Correct Way to Charge an iPod?

JAHA wonders: "I've seen two schools of thought regarding the proper method for charging an ipod so as to maximize the lifetime of the battery: let the iPod completely drain before re-charging; or keep the iPod completely charged as often as possible (i.e. leave it charging while you listen to it if you can). There doesn't seem to be any official word from Apple on their website, so I was hoping the smart people here could clear it up for me." For those looking for a definitive resource on the proper care and feeding of your iPod batteries, try this site.

Plug it in

[Kethinov]

An iPod with a dead battery can still be plugged in to the wall. It might be possible to buy (or create) an external battery pack in which the electricity is converted from DC to AC and you could "plug it into" the battery pack. I'm not sure of this is possible, but if someone has setup something like this, perhaps using massive D sized batteries, you would never have to worry about the iPod's crappy battery ever again.

Of course this would ridiculously bloat the size of your iPod. The battery pack alone could be twice the size of the unit. In my case, if I ever bought an iPod I'd probably be using it at work mostly, and there's a wall to plug it into =p

My own experience

[jlower]

I'm no battery expert, I don't even play one on the internet, but I can relate my own experience as a true early adopter.

I've got a 5 gig iPod purchased in Nov 2001. I use it at least 6 hours+ every day at work. I rarely use it on weekends. When it's not in use, it is on the charger (the AC adaptor, not hooked to my computer) - always, no exceptions.

It's now 26 months old and as far as I can tell the battery is almost as good as new.

So, my secret to success in a nutshell:
- almost never run it all the way down
- use it on a very regular basis
- always on the charger when not in use

Of course, YMMV but this has worked extremely well for me.