Related
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.
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!
PSA: *This will be crossposted in xda HTC One X and HTC One X+ forums, I hope cross posting is allowed, haven't seen it mentioned in rules.*
Hi all,
Quick disclaimer: I've been lurking parts of xda now and again for a couple years now, have flashed a couple of phones and tablets now and again for mainly practical reasons, recently getting more interested in it as a ""fun" interest or "hobby".
SO: I am very aware that this is my first post, the rules, search function, etc. ..
BUT: After extensively searching both google and specifically xda to help me resolve this issue *myself*, I decided to create an account and post. I'm sorry if this Q should have been put in the newbie thread, my assessment was that it probably has no place there.
ALSO PLZ NOTE: What was meant to be a succinct summary and question somehow turned into a condensed but complete rundown of events, so here is a...
TL;DR:
- Replaced HTC One X+ display/digitizer unit myself, ran fine for 5 weeks.
- Then: flashed twrp 2.7x or 2.8, not sure anymore, before installing Android HD Revolution 33.1 by mike1986, and following the official instructions, which ran great for about week until my phone spontaneously BRICKED THE F*CK OUT COMPLETELY.
(yes, true brick, paperweight, robot-corpse, whatever)
=> Question: IS "RETROACTIVE/RETROGRADE BRICKING POSSIBLE/A "THING"??
If so, what could I have done wrong? (POSSIBLY something to do with a bootimage of firmware that I was sure I had the up to date version of... dunno though).
=========================================================================
About 6 weeks ago:
- Cracked the display of my HTC One X+ badly by dropping it onto concrete-type floor at a rave/party
=> Decided to try and replace it myself, researched for a good while (talking several days here, 90s/00s kids),
=> Decided to replace the display/digitizer unit myself to save money and gain knowledge.
Repair process was challenging and nearly as nerve wracking as playing the WSOP (not kidding, have played it three times), had an issue immediately after putting it back together where it suddenly wouldn't charge AT ALL anymore (NO LED), and overheated, and had unusually fast battery drain of its remaining charge (which never ran out completely before resolving that issue, since I kept turning it off whenever possible).
=> Took it apart and put it together again XX times until realizing the power switch flex cable kept slipping out of its two (jawbone?) connectors during putting it back together (I was doing something wrong with the flex positioning).
=> This resolved the issue.
=> Felt like a hero and that I win at life (since this phone has a rep as being hard to meddle with, and this was my first time even opening, let alone taking apart a smartphone).
=> Continued joyful phone shenanigans for over one month.
=> THEN: Decided to root it, mainly because there was a particular app I wanted that required root ("Quick reply for Whatsapp/Pushbullet", for the curious).
My previous, very limited rooting/flashing experiences =
- Google Nexus One (CWM/Cyanogen) a few times, years ago
- Galaxy Tab 10.1 (CWM/Cyanogen 10.1 ages ago, TWRP/Omnirom Kitkat 4.4.4 recently) a couple times.
So, did my research (or so I thought..?) for this particular custom ROM, decided to go for Android Revolution HD for HTC One X/+ 33.1 by mike 1986 (because it looked fckin awesome, and it was, while it ran) and loved the sh*t out of my "new" phone for about a week. Especially the vastly improved battery life seemed almost surreal, a big deal for a fixed-battery phone.
Then, ONE FATFUL EVENING in a bar, I remember looking at my phone and seeing 35% left, (days before it would've been an amazing 70-80% on an avg. day), which may not be relevant as it was my birthday, so had been using it a lot that day => may be a moot point
- Next time I looked at the phone ( < 1 hour without active use for sure) it was dead.
"Hmmmm," thought slightly drunk me. Whatever, charge it later, weird sh*t happens.
- Got home later, charged it over night after booting it with usb cord attached (mains).
Seemed normal, I even set an alarm.
=> Alarm never rang because it was in a powered-off state again come morning, despite all-night charging.
=> It booted to HTC logo. Seconds later, it turned off again. Held down power again, all I saw was the soft touch buttons flashing red a few times. After this it unexpectedly became (or was secretly crowned):
!! COMPLETE AND UTTER FCKNG KING BRICK OF BRICK COUNTRY AND ATTACHED TERRITORIES !!
No power on with or without volume up/down held for whatever amount of time;
No charging, no heating up when "charging";
No LED in any colour or flashing frequency, ever;
No response after hours and days of charging on different USB cables on PC/wall socket;
PCs and laptops don't register a sign of anything when it penetrates their port parts, etc etc...
...
.Even that semi-mystical bright-light-exposure-while-charging "light sensor manipulation" thing (which apparently worked for a lo of people with similar issues) did nothing for the cause.
Promotion: *Paperweight status successfully acquired.* Yay.
