Apple iPod Update Increases Battery Life 110
hhoor writes "Apple has released iPod Software 1.2.6. According to Apple, 'After updating the iPod, customers can expect at least 10 days of standby battery life on a full charge.' So maybe now it's really time to buy one."
FP! (Score:3, Interesting)
Works great for me (Score:5, Informative)
I updated my 10 GB Mac iPod, and the updating process went smoothly. I have had no problems with the update. So go ahead and update. You should however always make backups if you want to be sure.
hmmm...... (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:hmmm...... (Score:5, Funny)
That's why iTunes has that "Connect to Internet when needed" option. It's so that when you sync your iPod the iPod can send its latest batch of results to seti@home and download new work to do.
Re:hmmm...... (Score:3, Informative)
The 'second processor' is not a second processor. in fact it's not a processor at all, it's simply a logic array that happens to be made by the same manufacturer as the real CPU.
repeat after me
"apple do not sell ipods to make clusters from"
Re:hmmm...... (Score:1, Funny)
repeat after me
"never use a preposition to end a sentence with"
yeah... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:yeah... (Score:2)
Re:hmmm...... (Score:1)
"Never use a preposition to end a sentence with, asshole."
Hey, you're right! Much better that is.
Actually... (Score:5, Informative)
In fact, the chip IS a dual ARM7 core with supporting I/O logic. So it is you, in fact, who is mistaken.
Out of stock (Score:3, Interesting)
That is for the 5Gb PC iPod (for a friend of mine), of course I have had my own Mac iPod for more than a year now.
Re:Out of stock (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Out of stock (Score:2, Interesting)
If the 5GB is discontinued, then perhaps that means that a 40GB version is imminent. I'm hoping that this coinincides with the announcement of the music service that has been talked about recently.
Would also love an FM receiver, but maybe that's asking too much...
Anybody have any G2 on the above?
Nethack (Score:3, Funny)
If they do, they need much more than 10 days of battery time in order to complete the game.
Re:Nethack (Score:2)
On the other hand if someone writes an HFS+ native Linux that plays MP3s out of the same folders as the iPod OS and runs all the Linux cruft it'd be worth the total conversion for some.
Annoying Lock-ups (Score:3, Informative)
It only takes a few seconds, but it's annoying. Maybe 1.2.6 will help out in that area, too.
Re:Annoying Lock-ups (Score:3, Interesting)
As for unreplaceable, the casing can be opened and the battery can be disconnected from the iPod. Of course, finding one could be tough. Perhaps Apple will offer in-store replacement of the battery. That still wouldn't help me when mine finally does die.
Holy Crap (Score:4, Insightful)
Also, couldn't this have been available via Software Update? I don't spend much time at the iPod homepage. I suppose not everyone needs it, but couldn't there be some way of telling if you ever had an iPod connected? Wishful thinking, maybe.
About Software Update (Score:2, Interesting)
There are good reasons not doing so:
Beautiful would be an automatic Internet Check perf
Re:About Software Update (Score:3, Informative)
Apple should build "a check for iPod update" feature into iTunes, with the option to have it check automatically-- then only people with an iPod would enable/use the feature, anyone who didn't use iTunes could just download the updates from Apple's site, and
Re:Holy Crap (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Holy Crap (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Holy Crap (Score:1)
Re:Holy Crap (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Holy Crap (Score:1)
Odd statement hhoor (Score:4, Informative)
Downloaded, about to take the plunge. The Changelog is minimialist;
Changes since 1.2:
Version 1.2.6 has improved battery management, providing the following updates:
* Increased playback time on scroll-wheel iPods
* Longer stand-by time for all iPods
Looks like it is a definite must for owners of the lower capacity pods.
I see in other places that it does not implement the cursed EEC mandated volume lowering, so don;t let that hold you back.
Re:Odd statement hhoor (Score:3, Funny)
-/-
Re:Odd statement hhoor (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Odd statement hhoor (Score:3, Funny)
Karma to burn!
Re:Odd statement hhoor (Score:1)
Re:Odd statement hhoor (Score:3, Informative)
On the later, 10Gb and 20Gb units, it's a touch sensitive ring (no goatse links please!) instead.
not at all (Score:2)
Clock and firmware (Score:5, Interesting)
Does anyone know if the new firmware removes the clock feature? Personally I have no real desire to upgrade: I don't need any more functions from the device - I only need it to play tunes and that's it.
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:3, Interesting)
Could this be a power-saving feature? Disabling the clock until the user actually decides to start using it? (I know I never do, so it wouldn't be a big loss and the extra run time would be great)
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:1)
I hope this firmware update really is a fix. I sent back my iPod twice (to Apple's glory they replaced it each time without blinking) because the battery life wasn't what it once was. It was only later that I learned of the possible connection to the 1.2.1 update (which I had installed).
