Filed under: iPod Family
iPod Death Clock
The grim, macabre, or just curious iPod owner might want to pop over to the iPod Death Clock at iPodMechanic. Type in an iPod Serial Number and answer a few questions about general usage to see how long your iPod has for this world. My 30GB iPod video is due to croak in about four months, dammit.
You don't actually have to type in your own Serial Number if that sort of thing gives you the heebie-jeebies. The number is used to determine the iPod model only. You can also use one of the dummy numbers they offer on the main page.
This is for entertainment purposes only. I certainly hope my iPod is going to last into the next year. I'll let you know around April whether the death clock was right or not.
Update: link seems to be dead. The page now loads with this message: "Sorry, we're not ready yet! Should be a tasty Christmas present for you :) Please check back soon!" Bummer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
phil said 7:23AM on 12-18-2006
is it bad that i'm waiting up for the iphone to come out or what? forget the "iphone" i want the one from apple! on topic, this kind of software is always interesting, considering averages and such. cool find.
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marc cardwell said 10:12AM on 12-18-2006
it gave me 17 days! one thing it said was my battery was only about 35% of the original. i'm still getting 8-10 hours when i don't have the eq on, shuffle off and just let it play.
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Chris Hopkins said 7:39AM on 12-18-2006
I thought you would have to buy a battery once a year, but are you saying they completely cease working after a couple of years? I think they should be forced to display a statment on the front of the packaging that says "Your iPod will not last very long". There must be millions of iPod owners out there in for disappointment.
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Martin said 7:48AM on 12-18-2006
According to this my iPod has 10 days' life left -- but suggests I buy a new battery for it...
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Marlin said 7:58AM on 12-18-2006
Martin, how long are use it? And what type of battery?
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iwit said 8:08AM on 12-18-2006
Your iPod's gonna die in 7 days! /creepy voice
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Mark Rickert said 8:28AM on 12-18-2006
I've got 176 days left with my 1st gen white iPod nano (2gigs).
That makes me sad :(
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morbidi said 2:42PM on 12-18-2006
It says my ipod has 4 days left... what a load of crap...
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Jon C said 8:37AM on 12-18-2006
Apparently I only have 2 precious days and 13 hours left with my 3G pod, I can't bear the pain! :'(
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Peter Garner said 8:57AM on 12-18-2006
4 days 21 hours for my 4th Gen 40GB. And, it says my battery life is only about 10% of the original capacity (they also suggest I consider investing in a new battery, I guess so I can really get the most out of those last 4 days).
Assuming they're as wrong about the iPod itself as they are about the battery (I'm still getting 6-8 hours on a charge), I'm not overly worried.
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Axel said 9:06AM on 12-18-2006
9 days and 1 hour for my first gen iPod mini and only 10% of the original capacity left on the battery. Interesting that they link to a site who sells batterys.
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neko said 9:07AM on 12-18-2006
my god. 7 days.
and then it says "Expect less than three months. Perhaps it is time to start thinking about funeral arrangements."
..ah, well. i've been wanting a color ipod for a while.
...i'll miss you, little 3g.
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Bill Mac said 2:54PM on 12-25-2006
I wasn't able to really "accurately" test my old trusty 3G, since they give VERY limited "most used" catagories.
Not all iPods are nanos and shuffles used for jogging folks!
I use my full size iPod all day at work almost every day, but "at work" wasn't an option... ah well.
Even though it may be "Doomed", this little bugger keeps on tickin' just fine.
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vicki said 11:39AM on 12-18-2006
Apparently my brand new 80G video iPod has 489 days left. No biggie - a little over a year, by then I will want a newer one anyway. What I find interesting is that my battery is only at 90.25%. I got the iPod last week and just took it out of the box 2 days ago. By Christmas I am going to need a new battery! And yes Axel, it is interesting that they link to a site that sells batteries.
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Stephen said 12:07PM on 12-18-2006
Hmm... I went there and got the message
"Sorry, we're not ready yet! Should be a tasty Christmas present for you :)
Please check back soon!"
with a link back to iPod Mechanic home.
But I'm hoping that my 2Gb white 1st gen. nano will last a little longer than #7's...
:-(
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Alan said 1:58PM on 12-18-2006
This is based on the Mean Time Before Failure on the the hard disk. The type of hard disk that is used on these devices is not very well tailored for constant use. They usually choose the least expensive laptop size hard disk, and these drive are not very robust.
(This is just my opinion by the way, based on my extensive 10+ years of experience with computer hardware)
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justin said 2:10PM on 12-18-2006
mine died moments ago :( i wonder what the site will say when it's back up.
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Bert said 3:46PM on 12-18-2006
It was probably made by Apple to make you buy new iPods for Christmas!
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Reg said 6:25PM on 12-18-2006
Don't need a joke site to tell me that my 1st generation 5GB original iPod is still going strong. And that the moving scroll wheel *still* feels better than the static ones of the young whippernapper iPods of today!
It's the first of SIX iPods that I've owned and generally traded up to the latest model when it's come out. I'm keeping the original around though for sentimental value. I take care of it by topping it up when the battery drains.
The secret is care, not abuse.
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Darren said 5:20AM on 12-19-2006
Apparently my 4th-gen's battery is only has 10% capacity and will die in 9 days. That's odd, because I still get 5-6 hours on a charge.
I think these guys just really want to sell some batteries.
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