What I finally figured out was that when the unit was placed on a flat surface with its flat side down it overheated to "very hot" and fried the electronics. My guess is that the flat side is the only way to dissipate the heat. Therefore, when it's on a flat surface it just heats up until it burns up. But with no warnings there was no way to know. When I finally figured it out I deceided that I needed a backup device that wasn't so fussy about which side was up or down.

This is the poorest designed device I have ever purchased which is saying a lot for 61 year old life-long gadget guy. It's a shame I have to be so negative but maybe that will help someone from wasting time and money.

Must have for people who take long flights (Rating: 5.00)
Review : I really like this device for my travels. I often run out of juice on the ipod (only 8 hours won't work for a 12+ hour travel day) itself and since I'm just sitting in the cramped plane seat anyway, the extra weight isn't an issue. I don't recommend it if you want to run with it or use it for walking around since it doesn't really attach all that well to the ipod...espcially if you use a case with the ipod. Even if you use your ipod naked (how could you!?!), it doesn't really attach all that well either. But remember, Belkin designed it so really, it's not apple's fault they have idiots in the belkin design dept.
Overall, the utility is great for long travel times and design sucks
Adds considerable weight to ipod - if you run with it, your shorts may be dragging on the ground as a result of the battery pack
The batteries seem to last longer if stored in the off position when not in use

Why are most of these reviews not even about the damn battery pack?!? If you want to attack the ipod itself, go post it on the ipod product review page

Piece of junk. (Rating: 1.00)
Review : I bought this thinking it'd be the panacea to the brevity of the iPod's battery life. It is. When it works.

Pros:
•More time to listen to music.

Cons:
•Bulky. Power connector should be integrated, and the device should somehow fit around the iPod. While I have not had any bad experiences with suction cups holding expensive equipment, they are simply illogical considering that you are entrusting them with a $3-500 piece of equipment full of your life's work and all of your music.

Here's the kicker, and I realize that I'm not the only one who has had this problem:

I thought it was just a fluke when my battery pack's springs melted and I smelled burning plastic. Fortunately I haven't seriously burned myself, but cbBut it happened three times. Belkin phone support was no help, e-mail support didn't even address the issue, they just said "call us for help", and Belkin refused to replace the product.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been helpful(I recently filed a complaint/report), but Belkin is still quiet. Oh well. The Voice Recorder for the iPod is also pretty bad. Stay away unless you enjoy getting burns and wasting batteries.

Good but way to BIG! (Rating: 3.00)
Review : I got one when I was in Canada because my ipod ran out of juice and there was no where to charge it up... Simply put ... its just 'TOO BIG' for practical and on-the-move use!... there is no way you can walk around with your ipod and the battery pack in your pocket... its stupid... it is good for flights but that's about it...Belkin have made a smart looking and high quality product but the size is just stupid in my opinion...but saying that I wouldn't need to carry around a bloody battery pack if Apple improved the ipod battery life.

Bad batteries! (Rating: 4.00)
Review : To the person who had two of these burn up on him...I had a similar experience. My iPod kept locking up with the battery pack plugged in, and the pack got HOT. I replaced the batteries, and suddenly everything was fine. I was curious so I put the original batteries (the ones that came in the package with the battery pack) in a battery tester and got some really strange results...the tester gauge started bouncing all over the scale! It seems that the included batteries are funky in the sense that they don't supply a steady source of power. My new batteries, in the same tester, move the gauge and it STAYS PUT, rock solid. I can see how an iPod with an unsteady power source would have problems. It seems fine now.

Improves IPOD some, but not enough to make a huge difference (Rating: 4.00)
Review : Lets face it: The IPOD battery just doesn't measure up. It is supposed to last for up to 8 hours of music, but hasn't survived past two hours before it dies. Thats why this Belkin external battery pack is so attractive. It's been on my wishlist for months, and when I finally got it, I was disappointed. Although it has increased my battery life over 6 hours more, it still is not as streamlined as the IPOD itself. It just adds some "dead weight" to it. This being said, it is NOT very portable. This Backup battery pack is great if you are stuck with long delays at an airport somewhere. However, if you are planning to use this on your morning jogs around the block, skip it.

Overall, this Battery Backup is a helpful addition to the IPOD, but it's size and weight really are limiting factors.

hey just an fyi (Rating: 4.00)
Review : ive gone thru three iPods that i bought brand new 3rd generation 10 gb and only spent $299. The first one i got died on a hold button error about 1 month after the purchase. I went in to the apple retail store and they replaced it FREE with a brand new one...and they were all nice about it. The one i got in replacement...had a wacked out battery and i never even got it to function. I brought it back to the same apple retail store and they replaced my new one with another iPod free of charge. They have ONE YEAR warranties just to let yall know. I reccomend taking it to their retail stores because they have excelent service and they fix pretty much everything there free even tho they arent sposed to. Well they do at the Emeryville Store in California...This new iPod ive had and its worked perfectly ever since. However, this post and a bunch of these other posts have nothing to do with belkin backup battery pack. I imagine its pretty good.