Charging Up - How Often Do You Do It? [Archive]

Jon Westfall

03-09-2005, 04:00 PM

Whenever a new device comes out, one of the issues that we all talk about and debate is the battery life. Sometimes devices with exceptional battery life are deemed unacceptable because of other features, but in general the battery life seems to be something we value in our devices (And for good reason!). But how often do we really use all that battery life? I've used an iPAQ 6315 for many months now, and have only gotten close to it being at less than 10% power once. I normally charge nightly as I sleep, and I believe most users probably cradle their devices at least once a day for an extended length of time. <br /><br />So fellow PPCT'ers, how often do you charge? How often do you wear down that battery to critical levels? And if you don't get it down to a critical level, do you think the battery capacity should be as important an issue with a device as it sometimes is?

piperpilot

03-09-2005, 04:06 PM

When I'm at work, my iPAQ 5455 is always in its cradle (unless I have a meeting). In the car, I have it plugged into the cigarette lighter--I use it to listen to recorded radio shows via Replay Player. At home, it usually doesn't get charged until I go to bed at night. While on travel, I have amassed five batteries to get me through long overseas or cross-country flights.

surur

03-09-2005, 04:15 PM

Why do you not have a two-three times/day option? I charge during my lunch time, overnight in the cradle, and if it is not in my hand its in the cradle in thr evening.

Because of the grave consequences of a fully drained battery I would get extremely wary of further use of my pocketpc if the battery meter goes below 40%. Havind the hard reset issue sorted out will almost double my usable run-time on my pocketpc.

Surur

CrashX

03-09-2005, 04:23 PM

Hi Jon,

Like you, I have the h6315, and have rarely taken the battery level below 10% (though it has happened). I usually connect it to my laptop using a sync/charge cable each night, and only cradle it when I need to sync with my desktop (almost never).

I'd have to say that after an average day of use, the charge is down to about 65% without using WiFi, and 45% using WiFi heavily. I can probably go two full days with average use before I need to charge it, but I like knowing that I'm starting the day off with a full charge. One thing I've noticed is that the h6315's battery life is comparable to my previous PDA, a Sony Clie NZ90, and that didn't have a GPRS radio and it's Bluetooth radio was disabled at all times.

All in all, I've been quite pleased with my iPAQ, and it's my first PPC. I haven't expereinced any of the problems with it that I've read about in these forums.

KTamas

03-09-2005, 04:25 PM

Everytime i can, sometimes all day i the cradle.

Darius Wey

03-09-2005, 04:28 PM

A charge a day keeps the doctor away. :mrgreen:

webdaemon

03-09-2005, 04:39 PM

It's in the cradle all day at work unless I go out, then when I get home I plug it in when I'm not using it.

I've lost all power, and the information, twice and I don't want to go through that again.

SteveHoward999

03-09-2005, 04:40 PM

Probably every other day. I am not scared to run down to about 5% power regularly. I use Wi-Fi a fair bit, but also read obsessively - at least 3 hours a day, often much more.

dma1965

03-09-2005, 04:47 PM

I used to keep my SX66 in the cradle or on a travel charger when I was not using it, after I found the 1490ma battery was going down to about 40% during a day's use (Bluetooth always on, phone calls, reminders, etc.), but after I got the Mugen 2200ma battery, which, amazingly enough, does not add any noticeable thickness (it fills in the scalloped in portion the default battery has on it), still fits my PielFrama case and cradle with no alterations, and allows me to use my device with impunity and take it home with about 70% charge left at the end of the day. I no longer panic if I leave the house without a charger. Best $79 I ever spent! 8)

Don't Panic!

03-09-2005, 05:00 PM

I'm the what "You have to charge these things" vote. Nothing in the poll fits my usage. I charge via USB when at work but I frequently diconnect to dosomething. I charge at home most of the time but again If I leave that room I take it e with me. How about a I charge whenever I can option?

Ketsugi

03-09-2005, 05:05 PM

I've got the hx2750 and I find the wifi can wear the battery down fairly fast. If I spend a few hours sitting in the university library chatting on MSN I'll quickly find myself with a flat battery.

general_zod

03-09-2005, 05:06 PM

About THE ONLY thing I miss about my Palm. Battery life. I could go a week without charging. Now it is a nightly ritual. Especially w/ power-hungry wifi.

...ARE YOU FROM THE PLANET HOUSTEN...

hamishmacdonald

03-09-2005, 05:13 PM

I carry a spare battery, a power adaptor, and I've got a sync-n-charge cable and battery back setup on order. I'm a freak when it comes to keeping the thing ready to be used.