=====================================================
Now, obviously my first thought was that the power flex that gave me trouble during display replacement probably slipped again., somehow (I had taped it down solidly I thought).
=> SO I opened it once again, flex position seemed ok, but I wasn't sure of its functionality as it did look kind of battered from the somewhat unprofessional repair I had conducted on it (which I openly admit to, though I really did try my absolute best).
- Spontaneously took mainboard/battery combo to a local independent phone/accessory shop after being told they'd take a look for free
(I was in there was in there buying a microsim adapter so I could use my ancient Nexus One, since my GF has my old S2 now, which she kindly offered back, but its hers now, so nah. Great phone though.)
=>Shop's advice echoed my thoughts: Flex cable may be screwed, I may have damaged it by bending in the wrong direction/too often, and that damage somehow didn't manifest until much later. I didn't mention the recent rooting + flashing as I deemed it irrelevant at the time.
Their secondary thoughts: Battery or mini-usb port fukt, (which would require soldering, which they don't even offer).
=> SO, feeling confirmed in my layman's assessment, I cheaply got a pristine new replacement flex on ebay, double checked all videos/tutorials, implemented the damn thing with considerably more skill/experience and even higher anticipation. What happened next was shocking:
Absolutely nothing, obv.
=> Did an additional epic f*ckton of internet/forum research, found similar problems and some resolutions, but no real answers, probably because my main problem translates to a kind of hybrid question.
So here I am now am with my core question:
Is it possible to FULLY brick an HTC/any smartphone but not become aware of this until one week later, when the device dies OVER ONE WEEK of reliable and amazing performance?
(and if yes, what aspect/stage of the flashing process is this likely related to?)
If the answer is NO, it must be a hardware fault with probability rank (I think)
:
1.) Battery dead for whatever reason
2.) Mini USB OR mainboard/integral component (equal rank as not sure), possibly caused by incompetent repair, but why or how would this express itself over a month later??
3.) Other, which I'm not aware of.
While researching new ROMS for the N1, I realized that I may have messed up on the "bootimg part" of the flashing process of the Revolution ROM, a part I found v. confusing in the instructions, even after rereading them many, many times. It was about the most recent firmware, which I was pretty sure I had anyway, since it was unrooted before and I do remember installing some firmware updates over the air.
I still did my best to follow the instructions though.
=> Maybe this has something to do with it, i.e. the hardware can't accept a charge because the software allowed it to become too uncharged (a fairly paradox concept to me, but apparently it can happen. Guess it's like a BIOS-type thing).
Thank you for anyone who read this far!
As it stands, I refuse to give up hope so soon after experiencing that rush of having fixed it myself.
Any specific or general help, tips, hints, pointers, replacement phones (One M8 or S5 plz., Iphones will go straight on ebay) would and will be greatly appreciated!!
The obvious choice is to get a new battery and see what happens, but I'm not sure if I wanna sink any more money into this phone, only to later find out the mainboard is at fault (not worth the money replacing), AKA "get a new phone without a contract", which would more than suck for me financially atm (Im ignoring my N1 here, which I love, but don't wanna be stuck with, esp. as it has the standard-issue broken power button (which I actually had repaired once under warranty, back in the ol' days of yore some prefer to refer to as 2009.
So guys: What's my move, if there is one, besides going to a local/online service centre (I live in Germany btw.) and probably paying unproportionate cash money to even have it looked at?
Cheers, thanks, merci, danke
PS: Just saw the polling function, so I attached one just for the hell of it, to see what happens (never used one before).
If you feel both qualified AND so inclined as to pass judgement on this here serious business, please indicate what you think may be the cause of my issue.
*BUMP 1*
Come on guys, I know it's a wall of text, but can't someone at least answer the TL;DR?
=> Is is possible to flash a custom rom which then (possibly because of improper installation) causes the phone to brick about a week later?
Simple question surely!
I wish to have a phone which needs to be charged once a month or at least twice a month as i'm tired of carrying the charger always and searching for a power outlet.
I though may be rigging many batteries in parallel would solve this issue since they have their own protection circuit inside them.
Let it be a 5 inch screen smart phone or just a monochrome old school phone, if it can run for weeks before charging it again it'll be a winner for me.
gionee has above 4000mah batteries ( gizmochina.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Gionee-V185-02.jpg )
i thought rigging 3 of them together with a feature phone in parallel would work( I don't mind how big it would be until it fits my jean pocket and i can make a bigger 3D printed back cover instead of the original case)
i need expert advise on:
-will it work if i simply solder them together
-if not is there a way to do it
P.S. If it works out i think of rigging a tiny mp3 player to a bunch of batteries replacing its tiny little one and beat cowon's backup time with my own.
I would highly advise against this idea, your device was built to run on one battery, adding inline could be a fire hazard and possibly explode.
