iPod iPod nano: what kind of battery life is everyone getting?

[kathymoore]

iPod nano: what kind of battery life is everyone getting?

I have barely managed to get 8 to 9 hours. Not too bad,
considering it's so tiny... but still.....

Thanks!

 

[ZoomZoomZoom]

Finally did a straight run (instead of estimating off real-life timing) and it's just a little under 12 hours on hold.

 

[mrgreen4242]

Hm, that's a little disappointing considering Apple is advertising these at 14 hours! What kind of bitrates are you guys using?

 

[Lacero]

Battery life is based on 128 Kbps AAC. Most likely you're using 192 Kbps MP3.

 

[TheMonarch]

I highly doubt bitrates matter when using the nano, as there is not HD to spin when the buffer runs out ( I dont think it even has a buffer as flash memory dosnt skip)...

 

[homerjward]

I highly doubt bitrates matter when using the nano, as there is not HD to spin when the buffer runs out ( I dont think it even has a buffer as flash memory dosnt skip)...

a nano has 32mb of ram, just like a regular ipod, which i assume takes a lot less power to access than the flash drive.

 

[840quadra]

I highly doubt bitrates matter when using the nano, as there is not HD to spin when the buffer runs out ( I dont think it even has a buffer as flash memory dosnt skip)...

As Homerjward said, it has to load active physical memory just like the Disk ipods. Moving data costs battery energy, so does keeping the ram charged with active memory.

If you have Large files, and they are encoded at higher levels, the memory is taxed more, and so are the Processors (most other iPods are dual processor, not sure if the nano is).

Just like on a laptop, the more the processor has to work, the less the battery will last between charges. That is way apple recommends turning off the EQ to get the best battery life, as the EQ is actually simulated by complex processes that the iPods processor has to ... well.. Process.


More on topic..

I have been getting about 10 hours, however I play games a little, My backlight timer is set to 30 seconds, and I skip songs WAY too often.

 

[mrgreen4242]

What is the recommended max size for a file played on an iPod (for max battery life)? I have some fairly large audio books as single files (I think the biggest single file is 175mb, but I try to keep them to just under 100mb segments, usually).

 

[Mechcozmo]

I highly doubt bitrates matter when using the nano, as there is not HD to spin when the buffer runs out ( I dont think it even has a buffer as flash memory dosnt skip)...

Swapping codecs in and out of the processor's cache can have major issues with battery life and is a primary reason Ogg isn't supported. Too big of a resource hog, and it wouldn't fit into the small cache that is used for decoding.

What is the recommended max size for a file played on an iPod (for max battery life)? I have some fairly large audio books as single files (I think the biggest single file is 175mb, but I try to keep them to just under 100mb segments, usually).

128kbps AAC and a 3MB song size is what Apple tests at (IIRC).

 

[shadowmoses]

My battery has been doing some weird things like dropping to red almost immiedietly then lasting about 8 hours, or its shows red and slowly builds up to green or yellow....Anyhow i seem to be getting about 10 hours with changing tracks and messing around on it.....

ShadOW

 

[dan-o-mac]

Battery life is based on 128 Kbps AAC. Most likely you're using 192 Kbps MP3.

Would there be a drop in audio quality if I go from 192 kbps mp3 to 128kbps AAC?

 

[dubbz]

Would there be a drop in audio quality if I go from 192 kbps mp3 to 128kbps AAC?

Yes, but no one here can tell you if you'll notice. You'll have to test that for yourself.

 

[dan-o-mac]

Yes, but no one here can tell you if you'll notice. You'll have to test that for yourself.

After I posted the question I used the search and realized it's something you have to figure out on your own. I should definately see an improvement in battery life from going from 192 kbps to 128 kbps. Thanks dubbz

 

[maddav]

I did a playlist test, where I made a 20 hour list, then let it play overnight, synced with itunes and worked out how long it was running for. It got 14 hours 17 minutes this way.

Though normally I tend to get about 9 hours~ish

 

[Loge]

I haven't done a proper test, but from casual observation it seems to be quite a bit less than I was getting on the photo, (which is quoted 15 as opposed to the nano's 14).