Do You Turn your Smartphone Off?

[Jason Dunn]

I was curious about something about Smartphone users - do you turn your phone off? I know that I do. When I'm at home, I routinely turn off my E200 in order to save power. It's rather pathetic that my Dell Axim X30, a PDA, can last several weeks in standby mode, while my E200 can only last for a couple of days. Sure, the E200 has a radio turned on, but it's a phone and should last a long time in standby mode. Now that I have the C500, I'll be curious to see what the battery life is like.

[dollardr]

My battery life on my Samsung i600 is pretty poor. This is compounded by a wireless e-mail solution we are testing in which the phone polls for new messages from our corporate e-mail system.

We are evaluating different devices for our VP's and the Treo far exceeds the Samsung in battery life when running the same application. I can't see our executives being able to deal with battery management issues.

I can barely get through the day with the standard battery and the extended battery adds to much weight and bulk to fit in my suit pocket comfortably.

[aristoBrat]

When I'm at home, I my e100 sit in its cradle, which keeps it charged.

I take it out of the cradle when I leave for work (around 7sh AM), and I've never run out of battery before I've gotten back home for the day (even on late nights).

So no, I don't turn it off. :)

[Jerry Raia]

My i600 is always on and in the cradle when I am home.

[Mike Temporale]

I was just thinking about posting a question on this. My habits have recently changed, and I was wondering what everyone else is doing.

For the longest time, I left my phone on 24/7. I would charge it whenever it was needed using a Sync-N-Charge cable and my laptop. However, the last couple weeks I have noticed some weird behavior, and as such I'm now turning it off at night. I've found that after trying unsuccessfully to connect and download my email, the phone will not allow me to dial out, and will not receive incoming messages or calls. It's almost like it's trapped in data mode, and won't switch off. :evil: In an attempt to avoid any more missed calls, I now cycle the phone at night. I'm not concerned about battery life as much as I'm concerned about the missed calls.

Once I get my paws on one of these new phones, it's back to being left on 24/7. 8)

[aristoBrat]

I wish I could turn my cell phone off at night, but it's my main phone, and where we work, we have to be "available" 24x7. :roll:

[Kris Kumar]

My MPx200 runs 24x7. And I charge it every two days. I recycle it only when it starts misbehaving or an app freezes the phone, which is once every week or so.

When the phone was new I had the email sync running every 15 mins. But now its down every 2 hours. Because of that the phone is stable (no hangs in data mode) and also longer battery life.

Otherwise pretty impressed with the battery life, compared to my first Smartphone, the developer kit phone Red-E.

But it is no-where near the SE T68i that I own. :-(

[dollardr]

Mike,

I seem to be having a similar problem with my phone. Sometimes after a data synch, I can't make calls. Two arrows appear over the signal strength meter like I am still connected with a data connection. If I press the end key the areas go away and I can make calls.

I think I can still receive calls.

[Mike Temporale]

I seem to be having a similar problem with my phone. Sometimes after a data synch, I can't make calls. Two arrows appear over the signal strength meter like I am still connected with a data connection. If I press the end key the areas go away and I can make calls.

When I'm done, I press and hold the end key. This should end all the connections and lock the handset. I know it locks the handset, but it doesn't appear to be killing the connections. :( I'll play with it again tonight. Hopefully my luck will change. :lol:

[Kris Kumar]

When I'm done, I press and hold the end key. This should end all the connections and lock the handset. I know it locks the handset, but it doesn't appear to be killing the connections. :( I'll play with it again tonight. Hopefully my luck will change. :lol:

By Press And Hold End Key do you mean push the End key and hold it down without releasing it?

When you Press-and-Hold-Down the End/Hangup key the phone would get locked without ending the data sessions. I have used this feature many a times to my advantage to start the mail sync and lock up the phone while the data download is taking place. This way I can check the updated mails the moment I get some free time.

To end the data sessions and lock the keypad.
1. The End button must be pressed once to end the sessions.
2. Then again Pressed and Held down to lock the keypad.
Combining the two doesn't end the data sessions.


I have had problems sometimes with the phone not being able to dial a number. When I am in an area with spotty coverage and the phone is getting signal on an on and off basis. And in the meantime if the phone tries to sync email and then terminates because of weak signal, the phone may end up in a state that you described - cannot dial a number.

[Mike Temporale]

By Press And Hold End Key do you mean push the End key and hold it down without releasing it?

When you Press-and-Hold-Down the End/Hangup key the phone would get locked without ending the data sessions. I have used this feature many a times to my advantage to start the mail sync and lock up the phone while the data download is taking place. This way I can check the updated mails the moment I get some free time.

To end the data sessions and lock the keypad.
1. The End button must be pressed once to end the sessions.
2. Then again Pressed and Held down to lock the keypad.
Combining the two doesn't end the data sessions.

Oh, I thought by pressing and holding it, it would kill and lock the phone in one quick motion. I'll have to watch this.

I have had problems sometimes with the phone not being able to dial a number. When I am in an area with spotty coverage and the phone is getting signal on an on and off basis. And in the meantime if the phone tries to sync email and then terminates because of weak signal, the phone may end up in a state that you described - cannot dial a number.

Ya, it's not a coverage thing. I can sit in one place, reboot the phone and everything will be fine again. I did this test on Monday while I was waiting for my wife to meet me for lunch. :D

[Kris Kumar]

I have had problems sometimes with the phone not being able to dial a number. When I am in an area with spotty coverage and the phone is getting signal on an on and off basis. And in the meantime if the phone tries to sync email and then terminates because of weak signal, the phone may end up in a state that you described - cannot dial a number.

Ya, it's not a coverage thing. I can sit in one place, reboot the phone and everything will be fine again. I did this test on Monday while I was waiting for my wife to meet me for lunch. :D

Sorry I was a little lazy with my earlier post, and didn't explain things well. :-)

I find that when the phone carries out data download under a flaky coverage. It somehow corrupts the phone's radio stack. And even when I get back into a proper coverage the phone is unable to connect/dial till it is rebooted.

[kiwi]

Yeah,

the need to put my old MPX200 into charge overnight got too much for me.. I ended up selling it and my ipaq and changing over to a P900 last December. The change has worked for the best. The device is great, the OS snappy and fast. Some nice applications are available.
More importantly, the battery life is superb (several days in standby).

Its a great combination of a PocketPC type device and a phone. I have not really kept up to date with the smartphones, but would be interested in heading back to using one if there was something similar to the SE P900.

cheers

B

[Mike Temporale]

would be interested in heading back to using one if there was something similar to the SE P900.

Well, the SE P900 is more of a PDA Phone than a Smartphone. If you're looking for a device like that, I would suggest that you take a look at the new HTC Blue-Angle with the slide out keyboard. They are due out soon, I think.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32250

[nikjones]

I find that when the phone carries out data download under a flaky coverage. It somehow corrupts the phone's radio stack. And even when I get back into a proper coverage the phone is unable to connect/dial till it is rebooted.

Keeping the home (house icon) key pressed calls up an option to disconnect GPRS. Is this what you are after?

Otherwise pretty impressed with the battery life, compared to my first Smartphone, the developer kit phone Red-E.

But it is no-where near the SE T68i that I own.

My previous phone, Nokia 6310i, had the best battery I've ever come across, but the C500 is so much more capable. It's a worthwhile trade-off!

I used to have a SE P800. Nice phone, and the ability to add a spreadsheet was a major bonus, but too worried about scratching the screen. If I added a case I might've well have just carried my Palm. I prefer non touchscreen smartphones.

Nik