Database Users

Battery life

Am I the only one who finds it apalling?
Today my battery was on red warning by 1 o'clock.
I have 'unlimited' (FUP 1Gb) data and was just doing things - the hone can do so much - but my battery only lasts hours - not the full day I need
Love my Ameo - hate the keyboard (compared to the Universal) and the battery life!

Confucious said:
Am I the only one who finds it apalling?
Today my battery was on red warning by 1 o'clock.
I have 'unlimited' (FUP 1Gb) data and was just doing things - the hone can do so much - but my battery only lasts hours - not the full day I need
Love my Ameo - hate the keyboard (compared to the Universal) and the battery life!
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Click to collapse
I have never gotten near exhausting the battery before I am exhausted -- that is 12-15 hour work days. The only time I got close was when I did several presentations using TV-out and forgot my AC power adapter. Right now my battery stands at 60%; it's nearly 7:00p local time and my day started at 4:30a. Didn't do much other than e-mail and phone, but still I have been really pleased with battery life.
As to the keybd, based on what some posted, I was thinking I might go sans keyboard using a soft keyboard like tengo or resco keyboard. In fact the keyboard hasn't bothered me at all. It nicely springs into place when I open the case and types at an OK level.
My biggest complaints are actually the lack of buttons for quick launch... along with the little joystick thingy, which I don't particularly love. The D-Pad on my Wizard seemed more usable. In these two respects my Wizard was easier to navigate. Otherwise, I'm loving the Advantage.

Me too, but ...
I have found mixed results. Some days the battery seems to nosedive and some days when I am expecting trouble its not too bad.
I believe bluetooth really drains the battery. Also when the unit is connected via activesync even though I am using a 'mains powered' dual USB synch cable it hardly seems to charge at all.
However when connected via activesync I use "Screenoff" and this helps a lot.
re keyboard - nothing to be said I just carry the device with me and use TenGO as an SIPS.
HOWEVER while reporting a bug to TenGO (very good people btw) I powered up my old Universal and remembered the old screen size and memory for installed programs - Advantage I love you after all!

Am I the only one who loves the joystick or what? Id take it any day over the D-Pads, dpads are well and good but I find the joystick alot more usable.
As for battery life ive found the biggest drain (as would be expected) is the brightness of the LCD screen. Using default settings the battery life was quite solid (2 days at least, with moderate useage and a fair bit of HSDPA'ing), however to compensate for the poor screen protector that came with it which I applied, I ratcheted up the brightness and sure enough have had to charge it every night since. Which is no big deal for me, but on a day when I have to use VGA out and BT I can see it struggling to make a full day on the highest brightness settings.
TenGo works quite well and the screen is large enough to use VGA SIPs with your finger even, but I still dont mind the hardware keyboard just takes a lil getting use too.

Using any data connection uses a bit more battery than a GSM phone conversation. So if we get 5-6 hours of GSM, then we should get about 4-5 hours of 3G and GPRS/Edge data usage.
However, I have seen that turning down the brightness to 3 steps above the lowest setting yields me a good 6 hours of Edge use. This setting works well indoors or in lower sun light conditions only.
My biggest issue with the device is that it reflects everything. The glare is horrible in high light conditions, almost making it unusable while outside on the street.
Using bluetooth isn't so bad. I've seen it might drain 10% of your battery over a period of 24 hours with no usage except keeping it on.
So, no, I don't find any strange battery patterns with my U1000, at least not yet.

I have push mail enabled so the 3g connection is always on and working. I often have bluetooth on. I still usually get pretty much a full working day without coming close to the battery dying.
However, I do keep the screen on the lowest backlight setting (i.e. one stop away from the end of the scale) and the screen turns itself off after 2 mins.

Try this while charging...
Ive found that when i charge up my Ameo using the USB adaptor to get it to actually charge I:
Turn off bluetooth
Turn off GPRS / 3G data connection
Then i activate WM5torage
This means activesync doesnt try to load up and keep the screen on. I then put the device into standby so the screen isnt on and I managed to get it to charge up to 80% throughout the day.
Otherwise even with bluetooth on and the internet permanently connected i found the battery life to be very good (altho yesterday i could of sworn i charged it up overnight, got to work, played about with the new google maps application, GPS came on, etc, etc, downloaded a few maps, then battery life said 10%! Cant of charged it up the night before. Gonna keep my eye on this)

can I suggest big power users get this
http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct....Category=CE3E87A6-CAEF-4504-B115-1B3AA016C2E5
U20 5400mAh external battery/charger. about the size of an ipod and comes with connections to charge device.
Mine does the trick, lives in my bag and is 2.5 times our battery life=3.5 overall.
Should even extend confucious to 5pm.......

