@vidra wrote:
The advantage of rechargeable NiMH batteries are as follows:
Respectfully discussing:
- much higher capacity. The Li-ion battery in my Fuze lasts 15-20 hours on a single charge, whereas one 2300mAh AA battery in my old i-River lasts over 40 hours, which is more than double the capacity. This was on you old i-river. How can you know what the charge/play time would be on the Sansa?
- longer life and replaceability. NiMH batteries typically last longer and, much more importantly!!!, they can easily be replaced and are widely available. What are widely available are the Duracell & Energizer alkalines. You can buy them just about anywhere; grocery stores, 7-11’s, & virtually any place battery-powered ‘toys’ are sold. Not always so with re-chargeables. Li-ion batteries lose a significant proportion of their capacity each year (up to 20%) from the date of their manufacture. Just to set the record straight, the Fuze uses a Lithium-Polymer battery, not a Lithium-Ion. So what am I supposed to do with my pride and joy FUZE when the battery goes kaput or loses 50+% of its capacity in about 3 years? I doubt very seriously whether this would happen. If that were the case, I’d be down to about 5 hours per charge on my e260 (Li-Ion battery) that’s 2+ years old. I still get 12 -15 hours playing time. The Li-Poly battery is rated for up to 35 hours in the View using the same rating system (which comes awfully close to your old i-river claim)!
The answer would probably be to buy a new one, but I don’t want to do that. I’m happy with my player and I do not easily subscribe to the consumer mentality. The only reason I replaced my old i-River was because of the amount of its memory (256MB), which was a bit too low for many audiobooks. 8 GB is more than enough for audio and I’m not really interested in video so it’s unlikely my appetites will soon increase. I too, thought 8GB was plenty for my music collection, but as it is in a constant state of growth and expansion, I find today I only have 2.4GB free space left on my 8GB SDHC card & my 8GB player is full! And there are no videos on it. Just as 250 MB hard drives used to be considered monstrous, people found they needed/wanted more & more as time went by. Kind of like women & their purses. No matter how large they are, they will soon fill it up and need a larger one. :smileyvery-happy: Are you saying that in 5 years time when you’re still using your 8GB Fuze and everybody else has got the latest & greatest 250GB audio player because they all now natively support true ‘lossless’ files because of the size in flash memory chip advancements and nobody really uses the old, antiquated ‘lossy’ mp3 format anymore, that you wouldn’t want this new technology too? Technological advancment breeds obsolescence. You can’t have the former without the latter.
As for buying rechargeable AA batteries, actually most people do buy them. I disagree. If that were the case, we’d be seeing that damm rabbit with the drum with an AC outlet in his back on the TV commercials. No, it’s just too ‘convenient’ and cheaper (short, not long term) to pick up a package of the disposables. It’s an economically more viable solution than any alkaline battery, so people will unwittingly protect the environment as well. I agree with the economic and environmental advantages, but I just don’t think the majority of people consciously think about it, and practice good conservation (yet). Granted it’s changing, but it’s not there yet.
This said, I am aware of the advantages of Li-ion batteries, and if only they were NOT proprietary and easily replaceable (like mobile phone batteries) I wouldn’t worry so much. Proprietary is the way of the world now, and has been going that way for some time, whether you agree with it or not. Everyone is so concerned and protective of their market-share, they don’t want anybody else infringing on it. How many cell phones DO NOT use a proprietary battery; even within the brand name? No, EVERY cell phone model takes a different battery due to size or configuration or something. This way, when the battery in my FUZE dies on me, I’ll have to pry it open and do all sorts of unsavoury things to it in order to either replace its battery or jerry-rig it so that it works on AA batteries and thus create a Frankenstein’s monster out of my poor FUZE. Also, people who don’t live in the developed world (like myself) have difficulty accessing some of the goods (like a sansa battery replacement kit) that you take for granted so that is why NiMH AA batteries have a strong advantage over Li-ion or Li-poly ones. I think that people who don’t live in the ‘developed world’ have a lot more things to worry about than where they’re going to find a replacement battery for their mp3 player. Most likely have never even heard of such a device. Any place that is ‘developed’ enough to where NiMH batteries are readily available will also have access to Li-Ion or Li-Poly ones if they’re needed.
Cheers.
Appreciate the different viewpoint and opportunity for discussion!
