Mobile-Review Reviews the Asus A636 and its Insane Battery Life

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobile-review.com/pda/review/asus-a636-en.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.mobile-review.com/pda/re...s-a636-en.shtml</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The Li-Ion battery is capacious of 1300 mAh. That's not the highest figure among the PDA, it's higher than average. The manufacturer claimed 44 hours of offline work. We haven't believed in this statement, until we checked it. In the read mode (auto scrolling in Haali Reader, the lowest backlight level and the lowest clock rate) the A636 lasted for 35 hours 50 minutes on a single charge. The MP3 playback from the memory card with the screen of drained the device completely out within 23 hours 24 minutes. Under the maximum load Asus A636 worked for 4 hours 10 minutes. In GPS navigation mode with 50% backlight level the device was good for 7 hours 10 minutes. Bravo Asus! Hats off! The PDA outpaced all previous records. And don't forget that the A636 is equipped with Intel XScale processor and not the efficient TI, and the battery capacity is far from 3600 mAh. We suppose, this record will be kept for a long time, this model should become the standard to access offline work. Other manufacturers should think about power consumption optimization for Intel XScale processor."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20051127-A636MobileReview.jpg" /><br /><br />Darius <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44344">mentioned last week</a> that the A636 -- their newest Pocket PC, with GPS -- was supposed to ship this week, and that Asus has rated the device as having 44 hours of battery life. 8O A number of you were rightfully skeptical on that note. Well, looks like the specification is not completely off. Mobile-Review gives the device one of its usual thorough run-throughs, and was blown away by the battery life. So... what form of magic did Asus sprinkle on the device to accomplish these amazing results?

[crussader]

whoaaaa 8O

I'm interested in which technology did the use to accomplish this...

[KTamas]

I thought that 44 hours is just a commercial trick 8O
I might consider buying it...if Asus would have something called "support" (You know, repair service, ROM updates etc...Somehow Asus forgets it when it comes to mobile devices). Too bad...

[stevelam]

:shocked!: :jawdrop: *Shocked Voice* How is that even possible?

[pocketdrummer]

Alright guys, don't be alarmed. This isn't some break through in technology, its a tried and true method that's been used for thousands of years...

They sold their soul to the devil. :evil:

[stevelam]

Alright guys, don't be alarmed. This isn't some break through in technology, its a tried and true method that's been used for thousands of years...

They sold their soul to the devil. :evil:

Typical I should have known, or guessed.

[rob_ocelot]

I thought that 44 hours is just a commercial trick 8O

In a way it still is. It's akin to saying the Toshiba e800 has a '72 hour battery' because thats how long it will last, even in suspend mode. :-)

If you look at the medium and heavy use numbers the battery life is roughly double what the average PPC can do now -- that in itself shows that Asus did something other than misrepresent the battery life.

Off the top of my head, here's a few things that would give the kind of battery life boost -- it's most likely isn't a single factor but a few in combination that are contributing:

1) WM 5, so no juice needed to keep the RAM powered in standby
2) QVGA screen (requires a lot less power)
3) Possibly a new backlight (white LED?)
4) New Battery technology.

The latest thing for Li-ion batteries was a new process that increased the effective electrode surface area with a gain of 2-4x. Another possibility is that they went with a battery that has an overal lower internal resistance -- something which would not necessarily change the reported mAh rating of the battery. Mugen batteries will give you more time per mAh than an OEM stock battery because of this -- so a straight comparison of the mAh rating isn't necessarily a good one. What will matter in the end are the numbers from tests.

If it's 3) and 4) that are responsible for the battery life increase, you'd think that Asus would be touting that in it's press releases.

[huangzhinong]

Nobody can deny ASUS did a great job. My X30 can't survive even 1 h at the maximal usage.

[Jonathon Watkins]

:rock on dude!: Lets hope Asus liscence whatever this is to the other OEMs. I'm not holding my breath though.......

[Silver5]

Until I read the part about the battery I was going to suggest that they include a letter to buyers that apologizes for the device's looks. This kind of battery life can make it worth overlooking.

[Patrick Y.]

1) WM 5, so no juice needed to keep the RAM powered in standby


This is wrong. WM 5 still need to power the RAM all the time. While it doesn't store data in RAM, power is required to keep the device in the same status when powered on. (running program, alarm, etc.)

Anyway, this device awsome!!

[rob_ocelot]

1) WM 5, so no juice needed to keep the RAM powered in standby


This is wrong. WM 5 still need to power the RAM all the time. While it doesn't store data in RAM, power is required to keep the device in the same status when powered on. (running program, alarm, etc.)

Anyway, this device awsome!!

Oops, I should have said 'less juice'. :oops:

[pocketpcadmirer]

Nobody can deny ASUS did a great job. My X30 can't survive even 1 h at the maximal usage.

Hey is your battery defective or what..thats too low..1h..r u kidding me ??

Sunny :mrgreen:

[Faenad]

Until I read the part about the battery I was going to suggest that they include a letter to buyers that apologizes for the device's looks.


Isn't it this device who won a design award in Asia some months ago?
I find it quite Ok, sure it's far from being the better looking PPC on the market but when you compare it to the other GPS PPC like the Acer N35 or the Navman 570 it's good.

I hope such progress in battery life will be seen in other brands. Great job Asus!