iPod, any problems?

[Em and Hame]

I've just bought an iPod, 20GB click wheel, am in the middle of transferring all my CDs onto it. Then I read the small print - nobody told me the lithium battery has a lifespan... guess I should have realised but I didn't.

So, my question is this, once you've charged it so it won't charge anymore(500-1000 cycles??), is it possible to get a new battery fitted but save all the music? The laptop it's all stored on will be in a garage in Scotland, not with us.

I've called the shop I bought it from here in Malaysia but they were unclear if the music could be saved if the battery was changed in the future, one guy said yes, another, no. We are planning to get as far as the US, with a bit of forward planning I thought if it goes wrong it's the best place to get it fixed...

My other question is has anyone had any major problems with an iPod, with regard to vibrations, getting wet, dropped, sat on etc?

Can't conceive of life without my music...

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Em (the pillion half)

[Wheelie]

You sure can change your battery, no problem. In fact, you can get batteries which are far better than the original. Check out this website, it covers everything you will ever need to know about the ipod http://www.ilounge.com/

As for vibrations, I strongly advice against mounting it directly on the bike as it sooner or later will break. Carry it on your body while riding, it will absorb the worst of the shocks and vibrations.

This gadget doesn't like to get wet or be dropped. Harddrives are very suceptible to shocks, vibrations, etc. I have dropped mine a couple of times, but I cringe every time.

You might want to concider a jacket for it. Check out the ilounge, they have reviews of tons of them for all kinds of purposes, like this underwater case (then you can listen to music while snorkeling).

[Em and Hame]

Thank you for the reply. It's good to know the music won't vanish...

Yeah, I should get a case, good idea. Thanks for the tips

There's a whole world of gadgetry I never even knew about until we began thinking about this trip!

Em