Charging my Ipod on a laptop...

[Angry Ninja]

I charge my iPod on my laptop (nano 4GB 3rd Generation if anyone needs the model) and I'm wondering if this kills my laptop battery. HOWEVER, I always keep my laptop plugged into a power brick so it has virtually unlimited battery life.

So, my question is, if i keep charging my iPod with juice from my laptop battery (which in turn gets juice from the power brick, which in turn gets it from the city's power grid), will my laptop's battery life eventually erode down to virtually nothing the next time i try to use it without the power brick?

 

[Fetus4188]

Modern batteries shouldn't have any detrimental effects from using the device while the battery is being charged. Charging an iPod should be no different than using any of the computer's components or any other USB device.

 

[Angry Ninja]

So you're saying my laptop battery should be fine even while charging my iPod?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

If your laptop is on constant AC, you might even be able to pull out the battery and use the laptop without it. That way, you wont have to worry about it.

I dont recommend this if you dont know what you're doing though.

 

[taper]

If you always keep it plugged in, you should take the battery out. It'll prolong its life. If you want to get really fancy, run it down to ~40%, then take it out and store it in a cool dry place. A couple of power cycles once a year or so help too. Of course, keeping your battery at 40% means you won't have full power on the go, so keep it charged up if needed. I've never had a problem pulling my battery while the laptop is running, just make sure you're plugged in or you'll shut off your computer.

 

[IamJohn]

Are you sure that 40% is the right number? I've heard that it's better to leave it at 0%, due to the fact that batteries if left at mid charge will have a "memory" and reduce the life.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

batteries left at 0 might completely lose their charge making them useless. Keep it at 40%.

But again, if its one of those hard to get at abatteries, dont take it out unless you know how to.

 

[taper]

Lithium batteries don't have memory problems. Nickel batteries should be brought down to 0 for long term storage. Here's a great site on battery care, if anyone's interested. I've linked to the battery storage page, there's tons more info from the Table of Contents.

 

[Strato]

Given the fact that charging an iPod through firewire/USB is powered by the computer via AC, the battery shouldn't be utilised at all, so I doubt there would be any detrimental effect.
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I'm a fan of simply giving the battery a full discharge/charge cycle once a month and going from there. I like having AC plugged in constantly because where I live can suffer from brown outs and frequent power outages, a battery really helps basically

 

[Quintillus]

Even if the laptop is unplugged, powering the iPod through the USB port shouldn't be any different than using a USB mouse while the laptop is unplugged. I've done the latter many times, with no detrimental effect.

While the laptop is plugged in, the iPod will be charging from AC power. You ought to be fine.

IMO trying to get an extra month or so of battery life isn't worth the trouble of unplugging it all the time and risking data loss if the power goes out. At the rate mine is deteriorating it ought to last another 5.5 years. Of course that's until it's totally useless - but even three years after purchase it ought to have decent. And I don't follow all the other recommendations, either.

 

[taper]

You can get more than a month by removing your battery. A guy at work got a laptop about the same time I got mine, and left the battery in all the time, letting it run down until he got the warning, then plugging it in for the rest of the day. He did this everyday, and I took my battery out whenever I'd be in one place on AC for awhile. He's now on a replacement battery, and I've still got about 90% capacity after 2 years.