Tikkabik

I've done virtually everything Apple's recommended to fix the problem. I've restored the iPod to a factory condition; updated it with the latest software; rebooted it; I've even drained the battery dry, let it sit for a day, then charge it back up for 24 hours to see if that helps. Nothing has done any good.

Apple optimistically says that these things are good for up to 9 hours of play, but most of the people I talk with are lucky if they can get 6 hours, maybe a bit more. It has a lot to do with how you play your music -- if you have the backlight turned on and you futz around with playlists or tracks frequently, you'll run the battery down faster than if you just set the iPod to something and let it play. But still, 4 hours is low, even by this measure.

The main problem I had was figuring out how to get in touch with AppleCare in the first place. Apple's Web site tries to push you to this Web-based order system to process an iPod repair request. That would have been fine, expect for two problems: The first time, it told me that the serial number I entered was invalid (it wasn't), but offered no way to resolve the problem except to try again. The second time, the server apparently crashed, and stayed that way for a couple of hours.

Apple makes it really difficult to just find a number to call. I ended up simply hauling out the letter I'd just gotten that day and calling that number. I pretty quickly got a hold of a tech that at first tried to push me off to the Web site, but once I explained the situation, was helpful.

The way the warranty program works is that Apple overnights you a container to ship the iPod back to them. The courier comes back the next day and picks it up, and then Apple then replaces your iPod with a new or refurbished unit. This is fine -- I don't anyone for whom the iPod is a mission critical device in need of advance replacement. It's a lifestyle item, and you can live without it for a week or two if you have to.

The folks who I've spoken to who have already made use of this service are very happy with it. AppleCare didn't give me a hard time at all about using this -- I'm expecting a box to arrive on Thursday. I'll follow up and let you know how things go.

The guy I talked with at AppleCare was nice, cooperative, and persuasive. He sold me the AppleCare extended warranty, which I'd been giving though to since I got my iPod. Buying a replacement battery costs about $50 from a gray market reseller, and installing it yourself voids your warranty. Apple hasn't made the battery user-serviceable at all, and you have to pry the iPod apart to get at it (this is the same with most other large-capacity MP3 players, too).

For $59, AppleCare for iPod extends the warranty out an extra year, and covers it against another battery failure or other equipment problems. So it's small money compared to what a home-grown fix would cost if the battery craps out a second time, or if something else goes wrong, like the LCD stops working, or the touchpad fizzles out, or the hard disk dies. Any way you slice it it's 1/5th of what a replacement 15GB iPod costs right now.

Without the receipt in hand, I was anticipating a hassle on the length of the warranty, but what the tech suggested I think will work out pretty well: He's giving me 90 days on top of the release date, which means my AppleCare coverage will kick in sometime in late July.

Apple knows it has some QA problems with these iPods -- I'm not the only one with a battery problem, obviously. Before September, folks weren't that lucky, as Apple hadn't put this program in place, but the fact is that they're doing the right thing now.

I just wish the frustration I've had with the iMac could have been resolved even half as easily as this has been dealt with.