Phone vs Laptop... where to draw the line? - General Topics

I'm sure a lot of you have thought this over so i wanted to get your opinions.
The other day I was telling a friend about a phone with a 5+ inch screen and got to thinking (I love big screens, cant stand less than 3")... At what point should a person just buy a netbook with a 3g card and use VOIP on a bluetooth headset? I mean, my wife has a MSI Wind and honestly It is small enough I could carry it almost everywhere with me. It also cost less than my phone!!!!. The Wind isn't even one of the smaller ones. It has a 10.2 screen. Look at this one though http://gizmodo.com/5084147/umids-mini-netbook-makes-eees-look-massive (they should have made the screen wider but I guess they were trying to use off the shelf parts to keep it cheap).
I think the lines are definitely blurring and I honestly cant decide what to do for my next phone. A netbook with a 3g router is sounding very tempting. What thoughts do you guys have? or do you plan to just buy both lol.

I'd draw the line where you'd feel like a tit holding a netbook against your head tbh. Phones are for making phonecalls remember
Smartphone's are going to die out soon. Why do I need a Touch HD AND a netbook? I don't, I need a littlebitty Nokia that only phones and texts - discuss...

pocket
it´s true that you can carry them, but even little notebooks can´t be put inside your pants pockets...yet....

It's about convergence, having one device that does it all.
I still see idiots carrying a cellphone, an ipod, and a notebook. And they use the phone to go online with their notebooks via 3G.
I just have my i780 and the extra battery pack (i780s come with an extra batt with a stand alone charger case).. and oh yeah.. I also use it for GPS navigation.
Go for one device that can do it all. Though your need for a big screen will be the deciding factor.

Personally i have all three and carry two, Trinity and iPod, on a regular basis as the battery in my Trinity struggles to last all day sometimes when i am reading and replying to mail let alone trying to listen to music as well. Also my iPod is big enough to hold my entire library so there's no "wish i had that with me today" moments. The notebook is for computing somewhere at a desk/table that isn't my own, usually my parents or friends, and as such usually hooks to their WiFi.

You don't stick the netbook to your ear you use a bluetooth headset. Also some of these netbooks are getting small enough to stick in your pocket! Look at the one I linked.
Battery life would be an issue though. My wifes Wind lasts about 45 mins on battery. Those reviews that claim 2.5 hours are BS. Maybe if you turn the screen on super dim, wifi / bluetooth off, switch on econo-mode and read an ebook. In an even smaller netbook with about the same guts I bet battery life would be horrid.

For me this is the limit line between lap top and phone

I still think we might see a movement away from big phones, or people using two devices but not concurrently. For business use a decent netbook with 3G and bluetooth headset would be ideal, providing someone can actually one day make a battery that lasts a whole day yet doesn't have to be on wheels.
However, as useful as that'd be in work, it's not really a solution for how do I phone my missus to tell her I need to come home from the pub?
So I think a big device (with 3G or similar) for work and a small/tiny device (with radio and nothing else) for play/always. Aren't we at the point of a Bluetooth sized headset that has a phone in it? Or a comedy sized watch - aren't LG launching one soon?

The laptop would need to remain on (idling) the whole time, and they're just not designed for that today. In the end, having a laptop with 3G inside and a bluetooth "phone" or having a basic 3G phone and a laptop is not so different... you always need both parts.
I'm also using both a trinity and a Gigabeat F40. I just don't have the same response quickness, autonomy and storage on my trinity. So unless we get a pdaphone with a real battery life (something like 10 hours under heavy use), with 64GB of storage (it should arrive soon enough) and that doesn't struggle to playback a mp3 while surfing the net, I won't leave my loyal mp3 player at home.
I guess that 1 year from now I may find an appropriate device on the market.

