Battery only 5 hours? [Archive]

Iluviphone

03-21-2007, 02:49 AM

wot_fan

03-21-2007, 09:25 AM

Does that mean it will only stay on for 5hours at a time?I guess that depends on what you mean by "stay on." Like any phone, when you are actually using it (vs having it in stand-by) it will use a lot more power. I am sure the battery will last more than a day in stand-by mode.

The screen and radios (cell and wifi) consume a significant amount of power. Since listening to music doesn't require the screen to be on (at least most of the time) the battery will last significantly longer than when surfing or talking. Depending on how you use the phone, you may have to plan on charging it during the day (this is true of most smart phones). I think most users will be able to make it through the day though.

This is the main reason I am not upset at the lack of 3G. If the iPhone lives up to the battery specs posted on Apple's site, it will meet my needs with a little to spare. The addition of 3G would have reduced the battery life and probably dropped it below the acceptable range.

Lob

03-21-2007, 12:08 PM

The POS that Sprint/nextel gave me says it only has 3.5 hours of talk time. I think 5 hours is pretty good!

wot_fan

03-21-2007, 12:23 PM

The POS that Sprint/nextel gave me says it only has 3.5 hours of talk time. I think 5 hours is pretty good!For a smart phone, I agree. I just did a quick check and the found the following:

Blackberry Pearl 8100: up to 3.5 hours of talk time.
LG Prada: up to 3 hours of talk time.
Qtek 9100 (my phone): up to 4 hours of talk time.
Nokia N80: up to 3 hours of talk time.

More is always better, but I can live with 5 hours :smile:.

Nieriel

03-22-2007, 04:21 PM

If nothing else, you can do what I plan on doing. Buy one of those emergency chargers! They cost around 1-3 dollars and you hook one of those lil square batteries in it. It's for ipods, but won't the iPhone have the same size usb slot dealie? you can just stow the battery and charger (they're slightly clunky) in your purse, briefcase, backpack whatever, and charge when it's getting real low.

one product was several different ipod chargers in one, including using the square battery, and they said an ipod could run for 18 hours on that type of a battery.

Titus Agrelius

03-22-2007, 04:50 PM

Five hours is good, a lot better than my current phone which btw is NOT smart! Plus if you need more than five hours, well thats what accessories are for, say hello to the car charger, the office charger or the pocket batter power boost charger thing. Anyway, since it looks like it powers when it docks then I think things will be fine to have a dock at home and perhaps one at the workplace. However, if we are already accustomed to living off of 3 hours of talk time... I think we will all manage very nicely.

wd25

03-22-2007, 08:40 PM

its 5 hours of talk time what about listening to music, how long then?

wot_fan

03-22-2007, 09:53 PM

its 5 hours of talk time what about listening to music, how long then?According to Apple's site (http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/specs.html), the iPhone will get up to 16 hours of audio playback.

wjp09

03-24-2007, 01:11 PM

Lob

03-24-2007, 05:01 PM

5 hours of talk time is great. Figure School/classes take place over roughly 6 hour period of time. So Charge while you sleep and put it on when you get home. Also buy a car charger. Charge it whenever you are driving around.

Also, there is Solio (http://www.pocketpicks.co.uk/latest/index.php/2006/10/30/solio-ipod-charger/) which is a solar charger for your iPod. I hope it works for the iPhone. Would be nice to be on the beach charging it huh?

RyanFavre

03-24-2007, 07:36 PM

5 hours of actual talk time is pretty good. Tough to talk for 5 hours straight on any cell phone without having to charge it.

wjp09

03-24-2007, 07:55 PM

I would NEVER EVER take my iphone to the beach :) too much sand to scratch and water to destroy and Seaguls to poop on.

Parkerlee14

03-25-2007, 11:28 AM

i think 5 hours is fine considering most phones dont even smart or not dont last that long

wjp09

03-25-2007, 07:11 PM

It has 16 hours I believe of SONG playback time.

superninjahype

03-26-2007, 01:51 AM

On the apple.com it says in the tech specs that it only has 5 hours of talk/browse time? Does that mean it will only stay on for 5hours at a time? It did say it had 16 hours of music listening though. I'm just hoping it can make it through a day...
that will be sad if this phone can do all these great thing but no battery to support it, i hope it will last a long time

ebrunn

03-26-2007, 02:24 AM

wjp09

03-26-2007, 07:29 AM

^ talk time is the time you are actually TALKING not having the phone on.

Kabeyun

04-18-2007, 03:34 PM

tucogovinda

04-18-2007, 04:24 PM

I hate to feed the battery life panic, but I haven't heard or read anything about being able to turn off the bluetooth radio. It'd be nice. I'd certainly not be using it that frequently, and it'd save the juice for other needs.