I might end up having to get one of those external chargers - but it's yet another thing to carry! Most of the time I can charge it overnight or at the office.
I think it's using the screen that is the problem - I have BT on all the time for my headset and 3G for my push email from my server but it's when I'm I'm browsing the internet / using google maps / using TomTom that drains the battery.
TomTom drains the battery faster than my car charger charges it :|
there are so many things you can do with Athena that it seams a shame not to do them all lol - especially as I've just found the FUP on W'n'W Pro is 3Gb not 1

Confucious said:
ITomTom drains the battery faster than my car charger charges it :|
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That's weird - check the ampage of your car charger.

apd said:
That's weird - check the ampage of your car charger.
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It was a cheap one that has worked with ll my other PDAs and SmartPhones but i have ordered the powered Brodit holder now so I'll wait to see if that's better.

Confucious said:
It was a cheap one that has worked with ll my other PDAs and SmartPhones but i have ordered the powered Brodit holder now so I'll wait to see if that's better.
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I ahve being using a Brodit one for a few weeks (albeit that it was the one from my Exec - I have only just received my Ameo Brodit holder) and it charged the battery no problem, even when using full brightness and internal GPS

My normal car charger charged my Universal OK - but fails with my Athena.
Today I didn't do a lot with my phone - listened to music on the way in with my BT headset, a few texts, push email running. Got it out at lunchtime and battery was dead - it was on red warning but turned itself off - I've been in meetings all mormning so haven't been able to charge the phone.
Something is wrong!
Could it be that the screen isn't turning itself off - I've noticed in the standard case it soesn't always when the keyboard isn't completely closed to the screen - but I am on default settings and the screen should turn itself off after a couple of mins inactivity anyway. Could WMP or something be keeping the screen lit?
Something is killing my battery anyone got any ideas?

I'm wondering if instead of the screen you have an app running in the background that doesn't go to sleep and continously taxes your CPU... could even be WMP... check with a taskmgr program to see what you have running or use another app to check your CPU load.
I haven't heard of the screen not dimming outside of Nav software, but saw plenty of misbehaving apps...

Battery saving while playing music
I have found "screenoff" an excellent help with this both for locking the screen (I now almost always leave the keyboard and case at home ) and for battery saving.
I'm beginning to think its that little screen which is soaking up the power.

Confucious said:
TomTom drains the battery faster than my car charger charges it :|
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Mine too, until...
I had an unbranded mini-USB car charger. When using TomTom, the effect was a net drain on battery power.
Today (and partly as a result of this thread), I tried the branded HTC charger that I had lying around (and that I thought would make no difference). Interestingly, I now have a net gain. (Started at 80%, drove around for an hour, charge is now 90%.)
Seems that all car chargers are not the same.
(Also the HTC charger has a natty, blue lit, logo; much better than the red LED.)

For your charging issues check out :
http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~u...AE+cable+accessories~item~LSP%2DDUOADPT01.htm
It drastically improves the charging. I bought one then bought them for everywhere.

CPA said:
can I suggest big power users get this
http://www.easydevices.co.uk/pp/HTC...HTC_ADVANTAGE_EXTERNAL_EMERGENCY_CHARGER.html
U20 5400mAh external battery/charger. about the size of an ipod and comes with connections to charge device.
Mine does the trick, lives in my bag and is 2.5 times our battery life=3.5 overall.
Should even extend confucious to 5pm.......
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Click to collapse
I'm looking at this one (am spending some time in our captial city next weekend) to extend the time between charges needed. Does this device resolve the 'pin out' problem and keep the phone charged? Has anyone else got testimonials about this? Its a not insignificant £40 so I don't want to bother if it doesn't solve the charge problem mentioned here and elsewhere with the differing pin outs. TIA

hammermedia said:
For your charging issues check out :
http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~u...AE+cable+accessories~item~LSP%2DDUOADPT01.htm
It drastically improves the charging. I bought one then bought them for everywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm looking at their product but I am confused. they specify that the advantage uses an 11 pin plug to charge when it appears to be a 5 pin USB mini-b connector. I don't know where they get the 11 pin connection from. also they SPECIFY that these adaptors can only be used with their Sync & charge retractable cable (thus implying that they are different from a std USB to mini-b 5 pin cable) this may be the case as I have tried charging my Blueant Z9 BT headset using a generic USB to micro (or mini-b 4 pin) and I get an overcurrent error on my USB port. It appears that the Blueant supplied cable is different.
Any Ideas on the HTC 11 pin cinnector referenced at http://www.pocketpctechs.com/images/items/LSP-DUOPRO01.jpg ?
Joe

