Problems with iPods

October 12, 2006 (KABC) -- Lillian Mayer loves her iPod. It's the second one she's purchased. Her first one stopped working.

"My iPod was like three years old and the battery broke," Lillian Mayer said.

'Consumer Reports' says battery deterioration in MP3 players has been a problem, especially for iPod users. They surveyed 3,000 subscribers who own MP3 players. Rosalind Tordesillas, of 'Consumer Reports,' says that while overall owners are happy with their iPods, there are drawbacks.

"For all players, battery life deteriorates over time. But in our survey, iPod owners were twice as likely as owners of non-iPods, in general, to complain that battery life was much shorter after one year," Tordesillas said.

Also, while many MP3 players come with their own chargers, for an iPod you need to buy a power adapter for $29. Without it, you're stuck charging the player via the USB port on your computer. More than twice as many iPod owners complained about this than owners of all others players put together.

Apple spokesman Greg Joswiak told us the batteries on the newest iPods that have just been released are lasting much longer than the previous models.

"We have made the battery life longer on the nano," Joswiak said.

And while tech support for Apple computers has consistently been at the top of Consumer Reports' charts, this just-published survey shows tech support for iPods doesn't outshine the competition.

"There was no significant difference in the ratings of iPod tech support and that of other players as a group," Tordesillas said.

But on the whole, iPod owners are very satisfied with their players. They're easy to use and work with iTunes, which offers the largest selection of digital content on the web.

And that's why Lillian saved up all her babysitting money to buy her new one.

"I love it. It's the best thing I've ever bought," she said.

Consumer Reports is published by Consumers Union. Both Consumer Reports and Consumers Union are not-for-profit organizations that accept no advertising. Neither has any commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site.

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