iPod Classic runs for 58 HOURS+ on a single charge!

[Xase]

First of all, let me say that I'm not an iPod fan.
I am a proud X5 (no, not the ebike motor!) owner, so I don't have to deal with: iTunes, inferior SQ, freezage, easily scratchable casings, paying money for extras that should be included on the player - FM radio, voice record, etc., & non ability to play other codecs (like FLAC!) without third party hacked firmware... I could go on and on. But I was very impressed with the release of the new video (Classic) iPod - the flaship model flaunts a 160GB HDD effectively doubling the capacity of the highest capacity previous generation video & 40 hours of battery life... or so Apple claims. And it's even thinner with a new metal (more difficult to scratch?) faceplate!

One review claimed this in their recent Classic test:
"Our 160GB iPod classic finally ran out of juice after 58 hours and 14 minutes of playback."
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/11412/ (yeah, I know ilounge.com sounds a little biased)

So the question is, did Apple put a really bad ass new high-tech battery in this thing, or did they just drastically improve the efficiency of the other hardware components in the player to get these alleged numbers? Or both? What does this mean for ebikes?

P.S. - I can't wait for a competing high capacity HDD player that doesn't come from Apple or Microsoft!

 

[knightmb]

Is it using a flash based HDD or is it still the mechanical HDD? The flash based HDD would cut power usage dramatically, it would be like running a simple FM radio on lithium batteries. The run time in that little power usage would be probably about what they tested at.

 

[Xase]

Is it using a flash based HDD or is it still the mechanical HDD? The flash based HDD would cut power usage dramatically, it would be like running a simple FM radio on lithium batteries. The run time in that little power usage would be probably about what they tested at.

It's using Samsungs new 160GB 1.8" mechanical Hard Disk Drive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdd
Flash drives are Solid State Drives (SSD).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_state_drive

Considering the fact that 2.5" laptop HDDs peaked at 160GB in 2006 and now (mid/late 2007) we have 250GB 2.5"ers, at the rate hard drive capacity is increasing we should be seeing 200GB+ 1.8"ers fairly soon!
They're already talking about 240GB 1.8"ers!!!
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/10/toshibas-dtr-technology-hints-at-240gb-ipod-drives-by-2009/
Soon I'll be able to fit my entire music library in my pocket!!!

 

[OneEye]

Not a pretty picture when a pocket sized gadget starts to outpace my main PC for storage capacity. I'm currently running with less than 1/4 TB.

Of course I haven't even used half that, but that's not the point.

 

[Xase]

Not a pretty picture when a pocket sized gadget starts to outpace my main PC for storage capacity. I'm currently running with less than 1/4 TB.

Of course I haven't even used half that, but that's not the point.

Well, if you ever need more space in your PC price per GB is friggin' awesome right now and can only get better as capacities increase in the coming years.
For example, you can pick up a 320GB 3.5" internal HDD for around $80, a 500 for around $100, and the 1TB's (which are already sub-$400 even though they were released this year) are about to go into a major price war once Western Digi drops their new energy efficient bombers into the market. I can't wait! 8)

 

[OneEye]

I'm probably still a year away from my next spouse-approved upgrade cycle. If we were running low on space I'm sure I could convince her we need to be in the 1+ TB range, but the justification just isn't there yet.

 

[BiGH]

Not a pretty picture when a pocket sized gadget starts to outpace my main PC for storage capacity. I'm currently running with less than 1/4 TB.

Of course I haven't even used half that, but that's not the point.

Well, if you ever need more space in your PC price per GB is friggin' awesome right now and can only get better as capacities increase in the coming years.
For example, you can pick up a 320GB 3.5" internal HDD for around $80, a 500 for around $100, and the 1TB's (which are already sub-$400 even though they were released this year) are about to go into a major price war once Western Digi drops their new energy efficient bombers into the market. I can't wait! 8)

fully agree - i try to turn my drives over regularly. I'm running one 750gb, a 500gb and an 80gb for windows (on the desktop) but use the mac laptop most of the time anyways.

Can't wait for the new mac laptops and operating system