Related

[Q] whats the point of a tablet anyway

I own the Asus TF and while its an amazing device, I dont see a purpose to owning it, other than the coolness factor.
I also have a 11.6" Acer Aspite laptop and a HTPC connected to my 50" 3D TV and Denon HT System, not to mention the htc Thunderbolt phone. Between these 3, is there something that the tablet can exclusively do that I cant with them?
nope, its just a coolness thing, copying isheep is a favored pastime of android users
one of the best examples of what a waste they are happened a few weeks ago at a friends house.
He put music on on his PC
He sat on the sofa
He then grabbed his Ipad
He tried to remote control his pc, swore some, poked it a few times for a few minutes and THEN finaly changed the volume.
All rather odd really as his PC is right next to his sofa, he could have easily just reached over with his arm and changed it in a few seconds......
So really, is there actually a point to a tablet other than pose/geek factor? I honestly can't think of one, which is why in my house we still don't have one.
Well for me, I use mine to basically stay on the net comfortably with decent screen size while I'm somewhere where I cannot access a computer.
Example, no TV in my room, so go into another room, bring NC with me. Profit.
Next example, girlfriend's house, no computer, tether phone to NC, Profit.
Monty Burns said:
one of the best examples of what a waste they are happened a few weeks ago at a friends house.
He put music on on his PC
He sat on the sofa
He then grabbed his Ipad
He tried to remote control his pc, swore some, poked it a few times for a few minutes and THEN finaly changed the volume.
All rather odd really as his PC is right next to his sofa, he could have easily just reached over with his arm and changed it in a few seconds......
So really, is there actually a point to a tablet other than pose/geek factor? I honestly can't think of one, which is why in my house we still don't have one.
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I had something similar happen this weekend. I have netflix on my Samsung TV, on my 360, and I can connect to it through my pc/laptop. But no, I was flashing a GB rom on my Thunderbolt to get netflix to work on my phone, and when it was done, was watching a movie on the tiny screen. My wife made fun of me for it...
Web (including remote access to work), books, and movies, 7 inch screen, sitting lightly in my front pocket or in my satchel for 2 hours a day of commuting by train and multiple trips by air every year.
At home? Yeah, I use a pc. At work, mostly the same, though I am starting to use evernote on the tablet instead of writing out scribbles during meetings that litter my desk later.
I used to have 2+ books, a notebook/sketchbook, and a laptop with me... always. My spine and shoulder think the nook color + wifi tether is the most awesome thing ever. Maybe it's not for you, but it's not without merit for sure.

