1G and 2G iPods: The End of an Era

replace our friends all together.

For my trusty companion, the decline has already started. It has been 2 glorious years since I first laid eyes on my 2G iPod and it has been by my side ever since. I have started to notice the shortened battery life, the quirky skipping of songs, and the rattling of the track pad. At first I thought it was just my imagination. Surely my iPod was still in it’s prime. It is too soon. There are still many things I still want to do. I’m no fool, I knew it wouldn’t last forever. But I didn’t think it would be so soon. But Apple knew. Apple gave my iPod no more than a few years to live from the very beginning. They fed me the line of “by the time the battery dies, you will want to get a new iPod.” In actuality, according to ipodbatteryfaq.com, “Lithium ion batteries are good for 300-500 charge/discharge cycles. A “charge/discharge” cycle generally consists of an extended charging period, and an extended discharging period. A quick charge, listening for 30 minutes, and charging again, for example, does not constitute a full “charge/discharge cycle”, but could rather be considered a portion of one.”

I found myself researching battery replacement services. I need to be prepared for that fateful day when it arrives. I will not be blindsided and unprepared. Then I started comparing the price of replacing batteries to new iPod prices. Boy, it has been a long time since I have been in the"game”. These new iPods have a lot of great stuff and are a lot less than the $500 I shelled out in 2002. And if I expand my pool of potential mates to iPod Minis, there’s now a plethora of colors to choose from. This dock is pretty cool and look at all the accessories I could get. Digital camera components? Voice recorders? Personal stereos? Boy my iPod IS old.

Apple offers a battery replacement program but it costs $99 and $99 goes a long way towards one of those nice new slick 4Gs! Besides, through Apple’s plan you really do not get the battery replaced in your iPod. Apple rather sends you a refurbished iPod with a good battery in it. Sort of eliminates the appeal for people who have custom engraving on their iPods doesn’t it? Imagine taking your car into the shop for a new battery and instead of replacing the battery with one of those Die Hards from Sears, they give you a used car that looks the same.

Other places like Small Dog and ipodbattery.com offer new batteries, tools to install it and handy instructions. Much better, the battery from ipodbattery.com costs only $29! [Please Note: my iPod is still hanging on so I did not test these battery services. I will only take a screwdriver to my Ipod if I have to.]  Now $29 bucks is a whole lot more tempting than $99. And you get to keep your original iPod. My 2G packs a Sony UP325385 A4H 3.7V 1230mAh lithium ion polymer battery. (Minis use Sanyo branded ones.) These services are selling this exact battery.

That seems like a good option. But for me the appeal and the accessories are too much to pass up. I have decided to enjoy the remaining time I have with my original iPod. I remember how that chip broke off the top plastic. How we got through the crisis of my broken headphone jack. And not to mention the close call of dropping my iPod down the stairs (Thanks to my iPod Armor it survived unscathed). When it finally bites it, I will replace it with a newer, smaller, sexier model. But nothing can take away the memories of my original iPod.