What's weird is that I plan for power consumption based on the idea of being stuck on a 7 hour overseas flight with several hours of airport time on either side -- yet I only make a trip like this twice a year. The rest of the time I rarely make it through a single battery charge, even after writing away from home for several hours.

yankeejeep

03-09-2005, 05:16 PM

My Toshiba e805 spends at least half of each weekday in the charging cradle on my work desk. When I'm away from work, it gets charged any morning I will be taking it with me and every 2-3 days when it's taking a vacation, too. I think once I have seen the battery meter hit 25%.

John Blasdell

03-09-2005, 05:16 PM

I check the charge status while using the device at work or home, like some people keep looking at their watch. I usually charge daily, but not if I haven't used it much that day. I don't want to charge the battery too much/too often. Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer batteries don't have a memory like the old Ni-Cads; they have a "life cycle" good for so many charging cycles. Charge/discharge 2-3 times daily, and that battery will probably be toast within a year. They recommend using a lot of each charge (to minimize the number of charging cycles) but don't drain the battery completely, for the sake of your data and the battery! I have 2 extra batteries, so if one gets low while I'm away from my desk, I just change batteries.

JonathanWardRogers

03-09-2005, 05:18 PM

I too would like to chose the "I charge whenever I can" option. Always overnight, always when I'm in the car. WiFi and BT really eat up my battery life.

paschott

03-09-2005, 05:21 PM

Well, used to charge nightly, but had something else take over the outlet I was using. That switched me into the 3-4 times/week category. A lot of times I don't notice how low I am on battery until the warning pops up for 20%. Finally bought a sync/charge cable that helps a little bit when I'm at work, but I still forget regularly.

I still think battery capacity is important, though. There are times when I'm just not in a position to charge - on a plane, on vacation, etc. I tend to use my device for quite a few e-books as well as some games and a lot of reading can take its toll, especially if you throw in a game or two that drain the battery a little faster.

At this point, though, I'm waiting for the next round of WM devices to come out (WM2005?WM2006?). I don't see any point in dropping more money on a device that will be quickly obsolete or not upgradeable like my 2215 (love the device, but HP's decision still irks me).

-Pete

surur

03-09-2005, 05:32 PM

threedaysdwn

03-09-2005, 05:45 PM

With my Treo 600 I used to charge once a week or so.

With my 6601 I charge nightly.

It's not even a matter of battery life, however. I charge my 6601 every night because it has a cradle. My Treo 600 had to be plugged in by hand, so it wasn't always sync'd or charged when it should have been.

I think I've only forgotten to charge the 6601 one night (when it stayed in my pants pocket all night) - and it had no problem getting through the next day.

isilver

03-09-2005, 06:04 PM

That is the one thing that I miss with my Dell Axim X. It could hold a charge for what felt like forever. I would plug it in everyday but if I missed a day I would be worried about the charge.

I also have the Dell Axim x50v with no bluetooth or wifi on and the battery drains extrememly fast. Even with my backup battery I worry about not having a charge when I need it. I recharge everyday with this baby. I can envision going to the bigger battery in the future because I can't continue to live my life on the edge like this.

PDANEWBIE

03-09-2005, 06:07 PM

I run a 2215 with a Mugen Extended life battery 2200mAh I find that I use about 6 hours and then it gets to the low level. As I use it religiously for work and home I find I am charging it at least once a day and have had a few times that even this extendedlife battery has not quite been enough (usually on family outings when I use it for gaming on the car trip or something).

I tend to charge my unit every night and I carry along a sharging cable so I can plug it in at work (on the rare instance I forget to plug it in at night).

As far as charging it throughout the day I rarely do that because I'm either using it or I have a fair amount of battery life left.

moaske

03-09-2005, 06:15 PM

I'm syncin' everyday to my desktop, and i do that through cradle, and with my Jam it gets charged through the cable as well. So i guess i'm never anywhere lower than a 45% level or something. But i guess if i wasn't syncin', i'd be chargin' the bunch every other day or so (you should put an option in the poll for that), although i must say that i too like the idea of starting the day with a freshly charged device.
The batterylife of my brand spankin' new iMate Jam is incedible for that matter. I tend to not use it as a PDA that much, so i get almost 3 days out of it using it mainly as a phone and messenger, stil having some 30% juice left :)
My Loox 720 however seems to be much more of power-hog; 2 days of intensive PDA use empties it to around 20%.... :( Probably due to the large VGA screen i guess...
Thank heavens that i use them both in a mixed configuration ;)

saznpins

03-09-2005, 06:32 PM

I chose once a day since I plug it in every night. But I also keep it in the cradle charging during the day if I'm in the office... so on those days it gets charged more than if I'm out at meetings or running around. The overnight charge is enough to get me through the day if I'm careful with wifi use.