htc hd7s

just orderd my htc hd7s what can i expect? going to install mango as soon as i get it. how is the batter life? i get 8-12 hours on my infuse
Not sure about the HD7, but it's pretty dismal. Prepare to turn off push, limit your live tiles, turn the brightness down, turn off location, etc.
Probably not as bad as Androids, but not the best either.
sure haven't said:
Not sure about the HD7, but it's pretty dismal. Prepare to turn off push, limit your live tiles, turn the brightness down, turn off location, etc.
Probably not as bad as Androids, but not the best either.
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hmm....i leave all of that running on my android and still get the 8-12 hours. might have to return the phone or get some extra batteries
I get about 32 hours out of a charge on my HD7. 2 email accounts, hotmail and gmail. Not really a real heavy user though, too busy doing work and other stuff.
I'm in the habit of charging it every night so it never runs out. My phone hasn't been off in about 2 months for any reason (unless you count resets for firmware flashes).
I am a heavy user of my HD7, 2 email accounts with push enabled lots of web browsing, reading on kindle and listening to music, it has never failed to get me through my 16 hour day, i charge it every night.
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
HD7s is an AT&T phone. If you want a WP7 phone on AT&T then get the focus. The extra 0.3 inches is not worth getting the HD7s.
Good rule of thumb is don't buy any smartphone with less than a 1400 mAh battery unless it's a blackberry. Really high end devices, you prolly want at least 1600. On T-Mobile there wasn't a choice unless you wanted to buy from Dell, but that creates issues in cases when you get DOA and defective devices (have to ship back, get shipped a new one, etc. instead of just driving 10 minutes to a carrier store), so we had to deal with it. I don't recommend this phone. The battery is the primary reason, but aside from that this phone has the worse sound of all the WP7 launch devices.
N8ter said:
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
HD7s is an AT&T phone. If you want a WP7 phone on AT&T then get the focus. The extra 0.3 inches is not worth getting the HD7s.
Good rule of thumb is don't buy any smartphone with less than a 1400 mAh battery unless it's a blackberry. Really high end devices, you prolly want at least 1600. On T-Mobile there wasn't a choice unless you wanted to buy from Dell, but that creates issues in cases when you get DOA and defective devices (have to ship back, get shipped a new one, etc. instead of just driving 10 minutes to a carrier store), so we had to deal with it. I don't recommend this phone. The battery is the primary reason, but aside from that this phone has the worse sound of all the WP7 launch devices.
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Well, I also get 16 hours of use easily with my HD7s. Also, having previously owned a Focus, I much prefer the HD7s and I am having better success with battery life vs the Focus.
I'm not sure what you mean about the sound, but no issues on my end. The HD7s has a much better look and feel and reading text is much better than it was on the Focus. The SAMOLED may be great for movies, but it is sub par for reading text. HTC also provides much more useful OEM apps and add-ons than Samsung.
N8ter said:
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
HD7s is an AT&T phone. If you want a WP7 phone on AT&T then get the focus. The extra 0.3 inches is not worth getting the HD7s.
Good rule of thumb is don't buy any smartphone with less than a 1400 mAh battery unless it's a blackberry. Really high end devices, you prolly want at least 1600. On T-Mobile there wasn't a choice unless you wanted to buy from Dell, but that creates issues in cases when you get DOA and defective devices (have to ship back, get shipped a new one, etc. instead of just driving 10 minutes to a carrier store), so we had to deal with it. I don't recommend this phone. The battery is the primary reason, but aside from that this phone has the worse sound of all the WP7 launch devices.
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Click to collapse
I have a slightly different experience w/ the sound - so far the sound is better than the focus. Everything else though, is in the Focus' favor (outside viewing of the screen turned out to be much more important than I thought - it was awesome on the focus).
The battery is dreadfully inadequate on this device. My calling, e-mail, browsing, etc., ran it out of charge by the end of the workday and I was charging it up in the car on the way home. I could make it all the way to bed w/ my Focus (since once home I tended to use my device less).
An acceptable workaround for me has been the Power Skin (other's milage will vary greatly since it's a personal thing) .
The Power Skin gives me an extra 1500 (?) on the battery. It's different than I thought it would be - the phone works like it's pluged in and charging all day. When the skin is out of juice I slip it off and return to the nice sleek phone again. Pushing the power and volume buttons throgh the thick protective skin took some getting used to, but they're ok I guess.
If I'm going out and want to slip the phone in my pocket I just take off the skin and run w/out it. For me, it's more versitile than a larger battery w/ a new back cover since I have the best of both worlds (more power when I want or need it, slim phone when that's what I want or need).
N8ter said:
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
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I also get confused when I read things like this. I have the LG Quantum, 3.8". Wouldn't it take even less power than the HD7? With moderate use, I'm charging it by 3pm (off the charger at 7am). Or on the commute home at 6pm. Cause if not, it's dying by dinner time. And I've got a 1500 battery (which I believe is 100 more than the HD7 has).
-edit-
HOWEVER, to the OP:
I do recommend this phone. It just works. No fuss, no muss. Someone else has said it on here, but you just pick which set of limitations you're willing to live with. There's no HDMI out, XviD support, or robust DLNA functionality, which I'm finding is more important to me than previously thought. But everything works sooo well. Seemless, smooth, zero lag, graphically pleasing. Fantastic.
I've said it before, just head into a store and play with one until they kick you out.
I use my HD7s all the time (exchange, email, internet, music, games, wi-fi, games) so I'll occasionally have to charge mine at my desk at work. But if i'm not messing around with it all times of the day (like I usually am b/c I love my phone so much)...the battery lasts all day from when I wake up til I go to bed at night.
N8ter seems to have a knack for coming on the boards and slandering what he can, so I wouldn't put much trust in him.
I myself came from a Focus to an HD7S and it's pretty okay. The battery lasts quite a long time for being such a small one. I get about 14-16 hours of use if I'm checking my phone a lot, using FB, playing games, making a call and refreshing my email. I am on WiFi most of the time but I really don't see any difference using cellular data. I can get easily 24+ hours off one charge if I'm just using it a few times during the day.
The one gripe I really have about the HD7S is the screen. The ghosting on it is absolutely horrible. With the Mango update installed, I noticed it wasn't much of a problem reading scrolling white text as much, but grey text still was unreadable and tiles had a "streaking" effect still. Either way, my next phone won't be an HTC unless they change their panels. It's not really the blacks of the AMOLED screen that draw me in as much as outdoor visibility, brightness/vibrance and the ability to actually read text while you're scrolling. The Focus has it beat there. I reckon once a good price is found on eBay for one, I'll be switching over to a Focus S. The 4.3'' screen size is awesome, but WP7 really isn't made for SLCD.
