Please stop selling us features or bigger screens or faster CPU's until you've made a phone that isn't rendered unusable by virtue of a flat battery whenever you use any of its glorious features.
Dear consumers,
Stop buying hardware that has exactly the same flaws time and time again because it has a few new gimmicks.
Although I may offhandedly complain about my smartphone's battery life, it's really not that bad if I have to charge it every night and no other time. Sure, there are occasions where that sucks (odd travel schedule, lost/forgotten charge cable, or times of intensive use like turn-by-turn navigation), but for 99% of the year it's not an issue.
The issue in this article is different and more serious: the phone gets less power from its charger than it uses. This really has nothing to do with battery life.
You can buy extended life batteries for most phones, which double the life of the battery. They come with a replacement cover; the normal battery cover can't be used, because the batteries are about twice as thick and stick out of the phone.
It makes the phone thicker, but that's a price worth paying. I have one in my HTC Desire Z, and I had one in my G1 before that. They're surprisingly cheap. On the scale of about $15. I had three of them for my G1, so I had no problems going camping for a week, and not having access to a charger.
I bought a cheap Samsung dumbphone for this very reason--I was actually missing important calls (a job interview invitation was what tore it) because my smartphone battery couldn't handle a day of moderate use.
Now, I keep my smartphone in my pocket for internet use (like a little computer) but for calls, I use my little Samsung. It lasts about a fortnight with daily use of up to an hour on calls before I have to charge it.
i don't think there is going to be a single solution.
* the early usb portable hard disks i got often had a triple ended usb cable; one end for hard disk, one end for data connection and an extra end to draw extra power for the hard disk. could this be done for charging phones?
* offline maps would reduce the power required for navigation as sucking down data on 3g is power intensive. you can always turn off 3g and use slower 2g for lower power consumtion. perhaps even an option that if they are using voice to turn off the screen completely.
* somehow convince the manufacturers that many don't want a superslim phone. if it's twice as thick with twice or more the battery life then i am really interested! even if it's only as an extra option then a certain amount of people will pay.
* removable batteries. designing for removable batteries makes models bigger and bulkier but they are more useful when you can get and carry spare batteries.
* some form of standard batteries that persisted between makes and models so that people could invest in extra batteries and know that they will work with the next generation?
in 94 i could get a week from a psion pda with 2 aa batteries with no effort getting 40 hours of use.
in 04 i could get 2-3 days from a symbian device pushing it to it's limits.
in 09 i could drain an iphone 3g to zero in about 2 hours.
it just seems we are going in the wrong direction.
This article seems to refer to the CDMA version of the Galaxy Nexus, which uses lots more power than the international version due to the power-hungry 4G chipset. So it might be possible that those issues don't apply to the international version of the Galaxy Nexus.
Reminds me of an old comic: A gas station attendant is filling up a 70s-era gas-guzzler; he yells to the driver: "Better shut off the engine! She's gaining on us!"
(I've spent the last 10 minutes searching google images and the New Yorker cartoon bank for this, but can't find it anywhere – does it ring a bell with anyone?)
I must have a magic GNex, or the internal battery meter is wrong. Mine gains power while using navigation, with 4G, on my no-brand 1A car charger. Not much, and certainly much slower than when NOT doing all that.
I have the same experience; something doesn't add up about this article. My Verizon Galaxy Nexus will charge (albeit slowly) as long as I'm using a charger that supports the USB dedicated charging specification (One example is the Palm Vehicle Charger you can grab from sellers at Amazon).
I can run the screen at full brightness, 4G and all other radios firing, using Navigation while playing music streamed over 4G onto Bluetooth, and it still charges. I guess the CPU probably isn't pegged at 100% in my scenario but how often does that happen realistically?
Ouch. With tablets and phones being so ludicrously powered these days, I wish there was a dedicated charging standard (as opposed to hijacking a primarily data-transmission standard) that supported higher power draws.
It's pretty awful carrying around power bricks for portable hard drives, even though your laptop can easily supply the load if needed. Ditto phones and tablets.
And maybe we can all stop using cigarette lighters as DC sources and move to something a little more sophisticated.
I thought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Charging_ports was the plan for making usb charging aware. It looks more like all of the radios on at once is just more draw than even USB in charging mode can provide. Or do you mean we get another standard that provides even more power?
I'll argue that our phones need to draw less power in their worst case modes personally.
Why do we need a "more sophisticated" source of DC power? What would that even look like? 12VDC is 12VDC. Are current 120VAC (or whatever your mains voltage) similarly unsophisticated?