-K

I wouldn't panic about this at all. According to Macworld:

http://www.macworld.com/2007/01/firstlooks/iphonefl/index.php
And for travelers, there’s a selection in the iPhone’s settings called Airplane Mode. Activating it turns off all the radios inside the iPhone (cellular, Bluetooth, and WiFi), making it safe to use the iPod and PDA features while in flight.

Seems logical that if I can turn off all wireless, I can turn off some wireless. Thoughts?

Kabeyun

04-18-2007, 04:47 PM

I wouldn't panic about this at all. According to Macworld:
http://www.macworld.com/2007/01/firstlooks/iphonefl/index.php
Thanks. The MacWorld article you referenced doesn't address the battery life at all, but it did make an interesting read back in January.

Much of the concern about the battery (including being unable to replace it) has evolved since that issue of MacWorld was published. Personally, I'm not panicking at all and I think that the concern will prove to be a bit overblown. We'll see.

Seems logical that if I can turn off all wireless, I can turn off some wireless. Thoughts?
I don't think that quite follows. I can separately turn off BT on my Treo, but that's because there's a Bluetooth application whose interface allows me to. Can't be done without the right UI or the right switch. Since GSM and BT are separate radios, since BT can be independently disabled on other Apple computers, and since Apple & everyone else knows that battery power on a mobile device is precious, I'd hope that they'd make it that way. No evidence either way yet.

btw, weldome to the forums. :smile:

-K

tucogovinda

04-18-2007, 08:29 PM

Kabeyun,

Thanks for the welcome. I'm a long-time Apple fanatic.... I haven't been as excited about any product as I am about iPhone in a very long time. This forum looks like the perfect place to pass the time until its release. :2cool:

Back to the point: you're correct the Macworld article doesn't address battery life. My point was more to point out the ability to turn off Bluetooth via "airplane mode." My hope is the existence of this "all-or-nothing" setting represents just one of many energy-saving settings on iPhone, such as the ability to turn off specific wireless capabilities like Bluetooth.

The bigger point here is that, to my knowledge, nobody has seen the Settings menu on the iPhone. Just as a lot was learned from the AppleTV Settings menu, I'm guessing we'll learn a lot about the iPhone from its settings menu.

To the specific issue of battery life, the truth is, nobody will know anything about real-life performance until iPhone is out in the wild. Hopefully the fine-tuning controls are there to influence the battery life.

:smile:

ahactor

04-18-2007, 09:31 PM

Well, do those figures take into account the sensors? The iPhone has ambient light sensors in it that will turn the screen bright-ness up and down, or turn the screen off, and that will save A LOT of power in my opinion. So, that makes the power even more efficient.

Source: http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/sensors.html (http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/sensors.html)

robhon

04-18-2007, 09:31 PM

Warning: The following is TOTAL speculation and has no basis other that my own fleeting fantasy....

You'd think, relative to battery life, that Apple would create a settings page somewhat like the sytem preferences on the normal OSX. There's the old familiar "energy saver" icon. That's where you'd determine if you need all radios on full blast because you're next to an outlet at your desk, or if you're out in the desert for a week and need to spare your battery for that last desperate emergency call for water. And hopefully there are other familiar items like "international." My wife is Chinese and prefers her own language. (Ever tried to install Chinese on a Treo? It's a nightmare.) The system preferences are also where you'd set your screen with a picture of your cute kid strangling the neighbor's cat, etc. (Ah, look at him, he's just so full of energy.) ....Lots of WAY cool stuff in the familiar old preferences. :smile:

kestrelz

04-18-2007, 10:48 PM

Also, there is Solio (http://www.pocketpicks.co.uk/latest/index.php/2006/10/30/solio-ipod-charger/) which is a solar charger for your iPod. I hope it works for the iPhone. Would be nice to be on the beach charging it huh?

Hi, I never heard of a solar charger. It wouldn't be much use for me since I start work before daylight and get off after dark. It's nice to know it exists,
Thanks :smile:
Kestrelz

botnick

04-19-2007, 12:13 AM

5 hours of talk time is great. Figure School/classes take place over roughly 6 hour period of time. So Charge while you sleep and put it on when you get home. Also buy a car charger. Charge it whenever you are driving around.
Five hours is good. Besides it is just a matter of time before someone produces a super battery for it just like they keep doing for the Treos.

Kabeyun

04-19-2007, 08:45 AM

Five hours is good. Besides it is just a matter of time before someone produces a super battery for it just like they keep doing for the Treos.

Not going to happen, at least any time soon. The iPhone battery is sealed in the device and not changeable by the owner. Treos, on the other hand, have a removable door to the battery compartment and the battery can be taken out.

-K