Battery life is terrible..

[Guest AndyHibberd]

What you see posted above is not "good" by usability standards.

All it shows is that the Android OS doesn't drain any power, which is a good thing!

What has effectively been demonstrated here is that when in "dumb phone" mode you can run for days on this phone.

However I believe the main point about getting a smart phone is having things like 3G, data sync, browsing, gaming, music, as well as messaging/calling.

To conclude, the test shows you can get distance on this battery if you "dumb" it down.

Coincidentally I have been toying with the idea of a dumb phone app that would change various settings and really maximise battery life because all smartphone capabilities would be knocked out. Good if you only want it as a phone for a long period of time.

If anyone knows how to make such an app please get in touch!

Andy

[Guest tdodd]

s***, that's really good! Have you made/received many calls in that period?

Maybe I should try out the stock orange rom with crap removed.

Do you run LauncherPro or anything?

Not many calls at all - one in, one out, both short. I don't speak on the phone a lot and have access to a landline most of the time. I do use Launcher Pro. I have black wallpaper, no live widgets, go online and sync only when needed, which is infrequently, and only have relatively few third party apps installed. I also don't have tons of system monitors installed, and those that I have (Task Manager and SystemPanelLite) are killed once I've finished checking the system. I haven't felt the need to kill any other tasks as everything seems quite well behaved.

In the early days/weeks my battery performance was mostly OK, but I was fiddling with the phone a lot and trying out various apps and widgets, especially as this is my first Android phone, so obviously that was having an impact. Now I've settled with the phone and don't feel the need to keep fiddling and experimenting the battery life is excellent.

Of course, when I am actively using the phone then the drain rate increases a lot, but on standby I'm on target for about 12 days before the battery is drained. That's double what the specs say and a fair match for many dumb phones. If you're going to play Angry Birds all day or stream live videos then expect to pay the price in battery life. I don't suppose live wallpaper and data hungry widgets help either. That's why I don't have them.

[Guest AndyHibberd]

Obvious question: Why did you buy a smart phone?

[Guest tdodd]

Obvious question: Why did you buy a smart phone?

Obvious answer - because there are times, such as when on holiday, or away for the weekend, or out and about and needing to check something when smartphone features like email and web are useful. I also use it as my in car satnav to replace an ageing and out of date TomTom unit. For walks in the country then My Tracks or Satellite maps are very handy to have, and vastly superior to in car navigation, which would be useless for those things. Sometimes I have documents or spreadsheets that it is useful to reference when away from my laptop. The smartphone can help me with all these things, but that doesn't mean I need to use those features 24x7. Most of the time I have a landline phone and laptop right in front of me, so I have no need to use the phone at all except to receive messages and calls that don't come in to the landline or email.

When I am away from my laptop that doesn't automatically fill me with a compulsion to phone everyone I know, email them, play games or watch videos, but I have plenty of reasons to have a smartphone beyond those things. I just don't make it a full time occupation.

Edited November 29, 2010 by tdodd

[Guest meinnit]

Obvious answer - because there are times, such as when on holiday, or away for the weekend, or out and about and needing to check something when smartphone features like email and web are useful.

Prepare for a shock when you come to use it :P

[Guest AndyHibberd]

Fair point. Just don't want an "average" user to get their hopes up about battery life.

[Guest tdodd]

Prepare for a shock when you come to use it :P

Oh yes, I know how fast the battery goes when the phone is actively used. That's exactly the reason I have configured the phone to avoid needless demand on the battery when it is sitting there idle.

[Guest ballist1x]

i was going to sell my SE 995W and use only my SF...

since i got the SF i realise that as a phone, it is lacking. so i now have 2 handsets. SF for web browsing on 3g with an unlimited data GIFFGAFF and my orange contract is on my SE995 which gives me quick access to calls, messaging, MP3's and has a long battery life (relatively) and does all the phone things i need.

[Guest AndyHibberd]

Oh now you're just teasing us ballistix!