thanks for the feedback. i decided against the focus because my other samsung phone seems to have really bad service, even my brother mom and dad that have the same phone said it about their samsung. i am really excited about mango.im a little confused on what i need to do to get mango installed. seems to be a lot of diff mango threads for this phone. does the htc come with a different live weather tile then the htc hub?
N8ter said:
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
HD7s is an AT&T phone. If you want a WP7 phone on AT&T then get the focus. The extra 0.3 inches is not worth getting the HD7s.
Good rule of thumb is don't buy any smartphone with less than a 1400 mAh battery unless it's a blackberry. Really high end devices, you prolly want at least 1600. On T-Mobile there wasn't a choice unless you wanted to buy from Dell, but that creates issues in cases when you get DOA and defective devices (have to ship back, get shipped a new one, etc. instead of just driving 10 minutes to a carrier store), so we had to deal with it. I don't recommend this phone. The battery is the primary reason, but aside from that this phone has the worse sound of all the WP7 launch devices.
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Click to collapse
Sadly, the Focus BL isn't any better than the HD7. They both are pretty much horrible.
I predict the OP will be returning his WP7 phone before long...unless he just loves the style, smoothness and elegance of WP7 enough to live with it...even with Mango.
---------- Post added at 04:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:40 PM ----------
speedfreak228 said:
thanks for the feedback. i decided against the focus because my other samsung phone seems to have really bad service, even my brother mom and dad that have the same phone said it about their samsung. i am really excited about mango.im a little confused on what i need to do to get mango installed. seems to be a lot of diff mango threads for this phone. does the htc come with a different live weather tile then the htc hub?
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Don't expect much help from the devs. They tend to ignore questions because they believe any question that can ever be posted is already answered out there in the world wide web...so read.
And the rooting of WP7 phones is quite complex and vague.
i might just buy extra batteries if the battery life is that bad. so i root then install a rom with mango, right? just like my android
It's not root, it's unlock. All it does is allow you to sideload apps such as homebrew. With official unlock, you can unlock anytime. The Chevron method must be done before NoDo. Just find a pre-NoDo ROM for the HD7(S) & flash away. Chevron Unlock & upgrade to NoDo. Passing it into Mango is a bit more work as, at least with the leaks, Mango relocks WP7. there's a way to do it with ProvXML & HTC's Connection setup app. There will be an official Chevron labs Unlock for Mango that will cost money, but cut out a lot of the work. There is work on a root tool by Heathcliff & a FullUnlock (Unofficial name) by Cotulla in the works. These look promising, plus the custom update CAB's for custom ROM's that'll allow you to apply custom updates to the ROM (Change registry, patch system files, possibilities are endless).
As for battery life, I'm pretty sure I already said it. I get 8 hrs of work on moderate to heavy usage on & have 50+% left at least. I browse the internet, check Facebook, use Bing Maps, Check Emails, make calls, send SMS/MMS, all the normal stuff. Sometimes I even forget to turn off WiFi, which is supposed to eat battery life. Today alone, I used Bind Maps for directions from one delivery to another twice for a total of 1 hr with the screen on constantly, no car charger, just ordered one for work. I honestly don't know why people are complaining about battery life, it's not bad at all IMHO.
drkfngthdragnlrd said:
It's not root, it's unlock. All it does is allow you to sideload apps such as homebrew. With official unlock, you can unlock anytime. The Chevron method must be done before NoDo. Just find a pre-NoDo ROM for the HD7(S) & flash away. Chevron Unlock & upgrade to NoDo. Passing it into Mango is a bit more work as, at least with the leaks, Mango relocks WP7. there's a way to do it with ProvXML & HTC's Connection setup app. There will be an official Chevron labs Unlock for Mango that will cost money, but cut out a lot of the work. There is work on a root tool by Heathcliff & a FullUnlock (Unofficial name) by Cotulla in the works. These look promising, plus the custom update CAB's for custom ROM's that'll allow you to apply custom updates to the ROM (Change registry, patch system files, possibilities are endless).
As for battery life, I'm pretty sure I already said it. I get 8 hrs of work on moderate to heavy usage on & have 50+% left at least. I browse the internet, check Facebook, use Bing Maps, Check Emails, make calls, send SMS/MMS, all the normal stuff. Sometimes I even forget to turn off WiFi, which is supposed to eat battery life. Today alone, I used Bind Maps for directions from one delivery to another twice for a total of 1 hr with the screen on constantly, no car charger, just ordered one for work. I honestly don't know why people are complaining about battery life, it's not bad at all IMHO.
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thanks for the mango rom explenation.i might have to pm you for help. that is really good battery life, seems alot better than my android
Over8ted said:
N8ter seems to have a knack for coming on the boards and slandering what he can, so I wouldn't put much trust in him.
I myself came from a Focus to an HD7S and it's pretty okay. The battery lasts quite a long time for being such a small one. I get about 14-16 hours of use if I'm checking my phone a lot, using FB, playing games, making a call and refreshing my email. I am on WiFi most of the time but I really don't see any difference using cellular data. I can get easily 24+ hours off one charge if I'm just using it a few times during the day.
The one gripe I really have about the HD7S is the screen. The ghosting on it is absolutely horrible. With the Mango update installed, I noticed it wasn't much of a problem reading scrolling white text as much, but grey text still was unreadable and tiles had a "streaking" effect still. Either way, my next phone won't be an HTC unless they change their panels. It's not really the blacks of the AMOLED screen that draw me in as much as outdoor visibility, brightness/vibrance and the ability to actually read text while you're scrolling. The Focus has it beat there. I reckon once a good price is found on eBay for one, I'll be switching over to a Focus S. The 4.3'' screen size is awesome, but WP7 really isn't made for SLCD.
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Click to collapse
The SLCD screen is decent. The screen is much better than the panel on the original HD7.
That being said. I'm not slandering anything. Anyone who claims to be getting 16 hours with "heavy use" on this phons either lying or using a definition of "heavy use" that none of us have ever heard before. The phone never goes that long on heavy use. It's practically impossible to do it.
If they get 16 hours of heavy use on an HD7, then I get 400 hours of heavy use on my Vibrant. That's how ridiculous that sounds, and is.
What kind of plan that AT&T require you to stick with the HD7s?
Strike_Eagle said:
What kind of plan that AT&T require you to stick with the HD7s?
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i have the unlimited data plan
Sent from my Windows Phone 7
Like what can you choose on your plan? Or you must stick with only one plan that At&T provide for hd7s?
Sent from my Schubert using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Battery Life Management Questions from a Smartphone Newbie

