Battery Life -- Engadget

battery life posts

Windows 7 bested by XP in netbook battery life tests

by Vladislav Savov posted Nov 12th 2009 at 3:51AM

The venerable 2001 classic of an OS, Windows XP, strikes again. The scribes over at Laptop have put together a rather damning battery life comparison between old greybeard and the fresh Windows 7, which finds that on average netbooks get 47 minutes less battery life with the upgraded software. In the case of the ASUS 1008HA, that deficit was a meaty 57 minutes, or 16.7%. Liliputing and jkOnTheRun have run their own tests which invariably reached the same conclusion. Adding these data to an earlier comparison with Snow Leopard, where Windows 7 was again markedly worse than its competitor, leads us to the conclusion that perhaps Microsoft's 7th heaven hasn't quite been optimized for the mobile mavens out there... yet.

Read - Stick with XP? Windows 7 Battery Life Worse on Netbooks
Read - Windows 7 + netbooks = lower battery life?
Read - Netbook Battery Tests: Windows XP vs Windows 7

Tesla Roadster keeps on rollin', goes 313 miles on single charge

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 31st 2009 at 3:47AM

What could be a better feeling than beating a world record? Beating your own world record. The Tesla Roadster has put an extra exclamation mark on its world-conquering single-charge antics by raising the bar from 241 miles back in April to an even more impressive 313 this week. As you can see in that homemade "world record" sign above, that's 501 kilometers in metric terms, or pretty much the exact distance between Paris and Amsterdam. The Global Green Challenge in Australia -- where this feat was achieved -- allows only production battery-powered vehicles to compete, meaning that the new record is down to driver skill on the part of one Mr. Simon Hackett, and not some newfound techno mojo. Kinda makes those long recharge times seem like less of a burden, no?

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries promise a lot, we'll see if they deliver in 2010

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 30th 2009 at 6:58AM

Is there any other field of technology that promises as many revolutionary innovations as battery makers do yet delivers so few? We've heard of battery life being made four times, eight times, even twelve times better... and seen pretty much none of it pan out in any sort of meaningful way. Zinc-air batteries are also nothing new, but now some whizkids up in Norway have figured out how to make them rechargeable and set up an entire company, ReVolt, for their commercialization. With more than double the energy density of regular Lithium-Ion batteries, safer operation, lower cost of production, and environmentally friendlier ingredients, ReVolt's tech sounds as sweet as anything, but we'd advise waiting for the pudding-based proof before getting excited. Plans are for small hearing aid and cellphone batteries to show up in 2010, and if all goes well there, larger cells for electric vehicles could also follow. Sure.

[Via PhysOrg]

Workaround for HTC Hero battery life issues discovered

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 29th 2009 at 5:26PM

Well, there still isn't a fix for the problem some people seem to be having with receiving text messages on their HTC Hero, but it looks like a workaround has been discovered for another pesky issue that can put a strain on the phone's battery life. Apparently, the phone has a bit of trouble going back into sleep mode after you send a text, or after you simply turn on the phone and immediately disable the screen without any activity. While some fairly elaborate fixes were tried by some users initially, it looks like the simplest actually works the best: just don't use the default SMS app to send texts. Instead, you can use a third-party app like ChompSMS or HandCent, which apparently have no problems letting the phone go back to sleep after you send a text. Of course, an official fix would still be the best but, in the meantime, you can hit up the link below for all the necessary details on making the (hopefully temporary) switch.

[Thanks, Sean]

Carbon nanotubes find yet another purpose, could star in ultra-reliable batteries

by Darren Murph posted Sep 21st 2009 at 8:29PM

Carbon nanotubes are kind of like peanuts. They both seem pretty simple at first glance, but with a little work, you can make pretty much anything out of 'em. Take this case, for example, as MIT boffins have discovered that by forming the tube-shaped molecules of pure carbon into minuscule springs, they could be "capable of storing as much energy, pound for pound, as lithium-ion batteries." The real kicker is exactly how they'd do it -- "more durably and reliably." Essentially, these newfangled cells could be left alone for years on end without losing their charge, and unlike conventional batteries, these wouldn't suffer from performance degradation when exposed to temperature extremes. Of course, anything as pie-in-the-sky as this is probably at least a decade or so out from Walmart shelves, but considering that the group responsible has already filed a patent, we'd say they're pretty confident in the possibilities.