Hi,
I have a Xperia Z3 for a few months now. Software wise it's great, I really love it. But I have a series of very annoying hardware issues.
1) USB cable doesn't connect properly. Well, it does, but any movement breaks the connection. Touching the cable, even lightly, disconnects the USB. I lost a lot of time transferring files and accidentally pushing the cable, and it's super scary to install sensitive stuff via USB.
2) It gets really hot really fast. Playing simple games or browsing the internet for 5 minutes already makes it warm. Playing hardware intensive games for 20 minutes make the phone so hot that it's *really* uncomfortable to hold it. I can't play games outside because I can't stand holding the phone, and putting it in my pocket just makes my leg hot because the heat is spreading through my pants. Despite that, I never got a overheat warning. It happens with both stock and custom ROMs, so I don't think it's a software issue.
3) I got a small crack on my screen. I have absolutely no idea how it happened, but I don't think I was careless. Is the screen too fragile? I don't think so, this one is probably my fault , but might as well ask.
I'm asking all of this because these problems are really annoying me, and I want a new phone. I really love this software/spec-wise, so I'm thinking to get the same. But damn, if I buy another Z3 just to have the same issues I'll feel like the biggest idiot on the planet.
So, was it just a bad luck thing or should I go for another phone?
Thanks for reading.
Hi Hexenir
I've had my z3 for around 6 months now and think it's a great phone.
No. 1, have you maybe worn the USB port out by connecting lots and lots of times? (you mentioned you've used custom roms so I assume you've flashed more than the average user) Do you charge through that port too, thus increasing how many times you've used that port? I use a Magnector to charge so I only use the USB port to side load apps and mine is totally stable. I can move the phone around whilst it's connected and it doesn't break connection. Also, are you using the cable that came with the phone? Sometimes other brands can be sloppy fitting.
No 2, I can't really comment here because I don't play intensive games on mine. I have browsed reddit for easily a full hour and there might be a slight temperature increase but nothing I wouldn't expect. It's also sat in a case so I'd imagine it's harder for my phone to get rid of heat.
No 3, As I just said, I use a case so I've not got any cracks on mine (yet, touch wood) but I haven't ever dropped it either. I use a Roxfit case and I'm really happy with it. I always used to keep my other phones naked (no case) but the glass front and back made me feel paranoid about dropping it. There's also the issue that the z3 can slide if it's on a flat/smooth surface (mine slid on my bed duvet and I've heard they've slid across tables) so again, my case stops this.
These aren't cheap phones so at the end of the day it's your decision but if you do, I'd recommend a magnector and a case. Another thing I should mention, I switched to a magnector because I worried about wearing the water tight seal by opening it to charge every 3 or 4 days. Have you recently done a pressure test to see if you've worn that seal out?
The Z3 is a great phone, but ...
1)
USB - I usually use the magnetic port for charging and do most file transfers by wifi so the only usage of the USB port is for me flashing roms. Nothing happened yet but I guess this is something which can be fixed under warranty.
2)
My kids play Asphalt 8 on it and it does get warm but not hot. Before investigating further I would recommend doing a factory reset to see whether this resolves the issue. If not, warranty may help either.
3)
A pain in the ass and you are not the only one. Depending on your country you may have difficulties to get that repaired.
1- Bad USB? Have you tried using another cable and/or another computer to see whether the same problem persist? I highly doubt its software issue, wouldn’t harm to do a repair with Sony PC Companion. If you have tried all those mentioned above, I would assume it’s a defected phone, hardware issue.
2- I think its normal for the Z series, they do tend to get warm easily. I have the Z and now the Z3, both experienced the same thing. One thing is that heat disperse poorly on glass in compared to metal. This might be one reason why many OEMs do not use glass back anymore. I know its a shame, beauty or performance, your choice. However, i would say the Z3 disperse heat far better than the Z.
in addition to that, it also depends your location. Here in Vancouver, its mostly raining and windy, so heat isnt that bad in compared to Asia, Hong Kong/China etc.
Idle average CPU temp is 24 Celsius
Browsing average CPU temp is 30 Celsius - 40 Celsius
Playing games reaches 4x Celsius fast. I normally let it cool after reaching that high. Thus, i barely play games on the phone.
3- I do not believe that the Z3 has gorilla glass 3/4 so I wouldn’t bet on the glass is "tough." That said, I would advise you to put on a screen protector regardless of whether you like it or not. Trust me, a simple screen protector will hold the glass together. I had the Z before and dropped like x times and the screen didn’t crack at all. Dropped my Z3 few times and its still fine.
Well if I purchase a phone where the screen cracked randomly and have the issues u mentioned I would not buy it again.
With the screen crack Sony will refuse to repair it under warranty but u can still try.
I always have an insurance when I buy Smartphones. I paid 150€ and it covers everthing Sony will refuse to repair.