Just found out i'm eligible for an upgrade! Battery question

[Danielson2047]

Title says it all!!! Looking between Thunderbolt, Charge, and X2. Of course, the first thing i read about the 4g phones was the horrible batt life. I would be switching the 4G off, as i don't have it in my area and don't plan on it for a while. What do people average with the 4G turned off?

 

[GunnerJim]

I live in a 3G area, travel to a bunch of 4G areas, but turn off 4G/LTE most of the time, I can get almost 24 hours out of light usage, 18 hours out of moderate usage and 12-16 hours with medium to heavy usage, defined-
1-2 hour phone,
1-2 hour browse/download,
30 min texting,
1-2 email checking and reading,
Weather updates,
RSS updates, you get the point...

I had the LG Revo, returned it, got the Charge again... MUCH BETTER ON Battery!!! I also got the extended battery, which can give you almost 2 days in 3G and more than enough for 24 hours in 4G. I like the fact that the Charge looks better than the LG Revo and TB does with the extended battery.

 

[Bozz5384]

Just got my Charge last week, and must say... battery life isn't terrible. Mine went 16 hrs. yesterday before it beeped low battery. It was a moderate/light use day since I was very busy and wasn't playing with it a bunch. 4-5 phone short calls, a few dozen text messages, and some emails. My son finished it off playing Angry Birds but up til that point it was doing great.

The screen and 4G LTE data speeds are awesome.

 

[edcooper714]

I live in a 3G area, travel to a bunch of 4G areas, but turn off 4G/LTE most of the time, I can get almost 24 hours out of light usage, 18 hours out of moderate usage and 12-16 hours with medium to heavy usage, defined-
1-2 hour phone,
1-2 hour browse/download,
30 min texting,
1-2 email checking and reading,
Weather updates,
RSS updates, you get the point...

I had the LG Revo, returned it, got the Charge again... MUCH BETTER ON Battery!!! I also got the extended battery, which can give you almost 2 days in 3G and more than enough for 24 hours in 4G. I like the fact that the Charge looks better than the LG Revo and TB does with the extended battery.

I get about the same amount of battery usage. Very happy with the battery life AND love the Charge.

 

[Silent Thunder]

Title says it all!!! Looking between Thunderbolt, Charge, and X2. Of course, the first thing i read about the 4g phones was the horrible batt life. I would be switching the 4G off, as i don't have it in my area and don't plan on it for a while. What do people average with the 4G turned off?

All day use with the 4G turned on. I used the bluetooth for an hour, made and took about a 7 or 8 calls plus used the internet a few times. Anyone that says this phone has bad battery life is a lier. 18 hours and still 35% left. This is a phone folks not a laptop if your going to be on the net constantly all day long don't come crying here about only getting 4 hours out of the battery what do you expect? This phone has NO battery issues if you use it as intended.

 

[Kelmar]

Anyone that says this phone has bad battery life is a lier.

Rather, they have different experiences, different uses, different signal strength, etc.

Remember, not everyone has the same needs, wants or uses in a phone.

 

[Silent Thunder]

Rather, they have different experiences, different uses, different signal strength, etc.

Remember, not everyone has the same needs, wants or uses in a phone.

This IS NOT a laptop or tablet. It is not designed to replace the use of such a device. A laptop only gets 4-5 hours on a HUGE battery why would anyone expect to get more out of the tiny battery in this phone surfing the net on 4G??? People are mis using these smart phones as computers then complaining of battery life. Its a phone use it as one then see what battery life you get. If I got 18 hours out of mine with normal use and using the internet briefly when im away from my computer there is no reason everyone here can't get the same. Splurge buy a small laptop if you really need a computer because a smartphone is not a replacement for one.

 

[EarlyMon]

Right on, Kelmar!

This is a phone folks not a laptop if your going to be on the net constantly all day long don't come crying here about only getting 4 hours out of the battery what do you expect?

I think they correctly expect to come to the largest and oldest Android users self-help forum and get help and guidance and not impatience.

Many of us use our phones like small laptops and find with a deeper understanding of our configuration options (and extra choices once rooted), we can eek out extra life from our batteries.

NORMAL USE IS COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE.

 

[Kelmar]

This IS NOT a laptop or tablet. It is not designed to replace the use of such a device. A laptop only gets 4-5 hours on a HUGE battery why would anyone expect to get more out of the tiny battery in this phone surfing the net on 4G??? People are mis using these smart phones as computers then complaining of battery life. Its a phone use it as one then see what battery life you get. If I got 18 hours out of mine with normal use and using the internet briefly when im away from my computer there is no reason everyone here can't get the same. Splurge buy a small laptop if you really need a computer because a smartphone is not a replacement for one.

