On Mon, 21 Apr 2008, Todd Allcock posted:
> It's April, not June. Not only does Apple has time to iron it out, but
> also expectations may have to be adjusted for this device.

You mean...like actually having a *removable* battery?

> With
> push-e-mail and bluetooth enabled, and maybe an hour to two of WiFi, my
> WinMo phone will start begging for a charge (literally, with on-screen pop-
> ups!) after 14-16 hours.

The backlight is a huge power drain on many WM phones. In most firmware,
the default backlight level while on battery power is set way too high.
Try cranking it down to the minimum (one notch above backlight completely
off).

The published specifications for a typical WM phone (SoftBank X01HT a.k.a.
HTC Hermes) shows that using 3G reduces talk time by about 20% (4 hours
instead of 5 hours), but that standby time for 3G is 20% better (250 hours
vs. 200 hours).

Having compared battery life in both 3G and GSM more on this particular
model, I think that 20% is about right. I normally use regular
(non-smart) 3G mobile phones (both EV-DO and W-CDMA/UMTS), and the battery
consumption after a day of use is negligible.

The myth of "3G consuming too much battery" is more based upon the short
battery life of WM smartphones (and the backlight has a *lot* to do with
that!) than reality.

FWIW, I never cared for smart phones; they compromise the fundamental task
of being a phone too much in order to provide PDA capabilities. Before
you can place a call, iPhone requires three physical operations: press the
center button, slide to unlock, press the phone icon. WM is worse. Most
phones are ready in one physical operation: open flip/slider.

-- Mark --

http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.