Now that you have bought the iPod you always coveted, it is time to make sure you get the maximum out of it. iPods don’t come cheap, and that alone justifies the effort in taking a few precautionary measure that will help you get the most out of your iPod. Besides, the iPod’s features are sure to make it your favorite device for personal entertainment on the go, so let us see what we can do to appreciate the iPod more than we do already and help extend the usability.

You need to keep these aspects involving common sense in your mind always while using your iPod to maximize its features:

1.    Keep Your iPod Cool – As far as IPods go, being cool is best. That means ensuring that your IPod is as near room temperature (72° F or 22° C). Do not keep it in strong sunlight, near appliances radiating heat, on the dashboard or in the glove compartment. The more the iPod heats up, the lower its lifespan.

2.    Use Your iPod Regularly – Regular use of your iPod ensures that the battery charges and discharges regularly. This prolongs both the battery life (how long your battery can power the iPod) and lifespan (how long before you need to replace the battery). An iPod that is used regularly will last longer than an iPod that is seldom used.

3.    Turn Off – You can either use the hold button to prevent the iPod from waking up due to movement or switch it off when you don’t want it. This helps conserve battery power and delays the necessity for another charging cycle.

4.    Disable Wi-Fi – If you keep the Wi-Fi capability enabled always, the circuits tend to consume a lot of power even if you are not connected to a network. It is wise to enable Wi-Fi only when you need it.

5.    Backlight Off – Keep the backlighting of the LCD screen off will help conserve a significant amount of power.

6.    Applications – There are several applications available for the iPod that keeps the screen from becoming dim or turning off. The applications should be used sparingly in order to maximize the iPod.

In my last article about the 24 Hour iPod Battery we discussed the true capability of such an iPod battery. Now however, I wanted to speak directly about the primary limitations of current battery technology that makes it difficult to truly get an iPod battery to last 24 hours given the multifaceted demands of consumers. Question: can an iPod battery power your iPod with 24 hours of music playback, a bright screen, cycling through your music files while all the while you are connecting external devices to your iPod? I do not believe so and the testimonies of thousands of iPod users support my belief. Now we must question why?

The reason why an ipod battery may not perform as specified when your average consumer is using their iPod is due to the limitations of the iPod batteries themselves, specifically the limitation of capacity. All iPod batteries including the (iPod 3rd Gen Battery, iPod Mini Battery, iPod Nano, Battery, iPod Video Battery, iPod Photo Battery, iPod 4th Gen Battery, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Classic Battery) have all been specifically designed for a battery rating that will perform a single function – to power their intended iPod Player. Battery Ratings will look very similar to:

IPOD MINI BATTERY

PART # EC003

3.7 VOLTS

550 mAh

The battery rating number that defines battery capacity in the example above is the 550 mAh (milli Amp hours). To understand, battery capacities, then we need to follow some basic electronic formulas. First however let’s define battery capacity as a reference to the total amount of energy stored within a battery. As I alluded to above battery capacity is rated in Ampere-hours (Ah).

Amp hours – or Ah – measures capacity. That is what we want to know about iPod Batteries – how long can it deliver a certain amount of charge before it runs out. As with all metric measurements, Amps can be divided into smaller (or larger) units by adding a prefix.

In the case of our example above a milliAmp hour (mAh) is most commonly used on iPod battery specs. Note that 1000 mAh is the same a 1 Ah. (Just as 1000mm equals 1 meter.) iPod batteries with a 1 Amp hour rating could deliver ½ Amp of current for 2 hours, or they could provide 2 Amps of current for ½ hour.

Ampere-hours (Ah) are the product of: Ah= Current X Hours to Total Discharge

The capacity is normally tested or compared with a time of 20 hours and at a temperature of 68F (20C).

Five Factors that Govern iPod Battery Capacity

Physical Size – the amount of capacity that can be stored in the casing of any battery depends on the volume and plate area of the actual battery. The more volume and plate area the more capacity you can actually store in a battery.

Temperature – capacity, energy store decreases as a battery gets colder. High temperatures also have an effect on all other aspects of your battery.

Cut off Voltage – To prevent damage to the battery and the device batteries have an internal mechanism that stops voltage called the cut-off voltage, which is tpically limited to 1.67V or 10V for a 12 Volt battery. Letting a battery self-discharge to zero destroys the battery.

Discharge rate – The rate of discharge, the rate at which a battery goes from a full charge to the cut off voltage measured in amperes. As the rate goes up, the capacity goes down.

Battery History – Deep discharging, excessive cycling, age, over charging, under charging, all reduce capacity. Note charging your battery 1 time will reduce capacity as much as 15%-20% depending on your battery’s chemistry.

Put your iPod to sleep after listening

Once you done listening, put your iPod to sleep to save battery life. You can do it by just pressing the play/pause button and in a minute or so your little player would go to sleep.

Use hold button freely

We normally don’t use this button that frequently, after putting your iPod to sleep, slide the hold button to “on” position. Do you wonder why? Because you click wheel is quite sensitive, if it gets a rubbing in your pocket or bump in your briefcase, it will start playing and whole of your battery will be drained.

Control your iPod’s back light

This is another battery drainer, a really big one. Reduce your backlight to two seconds or five seconds, never leave it always on. Here are quick steps to do that, from main menu, scroll down to settings. Press center select button, list will pop up, select backlight, then choose the time. By doing so you are going to improve your battery life for sure.

Check your screen brightness

Do you really need very bright screen? Adjusting your brightness can save lot of battery, to bring the glow you need more battery. If you lower it a bit, battery life will be enhanced. Here is how you can do it, from main menu reach settings, scroll down to brightness and press select button.

If you will take care of the above factors, your iPod battery life will definitely improve. Follow more iPod tips and tricks here.