IPod Nano: How long for initial charge?

[Mark Ward]

I've got my wife a 4gb Nano for Christmas, I'm just wondering whether I need to unpack it & charge it first? Could someone tell me how longthe initial cherge time should be please?

Many thanks,

Mark.

[pjskel]

Plug in to mains or PC/Mac and leave alone until fully charged icon is displayed. After that, you/she can play around with it for however long as you want.

It will be supplied with at least a partial charge, to get her going. There'll be no songs on it however, so the very first thing she'll want to do is get some songs in iTunes on her computer and download them to the iPod by plugging the iPod in - at which point it'll be charging anyway. Even ten minutes plugged in to the computer will allow the iPod to run for an hour or so. You can't do any damage to it by not charging it fully before use.

[pjskel]

Unless you let the battery drain to the point where the item switches off. This is a LI battery killer most people don't appreciate.
Best to keep the battery topped up at every opportunity to help maintain it's useful life. Mobiles are exactly the same.

[Mark Ward]

Thanks for the replies, I was a little worried about her opening it and having to wait 12 hours or something for an initial charge before use.

Cheers!

Mark.

[KiNeL]

Originally Posted by pjskel

Unless you let the battery drain to the point where the item switches off. This is a LI battery killer most people don't appreciate.
Best to keep the battery topped up at every opportunity to help maintain it's useful life. Mobiles are exactly the same.

Well said pjskel.

"Battery killer" is a tad dramatic although it is a certainty thet LI batteries will fail sooner if repeatedly drained to exhaustion rather then continually topped up.

This was one of the fundamental problem with early iPods in particular because with a relatively short battery life it was almost inevitable that the user would completely drain the battery almost every outing leading to an early demise.

I wrote at some length about LI batteries in a previous thread but here is the substance:-


"Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly caused by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.

Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level (and preferrably in the fridge)

Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.

Read this link www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Here is the full thread OK - no WAY am I getting 20 hours on my HD5

Merry Christmas