9.9.04

iPod update. I love it, the sound quality is crystal clear, and it's stunning - a work of art. But...the battery life is questionable. Quite questionable. I haven't had it for that long, so perhaps it's too early to tell. I have heard that it takes three or four full discharge cycles to calibrate the battery (but am quite sure that lithium-ion batties don't have 'memory').

I'm skeptical. Apple advertises that the battery is good for 12 hours worth of music; in actual fact, it seems like 6-8 hours after two full discharge cycles. I'm not sure if this warrants a nasty letter and demand for replacement as Apple's 12-hour claim is probably tested under (very) unrealistic circumstances; i.e. no scrolling, no shuffling, no backlight, no EQ, moderate headphone volume etc. In reality who doesn't scroll or shuffle songs when they listen to music on a portable player?

Statistically speaking - and for those of you who know me, I can see you rolling your eyes - Apple's claim really ought to be something like 'we are 95% confident that the iPod's average battery life lies in the interval [8, 16] hours'. That might not do so well in Apple adverts, however...

L'Esthete @ 20:26