Do explain how the SF is lacking as a phone.

[Guest ballist1x]

well ive recieved a missed call - but my phone was locked and frozen crashed when i tried to get into it:/

not ideal if you need to call someone back quickly or answer the phone.

How about the texting being painfully slower than T9 predictive on a 9 key pad? I can text while driving (although i dont) on an SE 995 due to the key position.

also, say im on a night out in town, and im really drunk and i need to phone someone, i just slide my phone open and start dialing or go to my recently dialled...within 2 buttons im dialing whoever i want.

with my SF i have to press unlock, slide my finger across the screen, press contacts, search randomly up and down press the name then press call. its just simpler and easier to do with a 'phone' than a smart device that has a phone dialler built into it.?

and because the SE995 is so bad on the web and games i dont bother its just a phone and will be used as a phone. the SF too temtping to waste the battery, i dont want to be out in leeds centre trying to call a taxi or a mate and my battery is dead? i need a phone to phone people. i need my SF to browse the web on the move.

Edited November 29, 2010 by ballist1x

[Guest goldndelicious]

i kind of agree with the two phones thing.

I have my SF which i use daily, and charge nightly.

I also have my company mobile (the incredible nokia 2323 which must have cost all of 69p) - however, i do get about 2 weeks worth of battery power on that thing!!!!! so always have a back up (and i need it for work anyway)

[Guest AndyHibberd]

It sounds like you simply have put in minimal effort to learn about your phone!

I agree partially on some of your points but think a lot of your "difficulties" are resistance to change and wanting it to be like your old phone.

[Guest Freekers]

Install Autostarts (Prevents autostarting from apps you don't need/use on boot), Autokiller (Profile: Optimum) and Watchdog (Keeps an eye on your background apps to see if they are eating up CPU thus draining your battery) and calibrate your battery (as told earlier in this thread)

Set brightness to auto also... I get a full day on my SF with medium to high usage.

You are doing it wrong.

[Guest ballist1x]

not really just that using a large sized touch screen phone when out and about is about as usable as a chocolate fireguard

i am 12 months familiar with me se995 though and had SE for numerous years before that.

so maybe that has to do with it but its just not the same.

like how i wouldnt choose to use my SE to use the internet, i wouldnt use my SF for a primary caller.

[Guest Azurren]

The battery life on smart phones are considered good if they last you a day (With moderate to heavy use)

Most have whopping batteries which if you turn all smart phone features off (And turn them into a dumb-phone) it should last you almost as long as an old Nokia

So many battery life topics.. Its the same for every smart phone. 1Day

[Guest JolyonS]

So many battery life topics.. Its the same for every smart phone. 1Day

I have to agree - I haven't found a touchscreen Smartphone that I'd trust to take out two days in a row without a charge - they seem to be the sort of device you need to be in tha habit of plugging in every evening.

My E71 will go for a few days but it has a tiny screen and it doesn't get as much use as the apps & UI are a bit unappealing.

[Guest deweylewie]

My phone differs greatley in battery life. A week ago it lasted well over 48hrs and still had 30% left. The last few days I have to charge it every day. Sometimes it will idle overnight and drop 0%, sometimes it drops 30%. My usage doesn't really change either.

[Guest Skillganon]

Obvious answer - because there are times, such as when on holiday, or away for the weekend, or out and about and needing to check something when smartphone features like email and web are useful. I also use it as my in car satnav to replace an ageing and out of date TomTom unit. For walks in the country then My Tracks or Satellite maps are very handy to have, and vastly superior to in car navigation, which would be useless for those things. Sometimes I have documents or spreadsheets that it is useful to reference when away from my laptop. The smartphone can help me with all these things, but that doesn't mean I need to use those features 24x7. Most of the time I have a landline phone and laptop right in front of me, so I have no need to use the phone at all except to receive messages and calls that don't come in to the landline or email.