fivepetpalace

03-09-2005, 06:48 PM

In the past I charged daily, and will still plug in as needed, but don't worry as much since I bought car adaptor.

ctmagnus

03-09-2005, 07:04 PM

Whenever I can. I have a few sync and charge cables as well as a BoxWave AC/vehicle charger thingy. And I cradle it lots and lots.

mobilemail

03-09-2005, 07:32 PM

I echo the thoughts of hamishmacdonald--I may only use my E800 a few minutes tomorrow, but I want to be prepared to use it for hours on end if necessary. If I'm really scared, I'll carry an extra battery (which I swap weekly, because the sitting batteries don't retain a charge for long).
Going back to the first question about whether we make battery life too much of an issue, I personally will be happy when a PDA can run for eight hours continuously with the light on. Don't think it can happen? Try a hospital waiting room! Arrgh! Until then, I just try to stay ready.

ntractv

03-09-2005, 07:55 PM

If it's not in my hand it's in the cradle.

surur

03-09-2005, 08:25 PM

Going back to the first question about whether we make battery life too much of an issue, I personally will be happy when a PDA can run for eight hours continuously with the light on. Don't think it can happen? Try a hospital waiting room! Arrgh! Until then, I just try to stay ready.

Prepare to be ecstatic then.

If you look at the graphic here, in "reading mode" (lowest backlight), eight hours is very achievable these days.

http://www.mobile-review.com/pda/review/vga-comparing-en.shtml
http://www.mobile-review.com/pda/review/image/vga-comparing/battery-s.png

Surur

disconnected

03-09-2005, 08:36 PM

I needed the "two or three times a day" or "as often as possible" options. I don't use the PPC at work, but if I use it in the car, for GPS or internet access (via bluetooth phone), it's plugged in. If I do a lot of reading or game playing at home in the evening I sometimes have to recharge in the middle. And it's always plugged in overnight.

I'm also obsessive about always being prepared. I have a spare battery that is always with me, and multiple AC chargers, auto chargers and 9-volt battery chargers -- at home, in the office, in the car, and in travel cases, so I'm ready for long travel days, power outages, or any other unforseen circumstances. I might freeze to death if my home electricity goes out in a winter storm, but I'll die with the iPAQ in my hand still functioning. Oddly enough, this obsessiveness doesn't extend beyond the PPC; in all other areas I'm very forgetful and generally unprepared for even the most forseeable circumstances.

Jon Westfall

03-09-2005, 08:58 PM

it looks like some of us are paranoid about power being out when we really need it! But, we rarely find ourselves in that dire condition. I guess going through the experience once is all you need.

The rest of the replies indicate a "when I'm not using it, I'm charging it" attitude. Interesting!

Menneisyys

03-09-2005, 09:35 PM

Charge/discharge 2-3 times daily, and that battery will probably be toast within a year.

This is a controversial statement. I undestand if you charge/discharge 100% thats one cycle, and that you charge/discharge 25% thats a quarter cycle. I have not heard that you can charge too frequently. I believe you are only restating the Memory Effect myth, because if what you say is true it would have the same consequences.

I am firmly in the "charge when you can" camp.

Surur

You're absolutely right. "Keep on charge whenever you can" is my motto and it has always worked with me. My 6-year-old jornada 680's original battery is still going strong - I've almost constantly kept it on the charger in the first 3-4 years (while I was still actively using it - now, I've detached the battery and keep it in the recommended 40% charge level, which is the best for long-time storage). Same stands for my other Lithium-based batteries & PDA's (for example, the E-125 - much as it's almost 5 years old, it's still going strong).

BTW, I really recommend the article at Battery University on this stuff for everybody that is afraid of constant charging: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm

yawanag

03-09-2005, 10:14 PM

BugDude10

03-09-2005, 10:45 PM

Almost every night, overnight -- why not? And almost every workday while I'm sitting at my desk and the device is cradled -- again, why not? I don't necessarily drain the battery every day, but sometimes when I'm spending a lot of time gaming or surfing via Wi-Fi or reading an e-book (why does MS Reader consume so much battery life?!) the battery can get pretty low, so I'd just as soon keep it charged up just in case.

In general, battery life is pretty important to me, again, not because I must use my device much of the day, but because I want to have the ability to use it much of the day when I want to. (I didn't mind the extra size & weight of the extended battery on my e740, since I always had plenty of juice for surfing or gaming. And I'll probably get the extended battery for my h2215 for the same reasons... unless I just upgrade to the new hx2755, in which case I'll need the extended battery for that instead...)

