iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition

Power Adapters

It never hurts to have a spare power adapter, so that you don’t have to keep hauling your laptop around when you need to recharge the iPod on the road. (If you’re looking for an automobile charger to use for powering the iPod through the car’s cigarette lighter, see Section 10.3.4.)

• The iPod USB Power Adapter is a boxy set of prongs plugs into the wall socket just like the AC adapter that used to ship with regular iPods. It’s got a USB jack on the other side so you can plug your Shuffle right in for some charging instead of using a powered USB port on the computer. You can use the Adapter with a USB 2.0 cable to charge up a regular iPod or iPod Nano, too. It sells for $30 at http://store.apple.com and also comes in a FireWire version for older iPods.

• The Apple World Travel Adapter Kit works with the iPod’s optional AC adapter (Section 1.2.1) for electrical outlets in North America, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia, Japan, China, Korea, and Hong Kong. (As international travelers know, all electrical outlets are not created equal. Not only is the voltage often different in other countries, but the outlets have differing plugs.) It’s $40 in the iPod Accessories section at http://store.apple.com.

• Monster iAirCharger does what a car charger does, except on an airplane: refills your iPod’s battery so the music doesn’t run out on that long flight from New York to Sydney. The iAirCharger uses the same type of 15-volt connector found in the armrests of seats ...