Hi everyone, I am a pretty technically savvy person, but a newbie to the world of smartphones. I just got a MT4GS this week and have been getting used to it for the past few days. My main concern is the battery life - understandably, compared to my old feature phone, the smartphone is going to use a lot more juice. I just wasn't expecting to charge it overnight, have it plugged most of the day at work, and still be down to ~70% power by the time I get home. I'm not even doing anything that intense with it. It worries me to think that my phone might die on me if I'm out somewhere for the day. And what is the point of having a phone that can run programs and do all these great things, if you're afraid to use it?
After reading around here, I've already picked up a lot of great tips: I ordered a set of the Anker batteries (my phone was purchased used, and while it is physically in great condition, who knows about the battery), and I installed the 2x Battery app. I've reduced my screen brightness; turned off background data; turned off GPS; and when I'm on WiFi, I have 4G off, and vice versa.
A couple of questions:
1) Without doing anything crazy to the phone or default OS, is there anything else you recommend doing to conserve battery life?
2) In 2x Battery, there is a setting "Pause when WiFi on." The description here is kind of confusing, and I can't tell if it's working or not. If I want the mobile data connection off when connected to WiFi, do I want this option checked or unchecked? Right now I'm connected to WiFi, but it appears that mobile data is on whether this box is checked or not.
Thank you so much for all the great info so far, and for any advice you can offer me )
Well, firstly, good call on the anker batteries. I have one, and it's changed my life with this device. I went from being exactly as you described (scared to go somewhere without knowing exactly where my next source of power was) to not paying it much mind.
Secondly, if you are unrooted stock - then you have a whole lot of apps working in the background and conspiring together to drain your battery. ...and there's nothing you can do about it because both T-Mobile and HTC saw fit to place them there, running around the clock and beyond your control.
This is known as bloat, and on this phone it's beyond out of control. It's out of control on other phones, but they took it to a special place of exasperation on this one.
I am not sure about this 2x battery app you're speaking of, i've never used it. Consider this, though, it's one MORE app running on your device and draining your battery - and if you are stock this may be something you can ill afford.
As far as the wifi/data dance, this is nothing more then a feel-good measure that really isn't doing anything for you except adding to your interaction with the device. The time your screen is on to make that change takes more battery use then you would save on several hours of having one or the other switched off.
Check this link below (another XDA post):
Everything you wanted to know about Li-Ion batteries but were afraid to ask!
...and it may help you out with battery care.
For me, running my custom ROM with an anker battery and all the apps/widgets I prefer to use I can get 6-8 hours out of a charge on the anker battery with semi-steady usage.
This is with both wifi, mobile data and background data on, and the screen on but at mostly dim brightness for 4-5 of those 6-8.
If I overclock the processor to 1.7Ghz (stock it stops at 1.2Ghz) and hook it up to a television using a playstation (game console) emulator...running flat out at full speed I can drain the (anker) battery in as little as 3 hours.
Something that may interest you as time wears on and you get used to having the anker batteries and using them is what is mentioned in this thread:
external battery pack! Awesome!
...and there are many out there and good deals to be had on some, poke around a bit and you'll find one suitable if such is your desire.
One last thing to consider - make sure you are using the proper charging port.
Most USB ports on computers only push half an amp, as well as nearly every single secondary port on chargers (think car chargers with an 'extra' USB port). Half an amp is not enough current to charge the device if being used, and barely enough to see positive battery increase if not.
Make sure whatever you plug into is pushing 5volts 1amp, or you'll see your battery level continue to drop as you are charging.
(oh, and GPS is something you WILL see more battery life from turning off if not using - so having something like a soundhound app widget on your home screen with location on will eat your battery before you know it's gone by activating the GPS.)
Dimming the screen if possible will see you the greatest gains in battery life, and then getting rid of any apps you can that are running in the background is the next biggest step - but again, if stock and unrooted there is only so much you can do on app management.
DON'T USE TASK KILLERS - EVER. (they do much, much more harm then any falsely perceived good you may think you are getting from them.)
Recap:
Screen = biggest battery drain.
GPS chip/use = second biggest drain.
Apps in background = third biggest drain.
Wifi/mobile data = negligable drain.
Hope this helps a bit.
Edit:
Oh, and welcome to XDA!
Blue pretty much covered everything that I was going to say. I also have the Anker battery, and I also have the Anker 5600 mah external battery, and I no longer have battery worries. I choose the Anker external battery over the other ones because of its small portable size, even though some of the other ones have more capacity. I find that I can get about two full charges of my phone with it, and it is small enough to fit in my pocket or purse with no problem. I highly recommend an external battery just for piece of mind, knowing that I no longer have to be searching every place I go for an outlet. I love that I can charge my phone while it is in my pocket or purse. Also the price isn't too bad, I bought mine for about $40, but I see Amazon now has it for $33. I bought it from a company called Laptop Mate on Amazon, and it was shipped amazingly fast even though I just got standard shipping. Laptop Mate then said if I wrote a review I could choose a free gift. The gifts were not anything spectacular, but the gesture was nice. At the time I could choose between a usb powered reading light, a card reader, and I forget what the other one was. Again nothing great, but it was just a nice bonus, I will definitely buy from that company again. So with my Anker internal battery, and my external battery, I could reasonably not have to plug my phone into the wall for at least two days, I could stretch it more if I was camping or something. I really like keeping my screen at full brightness, so that is where most of my drain comes from. Well, sorry for the long winded response, and welcome to XDA. I bet that in a month you will wonder what you ever did with out a smart phone.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Externa...on/dp/B005K7192G/ref=pd_rhf_gw_cpp_tab0_p_t_1
Thank you so much for your very thorough responses! I am happy to report that since making a few little changes (turning down my screen brightness, turning off the background data sync), performance is already noticeably better. Yesterday I was on battery power for close to 14 hours, was on and off WiFi, talked on the phone probably a couple hours total, and used it what I would consider a "normal" amount (e-mail, photos, some social networking)... and still had ~50% power left by the time I went to bed. That is much more reassuring to me, and I can only assume performance would get even better once I get those new batteries.
I understand about the "bloat" and having all these extra things running, but I think doing anything with the ROM is a little above my expertise at this point. For now, things seem to be working reasonably, so we'll see...
I like the external charger idea, but I am going to hold off for now. I ordered the 2-pack of Anker batteries, so once I get those, I'll have 3 batteries. One should be fine for a normal day, and if I'm really going to be out for a while and not have any opportunity to recharge, or will be using the phone a lot, I could just bring along a spare or two. (Good thing I am a lady with a purse - what do guys do?! Carry a man bag? My husband is considering getting the same phone, so this is a valid concern.)
