Wow. Apple Computer, in their quarterly financial results released this week, announced that there are now over two million more iPod owners than there were just three short months ago. Market research firm The NPD Group said in a report Tuesday that the iPod and iPod mini command a whopping 92% share of the hard-drive-based portable digital music player market. If you’re one of the two million, welcome to the fold. Here’s some tips on “getting your iPod thang on”.

First, although the iPod is a sturdy little machine, there are some steps you can to take to protect it. Get a case or cover. There are a many cases to choose from, running the gamut from leather to plastic, from conservative to outlandish. At a minimum, get one with a clip for your belt, and a clear plastic cover to protect the screen. The screen is susceptible to scratching, especially if you’re tossing your iPod into a backpack, briefcase, or computer bag along with other equipment. You’ll also be protecting the shiny metal back of the iPod (which may contain an engraved message you’ll want to see for years to come), or the beautiful anodized aluminum body of your iPod mini.

Nothing’s more irritating than running out of battery just when you need it the most – like on an airplane, early in a long flight, when you need to escape the “conversationalist” seated next to you. Of course, you can always don your earphones, and pretend to be listening, even though your iPod is dead. You can even tap your foot. But, I digress.

To maximize your iPod’s battery life, keep it cool, man. Keep it out of the sun, or a hot glove box. It works best between 32 degrees and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (just like most people). The iPod uses a lithium battery, which requires the electrons to keep moving around to stay efficient. You should go through at least one charge cycle (use it all the way down and charge it all the way up again) each month.

How you use your iPod can extend battery life. Your iPod will automatically shut down after a certain amount of inactivity. Be proactive. When you’re not using it, shut it down, then set the Hold switch to Hold. This will prevent the iPod from awakening while it’s tucked away.

Next, optimize your settings. The Backlight that lights the screen should only be used when necessary. The iPod has a built-in Equalizer (EQ), which you can use to optimize the sound for the style of music you’re listening to. However, using the EQ uses more of the iPod’s processor, hence more battery juice. Apple recommends that you turn off the EQ if you don’t use it.

When you play a song on the iPod, the song is pulled off the hard drive into a solid-state memory cache, to provide skip-free playback and to improve battery life. Just like in a laptop computer, constantly accessing the hard drive uses up lots of battery. If you start a listening to a song, then use the Fast Forward button to skip to the next song, and you do this to move through your songs, you’re causing a lot of access to the hard drive, using up your battery quickly.

The size of the song files loaded on your iPod can also affect battery life. The iPod works most efficiently with songs of average file sizes (less than 9MB). If you’re using a 30MB uncompressed AIFF (right off the CD), your iPod constantly accesses the drive to fill the cache, reducing your precious listening time.

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski