iPod battery swap surprisingly easy. Mark Frauenfelder: Plenty of people have swapped a new battery into their iPod, so the fact that I did it, too, is nothing new. But the fact that someone as clumsy as I am did it in about ten minutes without destroying the iPod is surprising. If you're as fumbled fingered as I am and have been afraid to open your iPod, I hope this gives you the courage to take action.
Here's what happened: Last year, I gave my six-year-old daughter my old 10 Gig old-style iPod, because I got a 20 Gig model. Last month, she started complaining that the battery wasn't holding a charge. This is a known problem with iPods. Last week, her iPod was dying after running for just a few minutes. It was time to crack it open.
Using Froogle, I searched on "iPod battery" and found this replacement unit for $30. The shipping was around $6 and it arrived via 2-day UPS.
(Click images for enlargement)
 When it arrived (on time), I opened it and found the battery, some instructions (the same ones found here), and a cute-as-a-button miniature screwdriver with a little clip on it so you can insert it in a shirt pocket. Following the instructions, I carefully inserted the screwdriver into the crack between the metal case and clear plastic lid. But the screwdriver's blade was way too thick to get into the seam. I ended up gouging the plastic.
 I set the screwdriver aside and grabbed a kitchen knife. It took about three or four minutes of tentative probing before I could get the knife blade worked in far enough to give me enough leverage to start to separate the top from the bottom. Once I got it started, though, I was able to use the adorable little screwdriver to pry the iPod the rest of the way open.
 The old battery was attached to the hard drive with a couple of strips of padded, double-sided tape. I tore the tape a little while removed the old battery, and one of the strips got stuck to itself, but it wasn't a big deal. The battery has a couple of wires coming out of it, ending in a tiny white plug that goes into a socket. It was easy to unplug. I took the new battery and stuck it onto the sticky tape. Then I plugged it in the little socket. The cover snapped right on.
 After charging it overnight, I gave it to my daughter and it has been running for hours. Mission accomplished! [Boing Boing]
10:24:51 PM 
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