Are you on the right page for HTC Advantage?
http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~u...dvantage+Lil%27+Sync%AE+Cable+Accessories.htm

Treo Pro running hot

I have a customer with one of these phones who complains it is running hot, so hot they have to move it away from their ear.
I have one too, configured with push email, and it's fine. Is the high temperature normal? Their phone also drops calls. I think the phone should probably be replaced but wondered if there was a known problem and simple solution. I access it using Pocket Controller and it's set up fine.
Sometimes the customer leaves bluetooth on alot even though they don't use it all the time, and with bluetooth it sometimes routes calls to the headset, sometimes not. Oh, and sometimes the phone radio turns off by itself! Sounds defective to me!!
Any thoughts?
One last thing, is there a way to permanently turn it off when it's not in use? Switching off the phone radio isn't enough.
Thanks.

You can't turn off the Treo Pro. Turning on\off doesn't effect the power drain that much to heat the battery a lot.
The only thing that could get the device a lot warmer than with normal use is turning on WiFi or by making long phone calls..
My guess would be that the device has either a battery problem or something is wrong with the hardware of the Treo Pro. It's not normal that you have to move the device from your face because of the heat.
Quickest way to test if it's the TP or the battery is to try a battery if you have one

Thanks mccune. I'll contact the suppliers.
Regards
Mike

My phone runs extremely hot if i have processes running in the background, like, Google Maps...

I think we have to make a difference between 'hot' and 'warm'. I don't believe that there is any chance of someone getting his ear burnt.
I've had my treo pro for few days now, and have noticed that the temperature at the back cover rises when the handset is with the gps in use, especially when searching for satellites

Running hot..quick battery burn...Winterface!
I wonder if the owner is using Winterface? I tried (and liked) this launcher, but it cut my battery life in half and the unit felt very warm all the time. Trying Mobile Shell for now...

They weren't using anything other than what was supplied on the phone. They just made a lot of calls.
The phone was returned and my customer had the same problem with the replacement. I think what feels warm to most feels hot to them (sensitive ears).
The phone has been replaced with a Nokia E71 (supports exchange mail).
Seems runs cool and the battery lasts ages.

Phone gets hot during 3G use

When I use my Nike for more than 2 minutes while browsing the web using my 3G connection it gets quite hot on the lower part of the backside (isn't this the area with the cpu/chipset?). Although I have not measured the exact temperature it gets well over 40 degrees celsius on the outside already.
I also notice a lot of battery usage but that might also be because of the screen being on all the time, though the chipset might be sucking away a lot of battery power as well, judging from the heat dissipation.
Is this behaviour normal or should I go and have it checked/repaired?

It's normal. Mine's the same.

I got a new Niki after my old was damaged, none of them gets hot.
As far as I know this could be caused by a wrong Radio Version. Did you flash the Niki with another Radio Version than shipped?
High battery usage could be caused by some tools (e.g. S2U2)

Nope, the phone is running a HTC original WM6.1. The phone isn't even hardspl-unlocked
The windows installation itself is pretty clean: no special tools except total commander, opera and tomtom, of which none are running.
You state that it does not get hot. Does it get warm though, or really nothing special? Are you using GPRS(2G) or UMTS/HSDPA(3/3.5G)?

Yes, I'm using 3G. My phone is only a bit warm when connection to PC and flashing/trying ROMs (> charging & lots of CPU usage)

Mine heats up when using the data connection as well. I've got the standard radio rom.

This is a well known issue in NIKI, don't worry (except if the temperature is too hot); but i have tried many radios and it gets hot when you use HSPDA.

this is because when you connect it to usb it also charges the battery which the connection for the battery and i believe the processor are at the same board. It usually gets hot where the sim is located under the battery. if you use the phone alot to call also it will get hot. i don't think it's an issue i think it does that because of the location of the processor..... Yes i did open my phone

T-Mobile Leo Overheating with GPS

I have a serious probleme with my Leo HD2 T-Mobile which I bought from USA; it is overheating and stopping charging after about 10 mn of using GPS (Tomtom, ou IGO) in my car.
Anyone has a solution for this probleme?