[Via Physorg]

LG X130 goes from dawn till dusk on standard 9-cell battery

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 14th 2009 at 1:42PM

12 hours. That, according to LG, is the new benchmark by which all wannabe long-lasting laptops will have to measure up. Of course, we've seen similar aftermarket solutions before, but it's good to see a manufacturer stick a flag in the ground -- and a big rump on the back -- in the race for the highest endurance netbook. And boy is the X130 a netbook: 1024 x 600 resolution, 10-inch screen and the predictable Atom N270 et al. Koreans can grab one now for 789,000 Won ($639), with almost worldwide availability to follow shortly. Check out our review of the X120 for a flavor of LG's history in the market, while we go look for actual benchmarks undermining that legendary battery life claim.

[Via Trusted Reviews]

Zune HD specs fill in the blanks on video format support, battery life and more - Update: now with more, better!

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 13th 2009 at 3:28PM

Now that everything Zune HD is official and available for pre-order, Microsoft has seen fit to loose official specs, putting to rest -- at least until we can do a full hands on -- questions about what to expect from the OLED touchscreen packing device. From dimensions (52.7 mm x 102.1 mm x 8.9 mm, 2.6 oz) to battery life ~~(24 hours for music with wireless off, up to 4 hours of video) and charge time (3 hours, 2 hours to 90%.)~~ While the offical site (incorrectly) currently lists max video res at barely-better-than-DVD 720 x 480, we contacted Microsoft and received the official specs on video support, and if for some reason you needed to hear it again: the Tegra chip is a beast. Ready for HDTV playback when it's plugged into the AV dock, the Zune software supports up to 1280 x 720, 30 frames per second at a max 14 Mbps bitrate for WMV HD and h.264 sources. Confirmed still a bummer? No wireless video streaming from the Zune Video Marketplace, though the specs do indicate that purchases and rentals will work across all three screens, PC, Zune and Xbox 360. Check the corrected specs after the break, now all that's left is getting some alone time with one.

Update: Microsoft has hit us with the corrected & updated spec list with a slight change to battery and charge specs: 33 hours of life playing music with no wireless, up to 8.5 hours of video. 3 hours to charge from PC, 2 hours via AC adapter. Hopefully that's long enough to cover your one man rave in the woods far away from A/C outlets. Check the PDF for yourself, but beware, as Microsoft has informed us one typo remains, as the Zune HD can hold up to 22 / 48 hours (16GB / 32GB) of video optimized for the device, no matter what the official sheet says.

Continue reading Zune HD specs fill in the blanks on video format support, battery life and more - Update: now with more, better!

Limited-color OLEDs could operate with 40 percent less power, look just as stunning

by Darren Murph posted Jul 8th 2009 at 9:23AM

You know that fancy flat-panels can display more colors than the human eye / mind can even interpret, right? Thanks to our hard-wired limitations, a certain facet of boffins across the way are developing a method that would scale back the amount of colors used in an OLED screen in order to shave energy usage even further. Johnson Chuang of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia has worked with colleagues in order to conjure up sets of colors that "slash the power consumption of an OLED panel by up to 40 percent, with minimal effect on how people perceive an image." In theory, at least, this breakthrough could lead to longer battery life in cellphones, PMPs and all manners of portable devices. As Chuang puts it: "Say you're running low on battery and you want to use Google maps to get home; switching to an energy-aware color set could make your battery last longer." Don't pretend that doesn't interest you.

AMD proposes new laptop battery life metrics, Intel is like "whatevs"

by Darren Murph posted Mar 14th 2009 at 6:23PM

AMD has struggled of late to produce anything akin to a "good idea," but we've got to give a serious high five to senior VP and CMO Nigel Dessau on this one. While pumping gas one day and thinking about the low / high MPG ratings on vehicles, he began to wonder why laptops are being left out of that scheme. Handsets have talk time / standby time, PMPs have separate longevity ratings for audio and video -- so why on Earth are we generally given just a single figure for laptops? Testing has shown that almost always the quoted figures from laptop makers aren't even close to what users get in the real world, so Dessau is suggesting we implement a "guide rail" system that explains a maximum and minimum life expectancy. As for Intel's take? "There are many ways to measure battery life. We believe the best way to determine how to measure battery life is by making proposals and debating it in industry consortiums and not via a blog post." Oh Intel, could you possibly be any more corporate?