Phunkphantom

03-09-2005, 10:51 PM

I stopped using a PPC about 18 months ago and moved over to smartphone. however I find it funny that despite all the development in technolgy. Practices on charging havent changed at all. I charged my PPC the same way as the majority of replies all those months ago.

I also find funny, that with all the development of wireless technologies, the majority of people have their devices "wired" for more than 50% of their day.

All is not bad though, as im about to move back to a Blue Angel having heard positive feedback on the device.

Jon Westfall

03-09-2005, 10:56 PM

I didn't read any post from anyone with an I-mate. Mine is in Dubai, right now, for repair.

The only way I could charge it was in the cradle. The cigarette lighter would not charge it (in fact, it would drain the charge). I would bring it to a 100% charge before I left home and when I reached in my purse to use it, it would be dead or had performed a hard reset on its own.

As much as I like the I-mate, the battery power stinks!

Carrying a spare battery is useless since it performs a hard reset and I have to wait until I get home to perform a backup.

One thing I feel that is a problem with the I-mate battery power is the sensitive "Power On" button. I wish it were more like the T-Mobile. You really have to press that baby to power on.

I used an i-mate for six months, and can attest that the battery life stinks! the discharging problem on this unit occurs when one uses xda chargers that limit the charging speed. Since the i-mate needs more juice than the original xda's, using these older "safer" chargers actually discharges. Ironically, older cheaper chargers seemed to work fine for me, because they lacked that chip!

ctmagnus

03-09-2005, 11:04 PM

jlp

03-09-2005, 11:40 PM

nic

03-10-2005, 12:56 AM

If I didn't listen to so much music on my h1945, the battery would probably last me 2 to 3 days. Still, I recharge daily because it really isn't that much of a pain to recharge and I'm wanting to sync it anyway sooo.....

Haven't done much traveling since I got the device a year and a half ago. Battery life would probably leave a lot to desire if I was on the road or on a plane for an extended period of time.

PBR

03-10-2005, 01:19 AM

I have an X50v...all I do is charge...

maximus

03-10-2005, 01:32 AM

Once a day. Overnight. When I sleep.

I am too paranoic about being power-less, so I have spare batteries for every gadgets that I have.

baralong

03-10-2005, 01:40 AM

I tend to leave it synced during the day and charge over night as well. To extend the battery life I bought a AA batery extender, unfortunately with the 4150 (known for drawing a high current) I can't recharge from the extender, but using it does improve my battery life: a 2 hour movie (played in beta player) normally reduces my battery life to about 30% with the extender it's about 65% although I need to do a better test.

Anyone recomend a free batery level recording program?

MitchellO

03-10-2005, 02:49 AM

http://ae.inc.ru/uptime_t.html

I use this prog to monitor battery life. Tells you how long you have used it, percentage left, estimated running time, and can reset the timer when you plug in. Take a look.

I charge every night. My XDA mini stays in my pocket all the time, because of its phone functionality, so I don’t charge it unless I am not able to (like sleeping). I also like to use it for MSN, email and surfing of WiFi or GPRS, and have been able to make it through a day and a bit with HEAVY use including several hours of wifi and gprs, games, mp3/videos and phone use. After 10% WiFi is disabled (the xda won’t let my use the SD WiFi below 10%) but it very rarely gets there. I have had no battery life problems whatsoever yet. I sync over WiFi/Bluetooth and rarely on the cable so I don’t typically charge at all while syncing. I do charge it over USB at my dads house, as it saves me getting another power adaptor unnecessarily.

Go the XDA II Mini for battery life!!!!

yawanag

03-10-2005, 03:50 AM

A HUGE thanks to MitchellO for the link to UpTime. Cool Program!

MitchellO

03-10-2005, 03:54 AM

It is my "MUST HAVE" app. It is always installed first.

ctmagnus

03-10-2005, 04:35 AM

re: owning multiple batteries:

Rather than paying $x for a replacement battery for my current device (or that much more for multiple batteries), I'd rather pay $2x-$3x and get the Socket thing that will be usable with future devices that I may own.

Please, what's this "Socket thing" ?

There's a discussion here (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=331664&sid=a7242fd5806b2c8a5f275d1410b62b5c).

