The iPod is one of the most iconic gadgets of the 21st century. The white earphones, the shiny metallic backside, and the white/black clickwheel have become pop culture icons in their own right. With over a 100 million of these MP3 players in circulation, it is safe to assume that almost everybody has seen, used, or even owned one.

The iPod can hold your entire music library. The top of the line model has a memory of 160GB - more than enough for any music afficionado. The newer models also have the ability to play back video or browse through photos. This means that you will never be too far away from entertainment, no matter where you are.

However, the iPod's battery life remains a critical issue. Without power, the iPod is as good as a brick. The Apple website claims that the iPod Classic (the 80GB and 160GB models) have a battery life of 36 hours, or 6 hours when playing video. This is when you have the screen darkened and all songs are playing on automatic shuffle (i.e., ideal use).

In real life, however, you will likely change/choose songs, adjust volume, or browse through your music collection. This will invariably give you lesser battery life than claimed by Apple. Most users claim that they can squeeze 16-22 hours out of their iPods while playing music, and 3-4 hours while playing video. This may fall short of Apple's claims, but it is impressive nonetheless.

How can one maximize their iPod's battery life? Well, for starters, you can try lowering the backlight duration and brightness in the Settings section. A lower setting will go a long way in conserving battery life.

Keeping the iPod on shuffle is also a good way to extend battery life. When you manually use the iPod, you engage the backlight which drains your battery.

When charging your iPod, never charge it if the battery is not completely drained (or about to be drained). Charging your player when it still has 60-70% power will decrease the life of your battery.

The iPod battery is as powerful as the device it runs. You can easily get an entire day (24 hrs) worth of listening time from your music player, provided you know how to use it judiciously.