Batteries : good practice

[od1]

I have heard mixed opinions from both Axim users and Dell employees about the best practice for maintaining optimum battery life. By this I mean like buying a new cell-phone, normally you are supposed to charge it completely, and then let it die completely to ensure that the battery realizes its full potential. What do you think?

[MPSmith]

Read this thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=294977) and see if you still have questions.

[od1]

Yah, still wondering... I mean for when you first get one, should you religiously do the whole "fully charge it - let it die out completely" thing?

[od1]

ANYONE? :( :( :(

[MPSmith]

It's not necessary to do that. The user guide doesn't say anything about that either; only that you should charge it for 8 hours for the first charge. FYI, here's a copy:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/aximx50/en/index.htm

[WyattEarp]

PPCs use Lithium-Ion batteries that do not require a full discharge and recharge. They only require two things for optimal performance. 1. Fully charge the battery before using it.
2. Recharge the battery before it gets to low (if possible): say about 60%.

[Darius Wey]

Yah, still wondering... I mean for when you first get one, should you religiously do the whole "fully charge it - let it die out completely" thing?

I wouldn't say religiously. However, it is good practice to condition the battery for the first three charge cycles. So when you first pick up the device, charge it until it's fully charged, then use it until it drops to a low value (but not completely discharged otherwise you would face the risk of losing all your data). From then on, charge it fully again, and complete the cycle for about 3 runs. Just make sure you don't completely discharge the battery seeing as though this is a Pocket PC we are talking about.

[Janak Parekh]

You may also find what I call the Ultimate Battery Guide, linked to here, to be of help. :)

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9063

--janak

[maximus]

Or simply :

For PDAs :
Charge it full for the first time,
And charge it again every night when you go to bed.

For Mobilephones :
Charge it full for the first time,
And charge it again every other night when you go to bed.

I do that to all my PDAs and mobilephones. Works so far.

[od1]

Wow, I didn't expect to get all that advice. As always, THANK YOU! 0X

[PetiteFlower]

I didn't think that LiIon batteries required "conditioning". Everyone seems to say that you should NEVER let them get low if you can help it, because it shortens the life of the battery.

[maximus]

Everyone seems to say that you should NEVER let them get low if you can help it, because it shortens the life of the battery.

And that is exactly the reason why we got spare batteries for all of our gadgets :)

[Darius Wey]

I didn't think that LiIon batteries required "conditioning". Everyone seems to say that you should NEVER let them get low if you can help it, because it shortens the life of the battery.

"Conditioning" is only relevant to the first couple of charges from when you first get the battery. After that, it doesn't have to undergo the same charging processes.

[od1]

I'm kinda freaked out now... I was charging a new Axim X30 for someone. I plugged it in (planning to charge it for 8 hours). I then noticed on part of the packaging it said something like "make sure to hit the power button when charging for the first time to ensure it works" so I did it and then it powered on. I realize I probably sound ridiculous here (suprised that hitting the power button turned it on), but I thought doing that was part of charging it (like it said!). I've left it alone now (still plugged in and still on I think). Will it be okay after 8 hours? :bawl:

[Darius Wey]

I'm kinda freaked out now... I was charging a new Axim X30 for someone. I plugged it in (planning to charge it for 8 hours). I then noticed on part of the packaging it said something like "make sure to hit the power button when charging for the first time to ensure it works" so I did it and then it powered on. I realize I probably sound ridiculous here (suprised that hitting the power button turned it on), but I thought doing that was part of charging it (like it said!). I've left it alone now (still plugged in and still on I think). Will it be okay after 8 hours? :bawl:

It should be fine. Their advice of "hitting the power button" is just a precautionary measure to ensure you're not charging a dud battery. Once it's finished charging (and I assume 8 hours is more than enough), it should be fine. ;)

[od1]

Phyew! Thx 8)