I don't recall anyone saying that it was a laptop or tablet

As an example, when I was on Sprint, my stock 1500mAH battery would last me 3-6 hours TOPS with minimal use and 3G on. This was not the fault of the battery, phone or the way that it was used. It was due to the lack of signal strength where I work.

Sure, I could turn off 3G. That defeats the purpose of having push notification for my work email. Can't blame any of that on the phone or battery... but, in simple terms, my battery life sucked.

So... battery life sucked and not the phone or battery that was as fault. The fault was the HORRID signal I had at work.


That doesn't make anyone a liar, rather it makes their needs, wants, signal strength and usage different than yours or mine.

 

[Silent Thunder]

Right on, Kelmar!



I think they correctly expect to come to the largest and oldest Android users self-help forum and get help and guidance and not impatience.

Many of us use our phones like small laptops and find with a deeper understanding of our configuration options (and extra choices once rooted), we can eek out extra life from our batteries.

NORMAL USE IS COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE.

Still if you don't comply to what the mfg. has designed in as normal use for the device then you are still going to get something different no? You can try taking a VW beetle off roading and it might get off the pavement ok but a Jeep works much better for such a venture same for a smart phone vs a laptop. Using a Smart phone like a computer is like buying the very finest top of the line row boat and trying to use it to cross the ocean then coming back to a forum and complaining a big wave came and the rowboat capsized and trying to blame the boat maker for making an unfit vessel. Everything has its designed in limits folks.

 

[EarlyMon]

Still if you don't comply to what the mfg. has designed in as normal use for the device then you are still going to get something different no? You can try taking a VW beetle off roading and it might get off the pavement ok but a Jeep works much better for such a venture same for a smart phone vs a laptop.

We are not communicating.

Yours is not the only definition of normal use.

I appreciate your point of view, but understand it's not the only one - it's yours. You are right for your uses and opinions and while that's great, it doesn't give you the right to take an attitude with others with different expectations. You're essentially questioning other people's intelligence there and let's have none of that.

The manufacturers of Android phones did take others' use scenarios into account in their design.

If you'd like to be helpful, how about simply recommending a spare battery instead of lecturing people about cars, jeeps and laptops?

In fact - for us power users - I'd recommend looking for a spare battery with its own charger. There's no substitute for a fast swap on the go without having to plug in the phone.

This is Android, where choice is good - and we have choices because we users come in all shapes, sizes, desires and needs.

It's a phone - it's simple - and with community users helping users, it's not painful.

 

[EarlyMon]

Title says it all!!! Looking between Thunderbolt, Charge, and X2. Of course, the first thing i read about the 4g phones was the horrible batt life. I would be switching the 4G off, as i don't have it in my area and don't plan on it for a while. What do people average with the 4G turned off?

With 4G off, the average varies by your configuration and what you'll find acceptable.

One of the biggest things you can do to extend your 3G life is to opt for using email that polls rather that using push email. I'm sure the HTC client will support that (even for Exchange if you use the m.google server trick), and I'd expect the others may as well. In fact, I don't bother with GMail app for that reason. Also - IM apps. With an upgraded phone, running lots of IMs can be a real battery drain. SMS, no problem, but IM apps tend to spend lots of time on the net, little time sleeping, in my experience.

With a 4G phone using just CDMA, and 3G and wifi on (let the phone do the managing), no reason you can't expect more than a day of medium/heavy use.

IOW - No reason to expect any of them to be way different than your DX, depending more on each model than the 4G part.

 

[Zohar127]

OP,

As much as I love my Charge, the 4G was a big reason for getting it. How long before you have 4G in your area? If you're not gonna use the 4G then you should probably just get the X2. The Charge has a vastly superior screen, a better camera, and a pre-installed 32gb micro SD card, but you're paying a big premium for that 4G tag.

If you can't even use the 4G then you should get the X2 (get it from Amazonwireless for a steal). It's still got a good screen and camera and it runs circles around the Charge in terms of pure performance. Much better value, considering you won't be using the 4G capabilities of the Charge.

And I hear the battery life is still pretty good.

 

[twistedlim]

OP,

As much as I love my Charge, the 4G was a big reason for getting it. How long before you have 4G in your area? If you're not gonna use the 4G then you should probably just get the X2. The Charge has a vastly superior screen, a better camera, and a pre-installed 32gb micro SD card, but you're paying a big premium for that 4G tag.