Besides, with an install base that numbers in the hundreds of millions and most of which have well over a decade of useful life.
I think the problem is that no one is going to step forward to provide the open standard for high power/current DC power transmission for these devices. USB is amazingly ubiquitous, as is DC power in cars via the cigarette lighter adapters.
Its a lot of momentum to fight against; the solution is going to need to be extremely compelling to compete against the existing USB/vehicle DC power solutions.
IEC 62684, Interoperability specifications of common external power supply (EPS) for use with data-enabled mobile telephones, is an international standard - and is basically micro USB. Even Apple is supporting it.
Some quick looking doesn't show any details of the max power rating unless you buy a copy of the spec for 45 Swiss francs.
I have the european Galaxy Nexus and the battery consumption is disastrous. We are lucky that Ice Cream Sandwich provides somewhat detailed battery usage logging. Thanks to it, the native Facebook app was the first thing I deleted, because it was running battery-expensive background services even with all notifications turned off. Also what's up with the horribly jittery scrolling in some Android apps, one of them being the native Google Reader? I'm coming from iPhone 3GS and I never had issues with battery nor scrolling. That said, Galaxy Nexus is still better.
He never tested the power draw when using the three golden contacts on the side of the phone - the contacts designed for this kind of situation when the phone is docked in a car mount. He says:
"I'd love to test the side charging pins but I don't know the pinout or if it needs to communicate to draw full power."
I have a nexus one that while charging in the car and using navigation it would overheat and would not keep up either. Turned out to be a faulty battery and was just fine with any other battery.
I have not had much chance to test this on my GSM galaxy nexus but I have not noticed this problem so far.
I'll probably get down voted for saying this but that's one of the reasons I'm jumping off the Android ship this year, and, no, I'm no aApple fanboy.
I've had the original Nexus, Nexus One, Nexus S and wanted to buy the G Nexus but if google/samsung are willing to put a device that can't function under normal operating environment, then they shouldn't have done at it all.
See, with the iPhone (4S), I know Apple would never put out a device like this. It might not have things like a notification LED that blinks when u have a message, but the thing is bullet proof -- it just works.
The mentality is certainly different. I want a finished product, and not be a beta tester for a company.
It's no accident Apple sticks to their time-proven design: small 3.5" screen, no LTE, etc.
And as I get more busy with my life (business, etc), I could careless about the "openness" of the Android platform--it's not like I'll be compiling ROMs all day.
I just want something that works and won't let me down in the 11th hour and with Apple I know that won't happen.
Well, i don't think there is much of a difference between an iPhone and the Googlephones i had. It's round about one day of usage for both. You can get more days with less usage and turning off stuff, for sure, but ever since Apple and Google entered the market i've not seen a substantial difference in battery life.
I am wondering which manufacturer will be the first to deliver a decent smartphone that works for one week, that'd probable one of the best selling smartphones ever sold..
Using Navigon in 3D without a charging cable, the iPhone 4s will last only about 1 hour on a full charge (the power drain is extraordinary). With the cable plugged into the car, I can navigate indefinitely. If I start out with a drained battery, I can plug it in the car for Navigon, and when I arrive at the destination, the battery is always fully charged (for trips > 1hr).
Depending on the charger really. My car charger for example also couldn't keep up with the 3GS's power draw when using Navigon - even when it was connected to the charger, the battery was losing power by ~5% per hour.
[+] [-] andybak|14 years ago|reply
Please stop selling us features or bigger screens or faster CPU's until you've made a phone that isn't rendered unusable by virtue of a flat battery whenever you use any of its glorious features.
Dear consumers,
Stop buying hardware that has exactly the same flaws time and time again because it has a few new gimmicks.
[+] [-] baddox|14 years ago|reply
The issue in this article is different and more serious: the phone gets less power from its charger than it uses. This really has nothing to do with battery life.
[+] [-] mike-cardwell|14 years ago|reply
It makes the phone thicker, but that's a price worth paying. I have one in my HTC Desire Z, and I had one in my G1 before that. They're surprisingly cheap. On the scale of about $15. I had three of them for my G1, so I had no problems going camping for a week, and not having access to a charger.
[+] [-] andyking|14 years ago|reply
Now, I keep my smartphone in my pocket for internet use (like a little computer) but for calls, I use my little Samsung. It lasts about a fortnight with daily use of up to an hour on calls before I have to charge it.
[+] [-] shimon_e|14 years ago|reply
Guess some of the Chinese iPhone copycats using Android are following this model to some extent.