When I am away from my laptop that doesn't automatically fill me with a compulsion to phone everyone I know, email them, play games or watch videos, but I have plenty of reasons to have a smartphone beyond those things. I just don't make it a full time occupation.

That sounds like a sensible use of a smart phone or any device. This is what I usually do although I do play game and check facebook now and then when I turn on the wifi or 3G, and odd call or two a day, this gives me around 24 hour usage. It does not make sense to have everything on all the time, just when you need it.

I dumb down app would really be Ideal where you can also choose what your phone to do with a click of a button.

[Guest juniperz]

My E71 will go for a few days but it has a tiny screen and it doesn't get as much use as the apps & UI are a bit unappealing.

I think this may be a shock for me too. I have an E71 with (corporate) email syncing every 15 mins, wifi always switched on, bluetooth always on, a fantastic physical keyboard - and I can get 3 days out of it...

[Guest JungleNoli]

It sounds like you simply have put in minimal effort to learn about your phone!

I agree partially on some of your points but think a lot of your "difficulties" are resistance to change and wanting it to be like your old phone.

I have to agree with most others here - smart phones and decent battery life are mutually exclusive (mostly). Maybe you can get 'reasonable' battery life from them by training the battery, installing monitoring apps, micromanaging radios and making effort to learn about your phone but isn't it sad that we should have to do that? That is not something that enhances your life but something that constricts it! The phone may be as smart as a computer of yesteryear but it is useless to me if I can't turn it on. And always worrying about it running out of battery is something that, again, diminishes your lifestyle rather than enhancing it.

I remember in the early days :P when I got my first mobile (dumb) phone - the battery was appalling, lasting only a day. Now I expect my Sony Ericsson w810i to last a week or two on light usage. We're still in the early days of smart phones and I can only hope that in a few years time that smart phone battery life will improve similarly. But for now, if I'm honest, my San Fran frustrates as often as it is useful...

[Guest rjm2k]

I have to agree with most others here - smart phones and decent battery life are mutually exclusive (mostly). Maybe you can get 'reasonable' battery life from them by training the battery, installing monitoring apps, micromanaging radios and making effort to learn about your phone but isn't it sad that we should have to do that? That is not something that enhances your life but something that constricts it! The phone may be as smart as a computer of yesteryear but it is useless to me if I can't turn it on. And always worrying about it running out of battery is something that, again, diminishes your lifestyle rather than enhancing it.

I remember in the early days :P when I got my first mobile (dumb) phone - the battery was appalling, lasting only a day. Now I expect my Sony Ericsson w810i to last a week or two on light usage. We're still in the early days of smart phones and I can only hope that in a few years time that smart phone battery life will improve similarly. But for now, if I'm honest, my San Fran frustrates as often as it is useful...

I remember my first WinCE device, I was lucky if the battery lasted a few hours!

[Guest oliphillips]

I dumb down app would really be Ideal where you can also choose what your phone to do with a click of a button.

Yes, this would be brilliant!

[Guest meinnit]

Oliphilips did you install Spare Parts as I suggested? This will tell you exactly which process is at fault

[Guest lixcab]

I left my SF in a steel drawer at work and I think because it was desperately trying to reconnect to a network signal that the battery was really low by lunch time.

I've been leaving it on my desk now for the last couple of weeks with 3G switched off (no signal from my workstation and 2G seeems faster during the day in London anyway) and I'm getting a full day use with real life use of calls, sms and data.

[Guest oliphillips]

Here ya go, what you reckon?

You have some dodgy processes consuming your battery. Install Spare Parts from the market. Go to Battery History and report back the top 3 processes (with timings) on the following:

CPU Usage

Partial Wake Usage

CPU Usage:

1) akmd2 (User: 1m 14s , System: 13m 17s)

2) Android System (User: 6m 2s, System: 3m 35s)

3) android.process.media (User: 3m 17s, System: 1m 54s)

Partial Wake Usage:

1) Dialer (Total: 12m 46s)

2) Android System (Total: 6m 36s)

3) Media (2m 42s)