I'm apparently too new to post a link to 2x Battery, which I've seen mentioned elsewhere on this board, but that's the name if you want to look it up in the Android Market. Even if it is using a little more battery power, I think it's worth it. It puts controls for things that use battery power all in one place, and it makes it very easy to monitor the current battery status. I think I'll stick with it, at least until I get a better sense of how my use affects the battery.
Per the question of a man hauling batteries, I just carry a spare battery or two I'm my front pocket. If I am carrying keys I will slap a piece of tape accross the terminals to prevent a short. One or two guys carry their spare gear in a camera case. I can haul most all I need in a corner of my Levi's front pocket.
I also used to run Juice Defender, it got irritating waiting for the data connection to spin up and the benefits were outweighed (IMHO) by the downsides. Killing data every time the screen turns off was grim.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
I have a zipper case I keep the phone in, and it's not much larger then the device itself. Above and beyond keeping dust out ( primary function ) it also has a small pocket on the outside I keep a few knick-knacks in, like a retractable micro-usb cable, backup memory card ( recovery purposes) mini flash drive and spare battery.
I highly recommend some kind of small zipper case for the device to keep out the dust, best $10 investment I've made for the phone.
Not in a position to link pics at the moment, but I'll do so over the next few days when I get the chance - especially floating loose in a potentially dusty purse it's something to consider.
I wish the video cable was something I could cram in to it as well, but that presents too much bulk for it to work, I have a mini camera case I carry sometimes with the A/V cable, AC adapter, another micro-usb cable and some memory cards and flash drives - something to consider for yourself for carrying cables and such since you most likely have room in your purse for a mini camera case with such things.
Sent from a digital distance.
Thanks for all the carrying tips!
Blue6IX said:
I highly recommend some kind of small zipper case for the device to keep out the dust, best $10 investment I've made for the phone.
Not in a position to link pics at the moment, but I'll do so over the next few days when I get the chance - especially floating loose in a potentially dusty purse it's something to consider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really worried about my own phone, it has its own little pocket inside my purse, and I don't know what kind of ladies you hang out with, but my purse is not dusty...
Please forgive - I meant no offense by it.
I threw in the word potentially because while I have seen some pristine purses, i've also seen some which haven't been vacuumed out in a long time, if ever. The very fine dust that gets in during the course of normal travel is what our enemy is here. (...and yours may be vacuumed out on a consistent basis, really only you can know.)
This need not just be dirt, even the fibers of the material wearing off in tiny fractions of an amount from simply carrying it around (material rubbing against material as it's shape stretches, bends and contorts) is enough to be a hazard to the device. Over time this adds up.
(though, saying it has it's own pocket/pouch within the purse itself lends a good deal more protection and paints a much better picture then the previous blanket statement of 'in my purse')
Due to the slide mechanism and the exposed back of the LCD screen it is very easy to get dust under the screen, in between the layers of it.
Slide it open with the screen at max brightness, then flip it over. Look at the very end of the slide channels on the screen side, from an angle on the side. You will be able to clearly see the light shining through opposite the T-Mobile branding on the backside of where the genius button is. Look past the greenish tint and see the whitish light, noticing how it extends inwards.
You can now look at the other side, right by the T-Mobile branding in the same spot and though you can't see the light shining through, you can see how very fine dust can work it's way in between the digitizer and screen.
'Dust under screen' is something that people who post here at XDA have made warranty exchanges over, as well as who knows how many who don't post have done. It's a valid exchange gripe that is in fact covered under warranty from what the people who have posted about it have led us to believe. There are also plenty of 'dust under screen' doubleshots on reduced price on ebay that you could look up this very moment.
Again, I meant no offense, but was simply trying to use the situation presented to illustrate a potential hazard your new device could fall victim of. Hopefully by bringing it to your attention you can take steps to minimize any damage, or at least present you with the opportunity to later be in a situation of:
'Oh well, at least I knew it was coming'
...as opposed to:
'Wow, I wish I knew that could have happened'
We only wish you to get the best experience possible from your Android, and while there is a lot of important info here...'tis easy to become overwhelmed by it all and miss some of the important things that could help you immediately, or should be known immediately.
Glad to hear you are already in better straights over the management of your available power!
By the way - thanks for endeavoring to clarify the app you were using for battery management, i'll definitely scope it out when I get a chance.
Blue6IX said:
Please forgive - I meant no offense by it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None taken, I just thought it was funny
Thanks for the tips about dust, though. That wasn't something I had really considered, though I'm hoping to get a bit more life out of this phone than my last few (cheap, and switched on a whim), so I'll be sure to keep things clean. Is it ok to spray the back of the slide-out with some compressed air, or could that cause other problems?
Little update:
I did use a little compressed air to clean out the back of the phone, so hopefully I didn't hurt anything.
Two different cases are on their way to me - I'll see which I like more and return the other.
I've had the Anker battery in for just a couple hours, and it's already amazing! I've been using the phone a decent amount, turned on notifications and everything I'd switched off, and it's still at 100%! Also feels much cooler than the other battery. It was a tight fit, like everyone said, but I did get it in and fit the back cover over it.
But, weird thing: when I turn the phone sideways, the screen no longer rotates. It will still rotate if I slide the keyboard up, but otherwise it's like it doesn't recognize that the orientation changed. Did the battery mess something up?
The screen didn't rotate on it's own unless you slid the keyboard out if you are using the stock launcher - you may have made the same mistake I did in thinking it was so, but it wasn't.
Home screens, in the app drawer...etc... not made to auto-rotate.
You just happened to finally realize it - same thing happened to me.
I even argued against it, and couldn't figure out why it was changed.
A while later while I was going through the code that comprises Rosie (sense launcher) I actually saw that it wasn't made to do so.
So no, the battery didn't mess this up, it's the way it was supposed to be.
The reason for it is there is an alignment issue with some widgets when it switches from portrait to landscape in Rosie. I'm not sure how to fix it the way they have it coded, i've been scratching my head on this one for a while and tried a few things with no success.
HTC could learn a few things from some aftermarket app designers ( like the team that made GO launcher, for instance)
The way they built it, I don't think it's possible to fix their mistake, it's too interwoven and embedded in the design of the code.
Edit - it still and always has, autorotated while you are in apps themselves if they support it.
Oh you're right! That's funny, I never noticed before. In other apps, the screen does rotate normally, so I guess all is good...
Going on 12 hours with this battery, with all notifications, synching, etc. turned on, and I'm still at 67% ... And this is right out of the box, without the 4-5 cycles they recommend. I'm very happy with it so far!

