[-Ninz-]

I have noticed that my battery has been decreasing slowly ever since I downloaded this new BB theme. Can this actually happen, or is this paranoia?

Thanks!!

[sunkast]

Yes, certain themes can be more energy hungry.

[GeekNJ]

Yes, certain themes can be more energy hungry.

Do you have anything more descriptive to provide? What specifically in a theme drains the battery more?

I can see enabling bluetooth, adjusting the light time or the notification types (vibrate vs beep) or running apps in the background that are communicating over the network draining the battery but what in a theme would do that?

Something the original poster should do, if not done already, is pull the battery to reset everything and see if things improve even using the same theme.

[wxboss]

I don't know if they would consume more energy, but they will consume more space on your device. If you have plenty of device memory to spare, then download away

[DearFloyd]

Yes. Themes can drain the battery quicker. Image heavy themes contribute to this. Especially using hourglasses and different overlays and new message indicators. You can change the way the icons and fonts look once highlighted and everything. Using different fonts and sizes for different screens also causes the device processor to work overtime. Being a theme builder myself, thats the simplest way I can put it.

[wxboss]

Yes. Themes can drain the battery quicker. Image heavy themes contribute to this. Especially using hourglasses and different overlays and new message indicators. You can change the way the icons and fonts look once highlighted and everything. Using different fonts and sizes for different screens also causes the device processor to work overtime. Being a theme builder myself, thats the simplest way I can put it.

I stand corrected. Thanks for the explanation!

[anon(153966)]

I use to complain about this a while back! And no one believed me. I was testing the L theme before it was released for general use, and I would barely get a day of use from my BlackBerry...

I have noticed that my battery has been decreasing slowly ever since I downloaded this new BB theme. Can this actually happen, or is this paranoia?

Thanks!!

[Josh Moody]

I find Jive Talk drains the battery.

[GeekNJ]

I find Jive Talk drains the battery.

There are definitely applications which run in the background such as IM programs and BB Messenger as well as Gmail, RSS checking programs, weather programs, etc. Those will drain the battery as they are typically constantly in communications with a back-end server.

I think the drain from a theme would be minimal though I don't have some of the experience in this area others on this forum have. I don't have any personal evidence one way or the other.

[gtpunit]

I use to complain about this a while back! And no one believed me. I was testing the L theme before it was released for general use, and I would barely get a day of use from my BlackBerry...

I am in the same boat! I love the L theme, but it absolutely kills my battery. I have yet to go a full day without charging. Guess it doesn't help that I use the music player for about 7 hours a day either!!

[Gadgetgeek]

I am in the same boat! I love the L theme, but it absolutely kills my battery. I have yet to go a full day without charging. Guess it doesn't help that I use the music player for about 7 hours a day either!!

So have you done a controlled battery life test with another theme and all other app usage being equal such as your music usage / background apps? I am an avid L Theme user and have never once noticed any increased battery drain with this theme. IMO the L Theme itself is not causing your battery issues.

[gtpunit]

No, I have not done a battery test. But on my Fusic I was able to listen to music and text all day long, while still having some battery life to spare. That is the only thing I am basing it off of.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[boomerbsg]

every phone handles battery draw differently. so comparing it to another phone is almost futile. my old Sany RL4930 could go as long as 3 days without being charged with light usage. but the BB does have far more running in the background.
a big save for me is disabling mobile network until i need to browse the web or check email. also disabling GPS until i need it too. and even then its still not a huge saving. i still have to charge the phone before a full 12 hours is up depending on my usage.

as far as themes drawing more juice.. i can see it happening, but i'd have to say that should be negligible.
considering we are talking about a device that uses a flash memory type set up with no moving parts (eg a hard drive) where swapping takes place from RAM to HDD in a swap file (a major killer of battery juice in a laptop with limited memory).
i would think a theme would use more memory than processor power. and would rely more on the video card in the device to paint it on the screen, than the processor as well. the processor usage would come into play when launching and running applications more than anything else.

the increased draw from your new theme might just be you playing with the BB a bit more and customizing the theme to your liking rather than the theme itself drawing more juice than normal.

cheers

[jose_416]

i have 20 themes on my 8130 pearl and my batt is ok... usually is the bluetooth and how high you have the screen light and for how long... but themes draining battery that something new i havent heard that before..