Are you saying you get 5 or 6 hours with iRig Keys or just in normal use of music apps? I should point out, I have an iPad 1 and I get fairly close to 10% battery loss every hour doing 'typical' web browsing/e-mail, even many games still provide around that much life. When I pop into synth apps, I definitely see a decrease, but I have never felt it unreasonable. I also don't have the 3G version, so am not using up battery for that.

I recharge about every 3 or 4 days with my use. Though I very rarely get below 20% before recharging. I usually charge around the 40% mark so I know I will have enough battery for my next day.

No, I do not own the iRig Keys, sorry for the confusion. I meant that my battery life between charges seem somewhat less than advertised using demanding apps.

I have several MIDI/USB keyboards but the only one recognized via the CCK is the Korg nanoPad. I haven't spent enough time using it to determine battery life but I suspect it would be a bit less than using the built in keyboards within said music apps.

I generally wait until about 25 to 30% before I recharge if I know I will be close enough to a wall receptacle for use but if I will be completely mobile than I will recharge earlier.

I have a free battery app that sometimes doesn't fully recharge for some reason and a couple of times have overcharged overnight which I was expecting it to cut off if needed. Maybe I need to look at purchasing a better battery app.

Any suggestions?

That is fair, Obi will be provide as accurate possible an estimation/average from some real time testing, as soon as possible.

Demanding apps = less battery time. No one advertised anything else.

And what is a battery app, and why does it recharge your iPad?
I've never heard of a need for a battery app.

Cool! Thanks. I think that will be very helpful to customers. One of the biggest questions/concerns I read from people when a new adapter/device comes out is if it will recharge the iPad. I know, for my use, I get PLENTY of hours with non-chargeable devices hooked to the iPad. I have iRig MIDI and have never even used the recharge cord. Well, maybe once, just to see that it worked. I do realize iRig Keys has an external option to power it, but many people want complete portability, ease of use, and play anywhere without requiring any external power. One of these days I'd like to head out to the river and create music there, but I'm just too embarrassed to do that (I don't want people staring at me).

Keebo, yeah, 5 or 6 hours seems short. Though it really depends on all you have open. With my iPad 1, where background audio is almost useless, I pretty much just stick to one app at a time. If you are running multiple apps in background audio, then I can see this eating up some serious battery.

I've also noticed the brightness can make a huge difference. I see a significant drain on the battery if the brightness is too high. I tend to keep mine around 25%, or lower if I'm in the dark.

I may be upgrading to the latest iPad pretty soon, so I'll see what kind of battery life I get with it. Especially since I do plan on using background audio to control multiple synth apps. It's one reason I want to upgrade, because my music apps get clipping and can't process data fast enough. I can't even layer two sounds in SampleTank without clipping which is a big bummer as I like to layer the Piano with the XPander Lush Pad, but I can't ever use it live with the iPad 1 (though it's fine for practicing).

The battery life depends on a few different factors:

Battery age
Usage (% active Vs. % sleep)
Type of apps used
CPU load
Audio volume
Display brightness
Bluetooth usage
Wi-Fi usage
3G usage

iRig KEYS is designed to be a low power device that respects Apple's restrictive limitations on maximum current a "Made for iPod" device can sink from the connector. Less than those factors mentioned above, especially less than apps typically do.

Occasionally I have two, maybe three apps running but most of the time I only have one app open. No bluetooth or WiFi usage during those times. My brightness settings may be the culprit as I am not seeing as well these days. It is set at 50% indoors and higher for outside activities.

A battery app supposedly helps maintain your battery when charging. The advertisement says something like 2 years battery life without it or 4 years using the app. You run the app every time you charge the device and it lets you know when it is fully charged so as not to over charge it. It keeps records of your charging habits and reminds you when you should do a complete charge (less than 20%). It somehow charges to 100% on Fast Charge mode, then goes to a Continuation Charge mode, and then finally to a Trickle charge mode. This is suppose to help maintain and preserve the life of the battery.

Snake oil? I don't know but I certainly don't look forward to replacing the battery any time soon.

I don't think its snake oil, your just doing preventative maintenance, totally understandable!

Jordan Rudess just did a video with iRig KEYS here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIHcmVIdKx0

Hi Peter,

Will you also going to offer a version with an iPad 4 Lightning port compatible cable?

Right now the adapter is required. We - and I've been told all other companies - are not yet able to offer the Lightning connection directly with a device like this. I don't know about in the future but for now it is not possible.

So there are 2 options for iRig KEYS with iPad 4;

-Lightning-to-30-pin-adapter / Lightning to 30-pin-adapter cable (0,2 m) with the supplied 30-pin iOS cable to iOS port

-Lightning-to-USB-camera-adapter with USB cable to USB port

Which solution does IK Multimedia advise?

The first, I think the cable is the better option. It seems to work out well in the Jordan Rudess video (he uses it with KEYS and iPad mini there).

Thanks. Now wait until the shop I regular buy hardware has the iRig KEYS, it now is listed for over 4-5 weeks.

Really? Please let me know who it is and I'll forward that info to the appropriate rep here.