Do it Yourself: Changing battery in iPOD
 

I saw in FRY's Electronics store yesterday where a company
(Not Apple) is selling a package (Tool and battery) for
certain models of the iPOD music player. Apple charges
$100 for some models to change out the battery (I hear)
and this package costs $19.95. It was for one of the first
geneation iPODS and it had instructions on back of the pac.
showing how to pry open the back and change out the old
worn-out battery for the new one. Later gen. kits for iPODS
must be coming....I suppose. (Apple charges the $100. for
your sending in the player but the songs are deleted and
you do not get your old player back ,I heard.) Does this all
sound right? If I'm wrong in some places feel free to add
your comments.

I have seen websites showing how to DIY. Since Apple charges so much, I'm not surprised a company came out with a kit. The only concern I would have is battery life of the new one.

Got my 3rd gen iPod's battery changed by Apple under te settlement of teclass action suit. Think I had to pay around $30.

I replaced the battery in my iPod Mini. I took a hair dryer and warmed up the glue, removed the top and bottom, pulled out the battery and replaced it with a new one I bought off eBay. It took all of 4 minutes.

Well nearly 3 years after Apple replaced the battery in my iPod, it needs a new one. Its a 3rd generation model. I only get a little over 2 hours on a charge now. There's several choices for this, this is one example. On that site it shows two different batteries available. Is it that important? What differnce would I notice going with the cheaper version? Also, does anyone have experience they can pass on? I really don't want to upgrade to a newer model.

More milliamp hours means more play time. That should be the only difference.

A couple of years ago I replaced my then-dying iPod battery with a cheap one I found on Amazon (can't remember who was the provider, but the battery was under 20$). The new battery had a higher mA rating, and as expected it lasts now longer than it ever did. The only tricky thing was opening the iPod, that took a few minutes... But that's about it. An easy and effective fix.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if other MP3 players have similar batteries / installation procedures??? I have a Toshiba Gigabeat .. I think the battery is fine because I don't use it much, but in the event that it bites the dust one day, I'd like to be able to replace it.