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:2)
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:5, Informative)
No, you and everyone else blamed the clock, as it was the only apparant change to the iPod firmware that seemed like it might have introduced a drain on the battery.
However, if this update works, it blows that theory out of the water. The knowledgebase article for this says that the problem was that the iPod was incorrectly interpreting the battery charge. It seems that the 1.2 firmware was not allowing the iPod to use all of the battery capacity, and was shutting down when there was still plenty of life left. There is no way anyone outside of Apple could have figured this out, so the clock got blamed.
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:1)
I have to agree with you there. I noticed on my 5 GB ipod that sometimes it would go from two battery bars to dead in about 10 minutes.
This occur mainly after it had been in stand by for a while IE over night. Given that it took hours to use the first three bars the final two should have lasted more that 10 minutes.
I also noticed that sometimes the battery meter would go up and then down and then up again, as if it was having trouble reading what state the battery was in under 1.2
I have since
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:3, Interesting)
How about creating and editing playlists or at least minimally being able to queue up the next N song(s)? Ever try to be a dj for some friends or pass your pod around the car and let others pick tracks? I find myself watching the remaining time constantly and having to get the timing just right when switching tracks so as not to cut the current track short or allow the logical next track in the list to start playing before you click to play
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:1)
Re:Clock and firmware (Score:2)
It's actually surprisingly tricky to do this because of the way MP3 files are structures. Having said that, for DJ mixed albums I just rip the whole thing as one file: use the Join CD Tracks command in iTunes, under the Advanced menu.
Or what about showing the "All Songs" list for an Artist in alphabetical order (it could be an option, but I consider the current behavior a bug). I have 230 Zappa tracks on my pod right now and finding a particular one in the list is quite difficult.
Huh. Mine does what
My pet iPod-peeves: (Score:5, Interesting)
- Said remote-controls connection is finnicky. I have to press it into place a bit too often if I have it in my pocket.
- The clock is some archaic system with letters instead of the standard 24-hour clock used in most parts of the world.
None of these are deal-breakers though. I just love my 20 GB iPod. Bring on AAC already Apple!
Re:My pet iPod-peeves: (Score:3, Informative)
I had that problem so I mentioned it to Apple and I have just received a new remote in the post...... Very good service there. Assuming your iPod is still in warranty, give 'em a call.
There's stuff about the remote problems in Apple's forums. It seems the newer remotes have been changed slightly to solve the problems you are having......
Troc
Re:My pet iPod-peeves: (Score:2, Informative)
It sounds like you have the same problem I did. Until I read iPod: Remote Buttons Do Not Work [apple.com].
Re:My pet iPod-peeves: (Score:2)
I'll have to get myself the new remote, thanks for the tip guy above the last poster
now that is truly strange (Score:2)
What on earth do you mean? My iPod looks like every other digital clock, complete with arabic numerals...?
Re:now that is truly strange (Score:1)
What happened to the missing versions (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What happened to the missing versions (Score:3, Insightful)
mechanical scrollwheel (Score:2, Interesting)
* Longer stand-by time for all iPods
Since battery life has improved for the mechanical scroll wheel iPods, as well as for all around standby time for all iPods, does that mean iPods with the mechanical scroll wheel now have better battery life than the new ones? Or were they behind before and now they are caught up?
In any case, I like the mechanical scroll wheel better. It feels more precise to me. Except that it gets craps stuck under it on the sides.
Increases the standby time to 10 days... From what (Score:2)
I was never exactly able to figure out how long my standby time was, but it seemed short enough that I was considering contacting apple about it (3 days perhaps..).
What have other readers found as their standby time using the older firmware versions?
those who are like me (Score:1)
Aha! (Score:3, Funny)
Now just give us other formats (Score:3, Interesting)
iTunes LAME plug-in (and those presets), Accerator (for mp4/aac experimenting) and Audion (mp3pro for spoken word/audio books) all help, but iPods restrictions keep me from fully taking the sound to the next level.
Please Apple live up to the openness you're stating with OS X. Have your music device be as agnostic with sound as your OS is with fonts, etc.
iPod on Linux (Score:4, Informative)
I use an iBook with OS X, and a Linux machine.
Recently I acquired a iee1394 PCI card, and used the conversion tool from iPod-on-Linux [sourceforge.net] to transform it into a FAT32 iPod, and gtkpod [sourceforge.net] to manage songs on it.
The conversion tool installed firmware 1.2.1, but this last iPod upgrade wanted to reformat my iPod. So now I had a 1.2.6 iPod, but HFS+ instead of FAT32.