[Q] Battery life, specifically for hard core camera users?

So I called T-mo about a broken BB9900 (yes, long time BB user here) and oddly enough they offered the one s under my BB warranty. Weird but ok. I really like the one s and android and almost went with the htc amaze back when I was trying to decided between BB and android. I love the size of the S and will probably only really miss the keyboard of my BB but anyway, not trying to start a debate about phones, sorry. So, coming from BB, which are notorious for long battery life, I am wondering how a one s would stack up.
I am a drive by home inspector. Meaning I drive by houses and snap a pic or two and usually bluetooth the pics over to my lap top sitting on the front seat to up load them to my company. I probably visit 60-80 houses a day and take a couple of pics of each. Usually don't use the flash, only every now and then. My BB will generally make it till mid afternoon before needing to be charged. Since starting this job I don't use the phone for conversations much anymore nor do I use the internet or media features much. Mainly pics, texts, and emails.
I have read great things about this phone and the battery life but nothing specific to my type usage. Anyone have any experience with the phone using it kinda like that?
Thanks,
Chad
Oh, and not sure if it matters or not but camera setting are on the very smallest pic it can take. Not taking quality pics just quantity.
cecoen said:
So I called T-mo about a broken BB9900 (yes, long time BB user here) and oddly enough they offered the one s under my BB warranty. Weird but ok. I really like the one s and android and almost went with the htc amaze back when I was trying to decided between BB and android. I love the size of the S and will probably only really miss the keyboard of my BB but anyway, not trying to start a debate about phones, sorry. So, coming from BB, which are notorious for long battery life, I am wondering how a one s would stack up.
I am a drive by home inspector. Meaning I drive by houses and snap a pic or two and usually bluetooth the pics over to my lap top sitting on the front seat to up load them to my company. I probably visit 60-80 houses a day and take a couple of pics of each. Usually don't use the flash, only every now and then. My BB will generally make it till mid afternoon before needing to be charged. Since starting this job I don't use the phone for conversations much anymore nor do I use the internet or media features much. Mainly pics, texts, and emails.
I have read great things about this phone and the battery life but nothing specific to my type usage. Anyone have any experience with the phone using it kinda like that?
Thanks,
Chad
Oh, and not sure if it matters or not but camera setting are on the very smallest pic it can take. Not taking quality pics just quantity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
based on my experience when i went out of town for a vacation, i used my One S as my primary camera for the whole trip. i unplugged the phone at exactly 8 AM in the morning, during the trip, i captured exactly 148 photos in total, when i get back home at around 9-10 PM in the evening, the battery still has 18% remaining. i'm quite happy with it. not mentioning that i played music on the road, played games a little, and texted a couple of SMS. the battery life of the HOS is great!