If you can't even use the 4G then you should get the X2 (get it from Amazonwireless for a steal). It's still got a good screen and camera and it runs circles around the Charge in terms of pure performance. Much better value, considering you won't be using the 4G capabilities of the Charge.

And I hear the battery life is still pretty good.

If you are not using 4g I would get the original dx. There is very little difference between thex and the x2 in practical performance and you can get the x for nothing.

 

[Dark Jedi]

I live in a 3G area, travel to a bunch of 4G areas, but turn off 4G/LTE most of the time, I can get almost 24 hours out of light usage, 18 hours out of moderate usage and 12-16 hours with medium to heavy usage, defined-
1-2 hour phone,
1-2 hour browse/download,
30 min texting,
1-2 email checking and reading,
Weather updates,
RSS updates, you get the point...

I had the LG Revo, returned it, got the Charge again... MUCH BETTER ON Battery!!! I also got the extended battery, which can give you almost 2 days in 3G and more than enough for 24 hours in 4G. I like the fact that the Charge looks better than the LG Revo and TB does with the extended battery.

I live in a 3g area and going on 23 hrs with 30% battery life left.

Never turned off the 4g radio
5 to 7 hrs web surfing
Texting for about 30 min.
Weather updates and so on you get the point.

This is with a bolt. So dont say all bolts has horrible battery life. From what I read on this section my bolt does way better than many people with the charge on here.

 

[Zohar127]

If you are not using 4g I would get the original dx. There is very little difference between thex and the x2 in practical performance and you can get the x for nothing.

I don't see the reason not to get the X2. It's practically the same phone only the X2 has a more advanced dual core CPU. Even if it doesn't beat the pants off the original X there are plenty of apps built to take advantage of the dual core CPU, and it seemed way snappier at pretty much everything than my friends original X when I was playing with it in the store.

The X2 also has a higher resolution screen. For $120 bucks off Amazon you can't go wrong.

 

[Rominucka]

More people return to the stores with an X2 than any other 3G phone, complaining about battery life.
I have done more work reconfiguring X2s to last longer than I have selling them.
I recommend that you go to a Verizon store (with functional display models) and just play with the phones. Let the pestering rep know that you're comparison shopping and will return the next day with a decision. Read as many reviews as you can and check out the forums for each model. Also consider that the Function (galaxy s 2) should be out relatively soon and will trump all of those phones. If I were you I would wait a little longer.

As for the rest of the discussion, I disagree with everybody.
1. These phones should be used to their fullest extent, be it as a laptop, tablet and phone. The future of the internet will be seen from the screens of mobile devices. I do more browsing on this phone than I do on my desktop now...from entertainment to business.

2. I do blame the manufacturers for the obstacle course of settings we have to go through to make these things function well. They're advancing the functionality beyond the current power capacity. There already are ways to have these things run to the fullest and grossest extents without having to worry about charging them so often. Now that they have gotten things to a pretty high level, they need to start investing some time in new battery technology. It's downright silly the state that we're in.

 

[boatman]

Sorry to change the focus a bit, but I am trying to get extra battery life out of my charge. I have the extended battery, and I use for txt and facebook quite heavily.

when I checked the battery stats, it is the screen that seems to be using most of the juice, 60 percent.

I was just playing with it today, moving apps around, etc. not really doing anything but playing, using no real signal or radios, and watching the battery indicator go from 73,72,71, every few minutes.

I have the screen turned way d
own, and turned off auto.

also have noled.

Anyone have some better ideas.

 

[st0623]

I'm goint on 18 hours with the new extended Samsung Battery. I'm fine with that, but I don't use this as a laptop. Verizon is offering 20% off of the battery and extended cover, right now. Beat prices online. Check them out.

 

[dgcamero]

I am an extremely heavy user with the exception of phone calls, and I get more than through my work day (9ish hours) on my standard battery with 4G turned on. I'm in a fairly strong 4G area and have somewhat weak 3G at work. In addition to using the web, playing youtube some, and texting a lot...

I've got the screen on auto with one minute timeout, 2 push gmails, one push yahoo mail, one G-Chat, latitude, twitter, weatherbug with push notifications and 30 minute updates, and an aim and a yahoo messenger through the verizon IM client sometimes turned on. It does tell me to plug in the charger usually after 8-9 hours when having both of the messengers running thru the work day. I'm impressed personally. I plug it in when I get in the car, and when I get home I usually swap the battery for the one in the charging dock and that one lasts me until bed. I honestly couldn't expect better!