Never to lose courage, I copied the 'Firmware' file from inside the upgrader's directory on the Mac to the PC, over the 1.2.1 firmware used in the conversion tool. Run the conversion tool again, and now I have a 1.2.6 FAT32 iPod, and I'm filling it up again using gtkpod.
Re:iPod on Linux (Score:1)
Re:iPod on Linux (Score:1)
If I had any machine which runs Windows ;-)
I removed Windows from my PC after a year of non-use
anyone else have poor linux compat with the iPod? (Score:3, Insightful)
I can see the files when I mount the ipod and copy them across ok - I think. but when I play them, the file sizes are wrong and so a song that says its 30minutes (unlikely) cuts off after a few minutes and some songs that are long cut off too short! weird.
so I returned it. it appears that for me, at least, ipod/linux is not nearly ready for prime time. too bad.
Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2)
I do agreee with you how ever. They should still have included and small switch for when you're not using it for a while or want to conserve battery power.
Well, you knoe what to do: Contact Apple's feedback and tell them you want a switch.
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:3, Insightful)
But as we all know it doesn't really switch off the iPod. It's still consuming battery power at a prodigious rate. I want a real off button so I can leave my iPod off for a month and expect it to work the moment I switch it on. Why can't it just dump out its state to disk and shut down for real?
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:1)
I rarely use playlists (Score:2)
Re:I rarely use playlists (Score:2)
Re:I rarely use playlists (Score:2)
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2, Informative)
Of course, it's pretty unresaonble that the battery drains in standby over a few days. Hopefully this update fixes that.
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:1)
You can also get the auto-resume-at-the-same-song feature by pressing and holding the play button on the remote to turn off the iPod, instead of using the button on the iPod itself. I don't know why the two buttons work differentl
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2)
I didn't figure this out for months either. I never opened the CD that came with my iPod because Music Match sucks hardcore. Later I realized I didn't know about certain features that everyone else did. So I opened up the little case and there was a tiny manual.
One other tidbit I learned in there - hold down Menu to turn on the backlight.
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:3, Interesting)
I tend to skip lots of songs, so I get less playtime because I'm forcing the HD to keep spinning up. But I also have a first vers
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2)
One thing to note. The original 5gb iPods had a 90 day warranty. They know have a 1 year warranty. Apple was nice enough to grandfather the warranty. If you had the 90 days, you now have the 1 year. Very nice.
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:1)
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:1)
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:1)
Didn't keep the serial # but I'm pretty sure what I got back was a replacement. I'm just real gentle on the wheel now and it hasn't given me much trouble.
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:1)
It may have to do with the battery, for something like this how often do you think you would have people leave it for a prolonged period of time fully charged. This can damage some cheaper batteries over time and decrease their usefulness, maybe apple decided that to avoid that, or avoid having to build a better quality battery into their ipod. They could instead not have the option to turn the ipod right off, and that way the battery was always fully
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2)
Most battery packs contain microprocessors of their own and I would imagine the iPod's internal battery has just such a device for managing power.
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2, Informative)
Anyway, my preferred method is to hit PAUSE then lock the unit (the sliding switch on top). Fastest method I know of, includes locking the device so it won't be turned on again by accident, and it only takes two minutes for the iPod to shut itself down.
And with this new update we hopefully won't have to worry about those two minutes killing our battery.
There is an off switch (Score:3, Informative)
Press and hold down the play button for about two seconds and the iPod will immediately turn off.
Yeah, but.. (Score:1)
When you turn the iPod off this way, you lose your place in the song/playlist/album list. When you turn it back on again you're back at the main menu with no song selected. If instead you pause and lock the device it will start up again where you paused it -- like the "resume" feature on Sony portable CD players.
Generally I like being able to resume where I left off. On the other hand, if I had to choose a
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2)
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:1)
Re:Why does the iPod have no off switch? (Score:2)
600,000 Ad Reps (Score:2)
If Wall Street really had it's finger on the pulse of the tech sector Apple's stock would've gone up today.
Buyer Beware (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Buyer Beware (Score:3, Informative)
Every piece of hardware (computer, automobile, etc.) ever created has stories like this attached to it.
Re:Buyer Beware (Score:1)
On the other hand, maybe it's just a doctored photo. But why would someone do that? I don't know. It does make me question his otherwise plausible story. (Although an Apple employee not knowing the meaning of the word 'syncronize' when they have a product named iSync is also a tad hard to sw
Re:Buyer Beware (Score:2)
Wanna bet he's running a warezed beta version of windoze too?
iBook/PowerBook battery life (Score:1)
Almost a pity they couldn't have released a fix for that at this time, actually. Since it probably affects more people, in a greater way.
Installation Problems (Score:1)