Lithium-Ion Batteries

[Aewon]

I've been concerned with this, since I'm not very experienced with HD type players and Lithium-Ion Batteries.

To my knowledge, the X5 will have lith-ion battery, correct?

Well, my question is, how long do they last? And once they are powerless, what do you do? How much will it cost to get a new one and where would you send it to?

Thanks.

[slag[]]

Lithium-ion batteries are very nice. They are becoming pretty commonplace these days. Most cellphones, PDAs, laptops, and GBA SP are all examples. They do eventually lose max charge after continual replenishment, but this is a slow process.

I have had my GBA SP for two years, with probably over 500 hours playtime. It used to get 8 hours on a full charge with the backlight on. Now it gets about 6. Still plenty for me.

When it comes to replacement, it really depends on how the manufacturer has built the model. In the case of GBA SP, you can just purchase a new battery and swap it yourself. The same goes for most cellphones and laptops.

In the case of most DAPs that I know of, the battery is internal. This means that you are not able to easily access it yourself, and so if the battery loses a satisfactory efficiency level, or just goes dead, you have to send it in to the manufacturer to have the battery replaced. Apple charges $99 for an iPod battery replacement, and you ship the iPod to Apple directly.

COWON charges (<$40) to have the U2's internal battery replaced, and I believe you send it in to them (although it may be that you can send it in to the place you purchased it from, such as suntec).

Personally I'm not sure what to think of internal Lithium-ion batteries. It's definitely great to be able to swap them yourself. Since it does take a long time for the battery to lose charge (and how you take care of it has an impact on this) it's probably worthwhile since you don't have to purchase any batteries in the meantime.

The only real downside is having to plug it in to recharge when it drains, but most people in the modern world are always near a power-source, so this isn't as big of an issue as you would think.

[jw0613]

i think li-ions are probably the most effective chargeable batteries out now.. that's why u see them on everything.. (cell phones, notebooks, mp3 players, etc)
they do lose charge over time.. but unless u use it a lot., the device will probably go out-dated before u have to replace the battery..
as for X5, I am guessing u gotta send it in to replace the battery..

[Fido]

They are supposed to last 2-3 years from manufacuring regardless of whether you use them or not.
To get the maximum life you're supposed to keep it at 40% charge most of the time but that's not very practical. You could try to replace it yourself but I don't know how easy it would be. If you need to solder anything you will definately want to send it in unless you know what you're doing. As far as I know, all hard drive mp3 players use Li-Ion batteries, so if you want one you'll get it no matter who you choose.

[Aewon]

:( do you have to pay for a new one? How much does cowon charge?

[Josh841]

The iRiver H10 is user removable

[jw0613]

Since X5 isn't even out, I don't think we'll find out how much they'll charge u to replace the battery..
I wonder if someone sent in their M3 to have the battery changed..

[Fido]

I assume it should be about the same as the other models, $40 or less.

[taz]

well when was the m3 released? done a quick google and found one date.

14/10/2003 aint really sure if this is the release date of the m3, but if it is then i dont think there would have been one single person who has changed their battery. however i have no idea which release date this is as i found it on cnet. as for the far east, maby they may be considering the battery changing, unless some m3's have past their life and somehow died.

[Garrison]

One thing to note about rechargable batteries, is not to overcharge them i.e sitch off once it's fully charged. Don't leave it charging overnight. I'ver seen cellphone batteries literally bloat up due to constant overcharging. This may damage your player, and it might even leak.

[Erasure4ever]

Most chargers today have smart chips that cutoff the charging once the battery is almost 100% charged. For example on my cellphone after the battery is fully charged the charge light turns off.

[Vlad Tepes Drac]

i wonder if the M3L does that. Like even though it says CHARGE COMPLETE i wonder if it stops charing the battery completely! But it probably does...havent really thought about that

[jw0613]

I hope it does.. or else it could overheat and *gasp* explode

[Vlad Tepes Drac]

hahaha imagine coming home one day to find the m3 all over ur room in tiny little pieces O_o

[Hot888]

The lithium ion battery in my canon s400 is 2 years now and it still works well.

[danson]

here you will find everything you wan't to know about Li ion batteries ... and much much much more:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm

[glikoo]

hum... sony's hd-nw5 has a removeable battery.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_NW_HD5__Black_/4505-6490_7-31417603-2.html?tag=tab

[Fido]

But it's sony... Sony, who wants a sony player?