iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

Power Adapters

It never hurts to have a spare power adapter, so that you don’t have to keep hauling the iPod’s cable and AC adapter when you need to recharge on the road. (If you’re looking for an automobile charger to use for powering the iPod through the car’s cigarette lighter, see "Connecting the iPod to a Car Stereo" on Section 12.2.1.)

• iPod AC Adapter has an AC plug on one end and a FireWire Connector on the other. For pre-2003 iPods. $25 at http://www.everythingipod.com.

• The Apple World Travel Adapter Kit works with the iPod’s included AC adapter 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.) $40 in the Music & Audio section at http://store.apple.com.

• SiK FireJuice is a connector contraption for iPods that connect to 4-pin (unpowered) FireWire jacks or CardBus laptop cards that don’t supply power to the iPod. The FireJuice box provides an extra FireWire jack right when you need it so you can use your AC adapter to charge up the iPod simultaneously while syncing your music and not have to wait around for your battery to get itself together. The FireJuice also lets iBook users connect their iPods without having to worry that it’s siphoning off the laptop’s battery. It works with Apple’s iPod AC adapter or SiK’s auto charger ...