i730 ActiveSync/Battery issues and questions

[murph]

any other i730 owners out here? i've got 2 major gripes with this phone so far.

1) the battery life is AWFUL. all the previews said it would last "about a day". apparently this means 1 business day, 9-5, or 8 hours. i even have Bluetooth turned off to help. and the extended battery is just big and bulky.

2) i've had to re-install Activesync 4 times now. i keep getting USB Device not recognized errors when i dock it. reinstalling AS fixes that is getting old fast.

i really like this phone but the battery life is really bad. another minor gripe is the lack of a FN-Lock key combination to make it easier to type #'s in. you have to press FN before EACH number you try to type in. type a few phone numbers in and this gets old fast.

battery life may be the nail in the coffin for this device. i have 15 days to decide. my other option is to "downgrade" to a Treo 650 and save myself the extra $350.

[Janak Parekh]

1) the battery life is AWFUL. all the previews said it would last "about a day". apparently this means 1 business day, 9-5, or 8 hours. i even have Bluetooth turned off to help. and the extended battery is just big and bulky.
The previous Samsung devices (i600, i700) have also had mediocre battery life with the standard battery. I switched to the extended on both of them to get sustained life throughout the day. Unfortunately 1xRTT or 1xEV-DO seems to take lots of battery life, more than the Samsungs have. :( I haven't gotten an i730, but it seems that the extended battery is mandatory for it too, which is a shame. The xv6600 might be better battery life-wise.

2) i've had to re-install Activesync 4 times now. i keep getting USB Device not recognized errors when i dock it. reinstalling AS fixes that is getting old fast.
Why are you using AS 4, if I may ask? It's primarily designed for WM5 units. AS 3.8 should be the optimal version for you.

battery life may be the nail in the coffin for this device. i have 15 days to decide. my other option is to "downgrade" to a Treo 650 and save myself the extra $350.
Or, as I implied, the XV6600. While the Treo has a more attractive form factor, both the XV6600 and the i730 have EVDO, which I really want.

--janak

[murph]

I haven't gotten an i730, but it seems that the extended battery is mandatory for it too, which is a shame.
yes it. the extended is pretty bulky too. call me crazy, but for a $600 phone, i want more than 8 hours of use with the regular battery.

i've had to re-install Activesync 4 times now. i keep getting USB Device not recognized errors when i dock it. reinstalling AS fixes that is getting old fast.
sorry, i wasn't clear enough. i am using AS 3.8. i had to reinstall it 4 times now.

[Janak Parekh]

yes it. the extended is pretty bulky too. call me crazy, but for a $600 phone, i want more than 8 hours of use with the regular battery.
Well, the problem is that the i730 is thicker than the i700 was. The extended battery on the i700 was quite comfortable. That said, give it a try and see how it fares in your pocket?

It really depends on your usage, of course. I presume some people dock the unit while at work and let it charge. I personally prefer a device that can run for at least 18 hours with normal use. One other footnote: give it a few charge cycles. Most Li-Ion batteries don't hit their peak capacity until after about 5-10 charge cycles.

sorry, i wasn't clear enough. i am using AS 3.8. i had to reinstall it 4 times now.
Sorry, my bad, I misread the message. Do you have another machine to try this on to isolate whether it's the unit or the computer? I know the previous Samsung cradles were a bit funky, so maybe that is part of the problem too.

--janak

[murph]

The extended battery on the i700 was quite comfortable. That said, give it a try and see how it fares in your pocket?

It really depends on your usage, of course. I presume some people dock the unit while at work and let it charge. I personally prefer a device that can run for at least 18 hours with normal use. One other footnote: give it a few charge cycles. Most Li-Ion batteries don't hit their peak capacity until after about 5-10 charge cycles.
i wish i could say the same about the i700 extended. it's just a bulky device with the extended on there. it doesn't feel right in my hand anymore, and it's bad in the pocket too. IMHO of course.

