Monitoring an iPod s Battery

Monitoring an iPod's Battery

Even though the iPod's battery lasts a long time, it will eventually run out of juice and your music will come to a crashing halt. To prevent this, keep an eye on your iPod's Battery icon (see Figure 4.14). As your battery drains, the shaded part of the battery will decrease to indicate how much power you have left. When 1/4 or less is shaded, you should think about recharging your iPod. (For more information about the iPod's battery, see Chapter 12, "Maintaining an iPod and Solving Problems.")

Figure 4.14. This iPod mini's battery still has plenty of juice.

The Absolute Minimum

Now you know just about everything you need to listen to music on your iPod. It isn't that difficult because the iPod's controls are well designed. Not to get controlling on you, but here are few more control points for your consideration:

• The first step in listening to music is to choose the music you want to listen to. You do this by choosing playlists or browsing your iPod's music.

• After you've selected music, you can use the pretty-obvious playback controls to control it. You also learned some useful but not so obvious ways to control it.

• After you have used it for a bit, you'll find that you can easily control an iPod with a single thumb. Often, the best way to hold an iPod is to set it in your palm and use your thumb to control it. It doesn't take long until you can navigate like a pro.

• When you use the Click Wheel to move around the iPod's screens or to control music, don't think you have to drag on it slowly or in small increments. You can move quite rapidly by dragging your finger or thumb quickly. The faster you move your finger, the faster things will happen on your iPod. You can move even faster by moving your digit in complete circles.

• You can use the On-The-Go playlist to create a playlist on the iPod.

• As you play your music, keep an eye on your iPod's battery so you don't run out of power.