6GB iPod mini Battery life

I just got the 6GB iPod mini and I had a question about the battery life. Apple says that it should last 18 hours, is that 18 hours of just continuous play w/o fast forwarding or rewinding or is it 18 hours of normal. B/c I've found that it only holds about 8 hours or 9 hours of battery life over the course of 4 days under normal use(fast forwarding/rewinding, backlight on for 2 seconds, changing play lists). Anybody else have estimates?

Apple's estimates are based on continuous play w/o fastforward, rewind etc. Anything that uses power will reduce the playtime. With the older mini it's not unusual to see playtime of 5 to 6 hours (Apple claims 8) on a full charge when I use the controls a lot. I invested in a BTI external power pack.

That's actually very good battery life. I find that if you don't have to charge your iPod (or anything for that matter) for 3 days or more it has a good battery.