[+] [-] moylan|14 years ago|reply
* the early usb portable hard disks i got often had a triple ended usb cable; one end for hard disk, one end for data connection and an extra end to draw extra power for the hard disk. could this be done for charging phones?
* offline maps would reduce the power required for navigation as sucking down data on 3g is power intensive. you can always turn off 3g and use slower 2g for lower power consumtion. perhaps even an option that if they are using voice to turn off the screen completely.
* somehow convince the manufacturers that many don't want a superslim phone. if it's twice as thick with twice or more the battery life then i am really interested! even if it's only as an extra option then a certain amount of people will pay.
* removable batteries. designing for removable batteries makes models bigger and bulkier but they are more useful when you can get and carry spare batteries.
* some form of standard batteries that persisted between makes and models so that people could invest in extra batteries and know that they will work with the next generation?
in 94 i could get a week from a psion pda with 2 aa batteries with no effort getting 40 hours of use.
in 04 i could get 2-3 days from a symbian device pushing it to it's limits.
in 09 i could drain an iphone 3g to zero in about 2 hours.
it just seems we are going in the wrong direction.
[+] [-] gst|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] justincormack|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aaronharnly|14 years ago|reply
(I've spent the last 10 minutes searching google images and the New Yorker cartoon bank for this, but can't find it anywhere – does it ring a bell with anyone?)
[+] [-] michaelcampbell|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] monitron|14 years ago|reply
I can run the screen at full brightness, 4G and all other radios firing, using Navigation while playing music streamed over 4G onto Bluetooth, and it still charges. I guess the CPU probably isn't pegged at 100% in my scenario but how often does that happen realistically?
[+] [-] resnamen|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] potatolicious|14 years ago|reply
It's pretty awful carrying around power bricks for portable hard drives, even though your laptop can easily supply the load if needed. Ditto phones and tablets.
And maybe we can all stop using cigarette lighters as DC sources and move to something a little more sophisticated.
[+] [-] mitchty|14 years ago|reply
I'll argue that our phones need to draw less power in their worst case modes personally.
[+] [-] fr0sty|14 years ago|reply
Besides, with an install base that numbers in the hundreds of millions and most of which have well over a decade of useful life.
[+] [-] toomuchtodo|14 years ago|reply
Its a lot of momentum to fight against; the solution is going to need to be extremely compelling to compete against the existing USB/vehicle DC power solutions.
[+] [-] cjdavis|14 years ago|reply
Some quick looking doesn't show any details of the max power rating unless you buy a copy of the spec for 45 Swiss francs.
[+] [-] ypcx|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tomflack|14 years ago|reply
"I'd love to test the side charging pins but I don't know the pinout or if it needs to communicate to draw full power."
[+] [-] dazzla|14 years ago|reply
I have not had much chance to test this on my GSM galaxy nexus but I have not noticed this problem so far.
[+] [-] jscore|14 years ago|reply
I've had the original Nexus, Nexus One, Nexus S and wanted to buy the G Nexus but if google/samsung are willing to put a device that can't function under normal operating environment, then they shouldn't have done at it all.
See, with the iPhone (4S), I know Apple would never put out a device like this. It might not have things like a notification LED that blinks when u have a message, but the thing is bullet proof -- it just works.
The mentality is certainly different. I want a finished product, and not be a beta tester for a company.
It's no accident Apple sticks to their time-proven design: small 3.5" screen, no LTE, etc.
And as I get more busy with my life (business, etc), I could careless about the "openness" of the Android platform--it's not like I'll be compiling ROMs all day.
I just want something that works and won't let me down in the 11th hour and with Apple I know that won't happen.
[+] [-] csomar|14 years ago|reply
- Around 1 hour surfing, reading feeds, playing games
- Around 5-10 minutes calls (GSM or Skype)
- Around 1 hour with music (screen off)
- Checking time, emails, or message with it (10-12 times a day)
The battery lasts for one day. I learned to charge it every night. My cousin has an iPhone 4 and it's almost the same thing.
[+] [-] buster|14 years ago|reply
I am wondering which manufacturer will be the first to deliver a decent smartphone that works for one week, that'd probable one of the best selling smartphones ever sold..
[+] [-] zmmmmm|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] coob|14 years ago|reply
It does, you can use the camera flash as a notification LED (it's under the Accessibility settings).
[+] [-] jbellis|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bconway|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jamesaguilar|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] foz|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Mavrik|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tptacek|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] drivebyacct2|14 years ago|reply