3G iPod plays wrong songs

[cmx08]

The following takes place between my journey on the walk.

I have my 3G iPod 10G for almost a year and in the past 2 weeks, it's been taking longer to play songs in the same list when I force to change the current song. Seeking starts to take longer, battery life is 6hrs.

While this happens, it sometimes play the wrong song when I select a specific one.

I do not have any type of warranty except for the Apple 1 year one. I have 3 weeks left.

Should I get Apple Care for iPod or I can save the money for a 3rd party battery.

I use my iPod everyday until it dies. Will a year kill the battery and have Apple replace it under warranty?

I conclusion since day 1 was that i might not get Apple replace the battery in 2 years so I decided in 3rd party battery DIY.
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What are you thoughts and conclusions folks?
I'd appreciate to know some of your experiences

 

[Elan0204]

Since your warranty is nearly up, I would take any issue your iPod is having very seriously. Address this issue quickly by calling Apple and seeing what they say. You might also try completely restoring your iPod using the iPod Updater Utility. Then reload all your music. The slowdown might just be hard drive fragmentation.