[Q] Best 3G solutions?

Hey guys
After a notable absence of Android in my life I'm heading back over with a TF300T. Now, as you may guess from the title I want to talk about my various connection options and draw from your experiences with the device to help me make the right choice in terms of getting my new baby online outside my house.
Obviously I could have gotten a device with built in modem but nothing really turned my head in terms of price and stuff, and as I recall just buying a device that just does what you want it to do already isn't really the Android spirit; half the fun is getting there.
Anyway, this leaves me with a number of imperfect options for data connections:
My phone will happily tether up to the tablet and because my network are cool dudes I can do that for free. Problem is that doing so means I can't make/recieve calls and texts while I'm tethered up and since I want mobile data love when I'm out of the house working that would seem to not be a great idea.
Secondly I could jump in with a mobile wifi thing, but I'm really not keen to get a another contract to make that happen and the amounts of data I'm likely to use (literally just web browsing for now and forever) are somewhat low and somewhat infrequent, making this seem to be a pretty bad useage of money. Also with devices offering 'Up to 5 hours of battery life'; well lets just that's not going to last me long enough to be useful.
Finally, I can grab a 3G USB stick and duck tape it to the device. It's the right stuff for my requirements, but it seems kinda non-trivial to hook up a USB device to the undocked tablet and certainly it seems totally unrealistic to wander around holding the tablet with usb adapter, then modem dongle sticking six inches out of the bottom. At worst it'll fall out, at best I'll break it. In the dock this looks great, assuming it'll work in the standard USB port, but outside it just seems silly.
My hope really was that I'd be able to find a cable that'd go from the propitiatory connector (Bad Asus!) to female usb so I could potentially stick the dongle flat against the back of the tablet without noticeably increasing it's footprint, but that seems unlikely. I've seen a guy on youtube who can make such a cable, but it takes soldering and that's somewhat outside my abilities.
So what kind of approach had you guys taken and what experiences have you had using this kind of ghetto-interweb solution? The key is to find the right add on that will let me still use my phone properly, that will give me long endurance but also minimal hassle... A bit of a reach really, but maybe I'm not thinking of all the options.
Apologies if anyone thinks this is in the wrong place, my XDA-fu is a little rusty but I'm pretty sure I'm in the right place. I've googled around and while I can find plenty of stuff telling me all the ways to hook the internet up, no-one seems to be answering what way I should approach making it all happen.
Best choice for me has been a mifi. Look up a Huawei 585 or 589 and plug in a sim and away you go. You can get some very cheap rolling monthly contracts these days for data only plans.
How have you found the battery life to be in practice? Can I leave the thing switched on and get some reasonable proportion of a day out of it? My hope really is that the battery estimates they give are 'x hours of actual internetting' instead of 'x hours of being switched on'. If it'll just quietly sit and stay connected for most of a day then that'll probably be fine, but if I have to finesse the thing on and off all day long just to get past lunch time that sounds pretty bad for my situation.

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