iPod nano chromatic yellow (8GB) - battery charged but doesn't work

Hello,

I have had my iPod nano chromatic yellow (8GB) since Christmas 2008. It's been working overall fine for me until two days ago. That's when I recharged it over one day and one night on my laptop. When I disconnected it this morning (the symbol showed "Fully Charged") the screen of my iPod went black and it wouldn't turn on at all. I reconnected it to my laptop and I again it looked like it was fully charged. I clicked "Eject" but kept it connected to the laptop and all features seemed to be working fine. So again I disconnected it but this time before it went black the small battery sign in the top right hand corner looked like it was completely empty.

Now, I've tried deleting all files from my iPod, I've re-set it to its factory settings, I've tried the re-store manoeuvre with the hold switch/menu/centre button but once it's off the recharge/connection cable my iPod simply doesn't work. I never had trouble there before!

Any idea why this is and what I can do about it?

I'd appreciate any nudges into the right direction. Thank you!