After nearly three years of almost daily use, my trusty old iPod was starting to give up the ghost. But thanks to a new install-it-yourself battery, it has a new lease on life -- and it's even better than new. Wired News tested a $40, high-capacity, 2,100 mAh (milliamp hour) replacement iPod battery from Newer Technology. It was easy to install and delivered 22 hours of continuous play -- more than double the play time of the original battery. (The battery tested is for first- and second-generation iPods; Newer also sells one for third-generation iPods.)
Acquired in October 2001, and in almost daily use, my iPod was down to two or three hours of continuous play from a battery originally rated for eight to 10 hours. Before breaking it open, I updated the iPod's firmware, choosing to wipe the drive while doing so. Oddly, this operation restored the battery to its former glory. After loading up a selection of songs and hitting "shuffle," the iPod played for 8.5 hours continuously, almost to the minute. When asked about this on an earlier occasion, Apple Computer's iPod product manager, Danika Cleary, said she'd heard lots of reports, but she didn't know why it worked.
News source: Wired
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