That's kind of a short time. I know I can get away with at least 30 minutes or more depending on the temperature outside ( no AC right now) before it will start acting up.
You could try flashing a different radio. Might have to go through a couple before finding a good blend of lower power(less heat) and good reception.

If you have something other than a hard case on your phone take it off , that rubber shell that comes with the HD2 will overheat your phone in record time if using GPS or other heavy apps for extended periods of time ...
Also turn off 3g(you are driving, this will stop it from searching constantly for 3g), help save power and heat, make sure wifi is off ...
I drove 4 hours today using TomTom the whole way, and did not have a heating problem , but don't stick the phone up on TOP of your dash in the direct sun, it will get soo hot you can't touch it, even if it is off, the phone is black and metal collects heat like no body's business ...
Also a good point is to unplug it from the charger once in a while, like a half hour every 2 hours ....
Just some pointers that I use, and mine does not overheat ...

Its a known issue, while using the gps, the phone is working at full cpu speed, and its charging at the same time, If the phone sees fit it will use some of the power coming in and use it to power the phone more so then charge the battery.
I used to come across this problem a bit, using it as a tether most of the day as i am a service tech and use it in place of an actual cellular modem.

heat dissipating coating?

i was using my phone for google maps yesterday and it was pretty hot.
the phone of course got even hotter since the screen was on and gps on and loading maps constantly
not burning hot but it could definitely use a fan.
i tried to locate some kind of heat dissipating tape or something similar to our silicone covers to put on the back of the phone
the only 2 things i can think of is copper tape, some kind of textured or wrinkle finish film as well.

fuzzysig said:
i was using my phone for google maps yesterday and it was pretty hot.
the phone of course got even hotter since the screen was on and gps on and loading maps constantly
not burning hot but it could definitely use a fan.
i tried to locate some kind of heat dissipating tape or something similar to our silicone covers to put on the back of the phone
the only 2 things i can think of is copper tape, some kind of textured or wrinkle finish film as well.
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Is there a windows mobile application that tells you the battery temperature?
I have a Nexus One as well and there is an Android App called battery indicator that will show you the temperature of the battery so that you don't overheat it and degrade your battery life.
Dunno if you can do this on Windows Mobile turn by turn directions yet, but when I am using the GPS on my Android Nexus One I usually turn off the screen since it still says the directions even while the screen is off. If I have to have the screen on (in case I'm on compact city streets with quick turns) I always make sure to hold the phone close to the air conditioning vent every 7-10 minutes or so to make sure the phone doesn't overheat. GPS + Screen on is a hot, Hot, HOT combination

ap3604 said:
Is there a windows mobile application that tells you the battery temperature?
I have a Nexus One as well and there is an Android App called battery indicator that will show you the temperature of the battery so that you don't overheat it and degrade your battery life.
Dunno if you can do this on Windows Mobile turn by turn directions yet, but when I am using the GPS on my Android Nexus One I usually turn off the screen since it still says the directions even while the screen is off. If I have to have the screen on (in case I'm on compact city streets with quick turns) I always make sure to hold the phone close to the air conditioning vent every 7-10 minutes or so to make sure the phone doesn't overheat. GPS + Screen on is a hot, Hot, HOT combination
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WMWifiRouter shows the temperature of the battery, not sure about any others though.

Install BattClock form Zuinige Rijder, configure and You can monitor batt temp nicely.
Now in summer at temps over 30°C the HD2 gets really hot when on the car dashboard navigating.
At approx. 43°C it stops loading when in a loading cradle in the car (LED flashing orange) and very often freezes then.
Last time - after freeze - I took out batt and it was damn hot, reinserted, started HD2, temp showing 63 °C (!!!!!!!!!!), after some minutes froze again at temp 65°C
Contacted HTC-support on this issue, just sent me an advice for repair service, no explanation why this was not taken into account during development since it´s not a faulty device but a general misconstruction.
Works nicely when ambient temp below 20°C or cloudy sky.

don't all computers shut down at a certain temp???
Why would our smartphones be any different?

I dont have any issue's with my battery getting hot at all, running android though the processor gets pretty warm...