by Hongjun Wang

Created on: September 02, 2006   Last Updated: January 15, 2012

Almost everyone owns an iPod, a Zen or a generic MP3 player. One of the most tragic things that could possibly happen to the owner of a portable audio device is to have it fail on you and take the music out of your life. While there is no sure way of preventing that failure from happening anytime soon, what proper usage and maintenance can do is to lessen the chance of that terrible day arriving. Here are 8 tips on maintaining the life of your precious portable audio device:

1) Don't Ever Drop it

Whenever you get a new player, you will be so obsessed with its safety that you will be taking extra care not to drop it, even from a low distance. That paranoia is healthy, but in most cases, we will often end up letting our device get its virgin knock one way or another. Nevertheless, do not ever drop it or even think about dropping it multiple times because due to the fragile nature of electronic components within the player, there is no guarantee to the extent of damage each drop will incur on the player.

2) Don't Let it Get Wet

Yes, do not try to test your player in a rainy day out in the open and exposing the earphone jacks and the crevices leading to the electronic parts to water. So do not even think about going for a swim with them on. But the most common instance of players getting wet has to be users accidentally dropping them into toilet bowls, so ladies, please be extremely cautious when conducting business with your player in your pockets.

3) Protect it with a cover

There are various types of covers available in the market, from silicon casings that look like condoms for your electrical gadget to cute looking "socks" the ideal cover should be something that will protect your player from shock when you commit the sin of dropping your player.

4) Don't Overcharge

For players using lithium ion batteries which require you to charge the players whenever the battery life runs low, do not overcharge them or frequently charge them out of over-zealousness every time the battery hits 50%. The lithium ion battery is worthy of a certain number of recharges and after which its battery life will be reduced over time. Charge your battery when it is near to nothing and preserve the life of your player's battery.

5) Don't Subject it to extreme conditions

This means that you should not attempt to subject your player to extreme heat or cold. In general, heat is more dangerous than cold given the combustible nature of the batteries within the player. Depending on the type

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