[Via HotHardware]

Read - AMD's take
Read - Intel's take

MSI Wind U115 rated at 15 hours of battery life, torn apart for its trouble

by Paul Miller posted Mar 13th 2009 at 9:33AM

MSI's never been a slouch when it comes to its Wind series, but this new U115 seems to be something else entirely. In tests done by the folks at Eee-PC.de, the laptop ranged from 5.5 hours to 15 hours of battery life, based on level of usage. Even 5.5 hours is good for continuous use, but we could imagine all sorts of happiness with 15 hours of battery -- like camping. The laptop gets some of its battery mojo from its hybrid storage system, which allows the laptop to run entirely off of its 8GB of SSD memory, with the 160GB hard drive spun down to save power. The SSD is user-replaceable, if you don't mind a little warranty voiding, and the folks at nvision have thrown caution to the wind in ripping apart their U115 for our viewing pleasure.

[Via liliputing]

Read - Eee-PC.de
Read - nvision

10-inch Aspire One's battery downgraded after reviewers have their fill

by Tim Stevens posted Feb 9th 2009 at 2:36PM

In most industries there's a long and sordid history of manufacturers giving cars, motorcycles, computers, and just about any other consumer product a little something extra to make sure they perform well for the media. Asus seemingly got caught doing just that to its Eee PC 900 last year, installing batteries with additional oomph for reviewers, and now we seemingly have a case of Acer following its competition's tracks straight into a bad PR situation, saying that it "inadvertently" shipped the first batch of 10-inch Aspire One netbooks (the ones sent to reviewers) with six-cell batteries rated at 5800mAh. Most consumers, however, will receive packs rated at just 4400mAh, which should shave two or three hours from its overall battery life. Those who've pre-ordered may get lucky and get the larger batt, but, like some lithium-laced Cracker Jack box, there's no way to tell what's inside until you open the package and have a look-see. Best of luck.

Student's tech promises 12x the battery life in your iPhone, BlackBerry

by Laura June posted Dec 19th 2008 at 8:12AM

Feeling the hurt of endlessly dying batteries on your BlackBerry (or iPhone, if that's what you're into)? Atif Shamim, a PhD student at Canada's Carleton University might have the medicine for that pain of yours. He's cleverly hacked such devices, removing all the wires that connect the electrical circuits to the antenna, and developed a module for the connection to operate wirelessly. The result, he estimates, is that his modified devices use almost 12 times less power than they normally do -- which of course means longer battery life. A paper about the device has won an award at the European Wireless Technology Conference, and Shamin has filed for a patent in both the US and Canada. There's no indication of when we might start to see tech like this on actual commercial devices, but we're pretty sure plenty of companies are going to want to get a hold of this technology like, yesterday.

Energizer to debut new, longer-lived Zinc Air Prismatic battery at CES 2009

by Laura June posted Dec 8th 2008 at 1:49PM

Energizer's set to unleash a new battery -- dubbed the Zinc Air Prismatic -- at CES in January, which they say will offer three times the juice of similar alkaline and lithium-ion batteries. Promising more runtime for smaller devices, they'll also supposedly be the same size as current, comparable batteries. It's a little vague right now, and we don't have any specifics on life times for specific examples of devices, but it all sure sounds great. We take exciting claims of battery power with a grain of salt, especially from the companies that make them, so we'll just have to wait and see. Then again, we're inclined to take companies with mascots that look like they've marched out of a hallucinogenic nightmare at their word. Conundrum.

iPhone gains battery life, camera flash, loses sex appeal with FastMac's iV

by Samuel Axon posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 3:01PM

Why yes, FastMac -- we want 24 hours of talk time, 72 of audio, 20 of video, and 31 days of standby on our iPhones and iPhone 3Gs. Throw in a camera flash that doubles as a flashlight, and the ability to charge a USB device like a Bluetooth headset right off the phone, and you've got a deal on this iV charging kit of yours! Oh, there's a catch? It's a wee bit bulky, with an aesthetic similar to that of mophie's Juice Pack? Hey, it could be worse. This largification -- along with $79.50 -- is apparently the price you pay for digital endurance.

[Via Macworld]

HP's longevous EliteBook 6930p gets reviewed, liked

by Darren Murph posted Oct 17th 2008 at 8:41AM

HP's ridiculously long lasting EliteBook 6930p just got done with a fresh round of torture testing from the savages over at PC Mag, and while their review unit didn't have the optimal processor for pulling an all-nighter (followed by an all-dayer) without even a lick of the AC outlet, critics did find the unit to be fairly impressive in most every other regard. It should be pointed out, however, that the review crew sure showed a lot of love to the ThinkPad T400, noting that Lenovo's machine deserved a "super-elite" status if the 6930p was worthy of being "elite." Comparisons aside, they were impressed with its performance in all-around computing and the "sleek yet rugged" design, but it still came up one red dot shy of a perfect score. Is it a fit for you? Depends on your needs, but chances are you'll have a much better idea after digesting the writeup in full down in the read link.