There's also a USB battery extender (http://buy.apc.com/commerce/storefronts/etail/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=VC%5Fapcfs%5Fus&category%5Fname=&product%5Fid=PNOTEBX%28APC%5FUS%29&CountryCode=us&StorefrontCode=apcfs&iSource=0&LanguageCode=en) that takes four AAAs, for $8USD.

menajemh

03-10-2005, 04:58 AM

i charge it only once a day, when i go to sleep i plug the imate to the charger and next morning i take it with me when i go to work. i listen mp3 on the way go and back, that is 2 hours aproximatly, also i play games, like gems, flux, bejeweled and brainstorm that require some graphics so the proccesor uses a lot of battery. during the day i make phew phone calls but no so many, but when i use it is great with the bluespoon ax, so bluetooth is on during phone calls. i use more the gprs for msn messenger and serching few web pages but not for more than an hour or two, after all when i come home and put the pocket pc to rest before i go to sleep i check on the battery indicator from sbp pocket pluss that i still have 40% of battery. the jam has a great battery, i think the guys from htc made a mistake saying it has 1200mAh battery, i think as a little more. the battery indicator shows me 6 hours of life when i plugg it off from the charger. i only leave it charging every night just cause i know pocket pcs really need a lot of battery cause of proccessor usage, but happened that i didn't use the mp3 for 2 day and i didn't have to charge the imate for that days and had a lot of battery remaining.
jam is the best pocket pc phone i ever had. i never used with wifi but i think will drain battery very fast, cause i had h4150, h4350 and h6315 and i saw the wifi efects on the battery

journey

03-11-2005, 04:47 PM

Menneisyys

03-11-2005, 04:54 PM

I have an Ipaq 2215 and typically leave it charging while at work. I do not use bluetooth that often. I have looked at WIFI cards, but have not gotten one since I figured the battery life would not sustain extended usage with the WIFI on. If I do not use my 2215 after I leave work, I often find that its dead in the morning as it turns itself on and does not turn off. A larger battery would not help with this, though.

just reset it before switching it off. If that doesn't help, check if you have for example Today plug-ins that keep the device awake after the usual housekeeping wakeup at midnight. It's certainly a misbehaving and/or misconfigured Today plug-in that is causing the problem, if the regular Reset doesn't help.

Kadegboye

03-11-2005, 05:38 PM

Hi Guys,
I use XDA II and I charge it daily. Even with the daily charge, sometimes my battery power goes down below 5%. The only good thing about battery life and data preservation in this set is that one would not lose any data until about 48-72 hrs after one's battery is completely depleted. Battery life is very important to me because by the nature of my job, I may not even have time for a meal, let alone charging a battery. Otherwise and like you all know, this set is a marvellous one.
Kay.

EmporerEJ

03-11-2005, 07:22 PM

My HP6315 Is my mobile media center/remote office telephone connection.

I leave my home office for several hours each week and take it with me.
Other than that, it's in the cradle.

seldomseen

03-11-2005, 08:13 PM

First-time post, here. I'm running an IPAQ 4700, with both standard and extended batteries; the standard never gets below 60% or so, even reading MSR books two+ hours and playing VGA games two hours, and maybe a half-hour WiFi time to check mail. Running SPB desktops and Juni's skins, etc. The thing just doesn't run down!! 8O I lived on solar power for five years, and my batteries needed replacement after about 350 cycles, a year, but those were lead-acid golfcart type. My 3700 is now on short-cycle, and I need to get it to the doctor's :oops: for upgrades. The 4700 is actually my laptop replacement, with 512SD and 1G cf. Great site. Hope I've kept the blah blah to a minimum. :wink:

pnjm

03-13-2005, 07:08 AM

The idea is to have a JUST IN CASE option.

I used to have an NEC Mobile Pro P300 and that had a very short battery life.

It would not last a full day (including evenings, till bedtime) of heavy use even on the second lowest backlight setting and with minimal burden on the multimedia capabilities, and I used to have to worry about conserving battery power and minimising PDA use after about 5 or 6pm. It really "degraded the user experience" with the PDA, since a PDA should ideally be "always on call" whenever and wherever the user wants to use it.

Now I have a HP IPAQ rx3715 with the standard-issue (for this model) removable LiON 1440mAh battery and a backup NiMH battery built-in, and what a difference it makes. I often go 2 days without a charge and plug it in at night on the 2nd day. The machine has never gone below 50% charge on the LiON so I have plenty of buffer and I love it. No more having to worry about battery life on an every day basis. It really is "always on call" for me, as a PDA should be.

The other advantage of long battery life is less wear and tear on the physical contact of the charger.

Otherwise, as is the case with my handphone, after about a year or so of plugging and unplugging the machine on a daily basis 7 days a week, you might find that the contact has worn down somewhat and the machine doesn't initiate charging mode so easily when plugged in. You have to wiggle the plug a bit.

PN