Make sure you have the iPod software 1.2.6 update, available at apple.com . Some users have reported a problem that may appear to shorten your iPod's battery life. Battery management is improved with this update, and it enables the iPod to more accurately monitor its battery charge, thus using the entire battery capacity and regaining long battery life.

Prior to this update, the iPod would sometimes mistake a temporary low voltage condition as an indication that the battery was discharged. This resulted in the iPod shutting down prematurely, even though the battery was still capable of powering the iPod.

This update is available for Macintosh OS9.1 or OSX and Windows.