18 hours sounds about right to me. i used to have an XDA and the battery was fine. with light usage, you could get 2 days out of it. but even with heavy usage, you could get 18+ hours and get through the whole day. having to charge every night doesn't bother me. that being said, as a former XDA user i really like most everything else about this device.

that is good to hear about Li-Ion batteries. i have definetly noticed a difference already. the first 1-2 cycles couldn't have been more than 4-5 hours. SPB Pocket Plus has the battery life estimation at 27 mins!! LOL!

i spoke with one of my Treo 650 users today. he said with light usage yesterday (b/c of holiday) he was at 80% this morning. i would kill for the i730 to pull this off.

i am taking the cradle to work with me and will try AS 3.8 on a PC there.

[murph]

i meant to add...

my biggest pet peeve with the i730 (beside the battery of course), is the lack of some kind of FN LOCK function to assist with typing numbers on the keyboard.

the i730 does this when you activate the phone app and slide open the keyboard. great.

BUT...typing a phone number into contacts, emails, etc. requires 20 button presses as you must hit FN before EACH number. i find it almost easier to whip out the stylus.

if i am missing something and anyone can show me how to do this, please enlighten me :)

[murph]

just an update...things are better.

after about 7-8 discharge/recharges i am getting about 15 hours of battery life. much better, although i am hoping the battery still has a little bit more room to grow. this is with moderate use - which includes all my email accounts checking for messages every 15 mins.

and my activesync issue seems to have gone away. i had no problems on another PC and my laptop has stopped giving me issues. i suspect if anything it is my laptop's USB controller with the issues

now i can really start to enjoy this phone. EVDO (when available) is fast - 200/300 kbps. coverage is a little spotty in my Queens apt., but pretty good in NYC. 1x isn't too bad either about 100 kbps - a huge improvement for me over TMobile GPRS.

DVD > Divx played in BetaPlayer looks awesome on the i730.

the keyboard could be a little better. the number key/FN issue is a pain in the rear, and the DEL and/or ENTER keys should be bigger. but all in all i like the keyboard and find it very useful.

i think i am keeping the i730 and will cross my fingers that Samsung/Verizon come out with a WM5 upgrade for it.

[Janak Parekh]

i think i am keeping the i730 and will cross my fingers that Samsung/Verizon come out with a WM5 upgrade for it.
Good to hear. :way to go: I'm tempted to get an i730, but I think I'll wait to hear if they release a WM5 update. The Fn-Lock thing sounds annoying -- I hope someone releases a software solution (which sounds plausible, no?).

--janak

[stypejagon20s]

i use the extended battery heavily woth evdo and aim on constantly and the battery dont last long enough but i am on it aall day. tje usb problem is probably the root contoller drivers are old or not very compatible . otherwise i am very happy with what tjis phone does. i hold down FN while typing longer numbers. or just use the stylus.

[q-live]

did someone say something about the device when you put in vibrate mode????? does it vibrate hard enough??? also for the problem with NO wi fi and phone at the same time that there suppose to be a fix out for that so u may wanna keep a look out.

[stypejagon20s]

did someone say something about the device when you put in vibrate mode????? does it vibrate hard enough??? also for the problem with NO wi fi and phone at the same time that there suppose to be a fix out for that so u may wanna keep a look out.

mine vibrates stronger then my gf toys lol

[q-live]

thats good. just hope they relase the camera version at least by next month and hurry up and make a battery that can last a little longer than the current ones.

[scottb]

[snip...]
BUT...typing a phone number into contacts, emails, etc. requires 20 button presses as you must hit FN before EACH number. i find it almost easier to whip out the stylus.

if i am missing something and anyone can show me how to do this, please enlighten me :)

I know the keyboard is a little small for this but you can hold the FN key while you type the numbers so you won't have to press and release FN every time.

[stypejagon20s]

lol i hold dwn the Fn key too. my battery lasts me all day now. it tells me that the battery is low at like 40% . but if you ignore it, it will still last for hours after that.

[CoreyJF]

The slim battery is not great, but I get pretty good use out of the extended battery. The fact that they are easily swappable and you can charge them simultaneously has made battery life a non issue for me.