iPod touch For Longevity, What's the Best Way to Use the Built-in Battery?

[Surreptitious]

I have heard before that it's not good to have the battery fully charged 24/7. With my 3rd generation iPod touch, I kept it plugged in 99% of it's lifetime (that I used it for) and the battery seems to still be good after 1 year. The battery was only drained about 10 times.

So what should I do with the new 4th generation iPod touch? I have drained it's battery already to help calibrate it and now I was wondering if I should just keep it charged or if I should unplug it or take it with me more often to use the battery more?

What do you recommend for longevity?

 

[uuaschbaer]

Meh, doesn't relate to the Touch but maybe there is no difference:

6 Question: Do I need to completely empty the battery before charging it, and does doing this prevent the so-called "memory effect"?
Answer: You don't need to empty the battery before charging it. Lithium-based batteries, like those used in iPod, have none of the memory effects seen in nickel-based rechargeable batteries.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA26689?viewlocale=en_US

 

[ultio]

Lithium-ion and Lithium-ion polymer batteries don't need any "calibration" or something like that. You're not living in the 90s .
Just try to avoid unnecessary recharging and high temperatures. Recent tests have shown that high temperatures damage the capacity of Lithium-ion batteries more than recharging them.

 

[Surreptitious]

I know that there is no memory effect. Calibrating it once means to just drain the battery and recharge it so that the battery indicater works more accurately. It seemed like it helped too, since it displayed the 20% remaining message three times before finally shutting off. I was just curious if anyone had any problems with their battery from using the battery too much or from leaving it plugged in too long, but it appears like no one has.

 

[dwarnecke11]

Yeah, avoid unnecessary recharges and keep it out of the sun. Never leave it in a car parked outside either.

 

[fswmacguy]

The first time you charge it, make sure you drain the battery all the way (or close to all the way). Otherwise, you'll get false readings.

To increase the life of the battery (this applies to notebooks as well), make sure the battery is very low before recharging. Aimlessly charging a half-charged or almost-fully-charged battery will whittle down on it's cycles.

 

[Warbitrary]

To increase the life of the battery (this applies to notebooks as well), make sure the battery is very low before recharging. Aimlessly charging a half-charged or almost-fully-charged battery will whittle down on it's cycles.

This is completely wrong information!!

Here are the facts:

You can also recharge a lithium-ion polymer battery whenever convenient, without the full charge or discharge cycle necessary to keep nickel-based batteries at peak performance. (Over time, crystals build up in nickel-based batteries and prevent you from charging them completely, necessitating an inconvenient full discharge.)

From http://www.apple.com/batteries/

 

[tablo13]

The first time you charge it, make sure you drain the battery all the way (or close to all the way). Otherwise, you'll get false readings.

Is this true?