The Great iPod Battery Swap of 2008

My iPod was a hand-me down Mini whose battery was pretty crappy when I received it a year and a half ago. I've grown accustomed to carrying the charger with me, and I expect only a couple hours of charge at a time.

Now that I'm training for the Seattle Marathon in November, this is a concern. I don't want my power to crap out when I'm trying to play "Flying High" at mile 25.

I'm still working on the last of my credit card debt, and expect to have it paid off around February of next year. To keep on that schedule, I don't have a whole lot of flex in my budget. Besides, aside from the battery issue, the iPod suites my needs.

I did a little research and found an "iPod mini Battery Replacement Kit"at Amazon for less than ten dollars, including shipping. I decided that it was worth the risk.

The kit came quickly, and had all the equipment I needed for the project. However, the instructions were not for the iPod mini, and were no help whatsoever. I was prepared for this, however. Some of the product reviews complained about the instructions, and recommended those found at cnet.com. Sure enough, not only does cnet have instructions, they have a series of videos that show you what to do.

Really, it isn't that complicated. It does require some apptitude for fiddling with small things. Anyone who has added a card to his computer, built a model, worked with beads or done anything similar can handle this job.

At the end of it all, I had no extra parts laying around, and the iPod lit up, just like before. Before I can declare complete success, I'll have to see how well the battery holds its charge. I'm going to need four good hours to get through those 26.2 miles in November.