considered, it looks like this is no more difficult than swapping out an iPhone 4's cell -- and let's be honest, it's going to be a heck of a lot easier to come across a BL-4D for the average mortal.
Microsoft says Windows 7 battery 'issue' isn't one
After Microsoft stated a week ago that it would look into reports of Windows 7 causing premature battery degradation, we've been staying up late at night with our frazzled lithium ion cells, reading them stories about Battery Heaven and generally trying to keep an upbeat tone around the Engadget HQ. Well, it turns out not everything is rosy in batteryville, but Microsoft says Windows 7 isn't the one to blame. According to the company's testing, the new tool, which reports when a battery is down to 40% of its designed capacity and suggests replacement, hasn't reported a single false positive. Additionally, the tool uses read-only data from the battery, and is in fact incapable of tweaking the battery's life span or internal data -- it merely reports the data it receives, and stacks the theoretical design capacity up against the current full charge capacity. Microsoft attributes the reports of the tool dooming batteries to an early grave to the mere fact that many people might not have noticed the degradation already taking place in their batteries -- most batteries start to degrade noticeably within a year. Of course, not everybody's going to just take Microsoft's word for it, and Microsoft itself will continue to look into the issue, but for now this sounds like a bit of a non-issue. The part about Windows 7 being less conservative with power use is a whole 'nother issue, of course.
Apple reveals 17-inch MacBook Pro battery replacement details
Ever since the new 17-inch MacBook Pro was introduced, the million dollar question (make that $179 question) has been: what goes down when the battery fails? Sure, the machine is small -- and the alleged eight hours of charge is nothing to sneeze at -- but is all that worth the hassle of a non-removable battery? When the thing eventually goes kaput (and they always do), those of us in the States can expect to lay out $179 plus tax for a replacement. According to the site, if you drop the machine off at the Apple Store they can turn it around in a day (with appointment). If you mail it in, give it four days or so upon receipt. If you decide to do it yourself? Well, you probably shouldn't. But if you do, make sure you send us pictures.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Apple and AT&T hit with third class action suit over iPhone battery
Apple's lack of a roll-your-own battery replacement for the iPhone seems to be causing quite a stir with Apple and AT&T's legal departments as a third class-action lawsuit has been thrown at them. Plaintiffs Zoltan Stiener and Ynez Stiener cite breach of contract, fraud, and violations of California law for not letting users know that the replacement costs can be upwards of $100 -- we're assuming this includes the cost of a rental replacement iPhone. Apple has settled in previous cases of this type -- well, in an iPod case at any rate -- so we'll have to wait and see how it all comes out before jumping on any class-action bandwagons.
Apple launches battery replacement program for iPhone
Well, it seems Apple has reacted -- at least partially -- to the gripe that the iPhone battery isn't user replaceable with the iPhone Out-of-Warranty Battery Replacement Program. If your battery goes flat Apple will replace it for $79.95 plus $6.95 for shipping, with turnaround time expected to be about three business days. As a bonus, if you just can't live without Cupertino's newest, Apple will rent you an iPhone for the duration of the battery replacement -- or if it needs any other type of repair -- for just $29. In total, the whole experience will set you back well over that magical $100 mark, and after having shelled out a pretty big load of cash to begin with, we're sure this won't sit well with many. Of course, exploding after-market batteries will be all over in the coming weeks and months, so if you just can't get yourself to spend all that official-Apple-repair cake, eBay should have you covered for home replacement. [Via Mac Rumors]
