choosing a smart phone not hard on battery?

73trix

Is there such a thing??? I want to get a new phone that is good for internet use but preferably not a killer on batt life. Is that unrealistic? I know that the Iphone and HTC are supposedly really hard on battery. I don't need a high spec phone but would like to have internet browsing. Looking at the fat.cheese deal with new meteor contract of E40 cash back but trying to choose a phone. I noticed the ericcson X8 is free. Not much on spec but might be enough for me. Not a big tecky. Thanks!

Zagato

I think you've got to win a prize for thread title oxymoron of the day

There are a few main things that cause the battery drain in smartphones:

Screen - They have bigger, brighter, more pixelated screens than older phones, so when the screen is on it will use battery

*Data Trafficking - Smartphones automatically sync emails, calendar, contacts, twitter, facebook, weather, news, stocks, and any other apps that update automatically are sending/receiving data in the background

*3G - using 3G networks rather than 2G networks uses twice the battery according to the typical manufacturers specs. In real life (in Ireland anyway) 3G signal is much poorer than 2G signal and the phone uses a lot more battery when it has poorer signal so this also causes battery drain


All 3 of these things are variable and modifiable (did I just make that word up?) depending on how you use the phone.

*Battery use can be significantly improved by reducing the amount of syncing you allow programs to do and by leaving the phone in 2G mode unless you are actively browsing, as do you really care ho quickly your phone downloads all your emails in the background when it's in your pocket.


In short there is much more difference between the users than the phones in terms of Battery Life and bear this in mind when comparing phones/reading phone reviews

Atomic Pineapple

Excellent reply there.

Background data is a real killer on these devices, for example I had been getting 36 - 40 hours out of my SGS II with background data off and when I left it on by mistake it only lasted 14 hours.