[DaveTheA]

MY Playbook seldom gets below 60-70%, and I keep it on the charger often for over 16 hours a day...occasionally it stays on charge all day. How long should my battery last?

I remember one of the criticisms of the iPad being that it didn't have a replaceable battery...nobody is saying anything about it now, but the same thing is true about the Playbook. I wonder where RIM and the Playbook will be when my unit reaches the 'true death'...

[mandony]

The PB has a warranty
If you have a problem call the RIM PB support line
1-877-644-8410

[FF22]

MY Playbook seldom gets below 60-70%, and I keep it on the charger often for over 16 hours a day...occasionally it stays on charge all day. How long should my battery last?

I remember one of the criticisms of the iPad being that it didn't have a replaceable battery...nobody is saying anything about it now, but the same thing is true about the Playbook. I wonder where RIM and the Playbook will be when my unit reaches the 'true death'...

Working the kinks out of OS2.

[peter9477]

MY Playbook seldom gets below 60-70%, and I keep it on the charger often for over 16 hours a day...occasionally it stays on charge all day. How long should my battery last?

It should last a couple of years, at least.

Note that keeping your battery fully charged all the time is actually NOT the best way to maximize battery life. Apparently they don't last as long when stored fully charged as they do when only partially charged. This is (so they say) one reason they usually show up with about 40% charge... they're carefully brought to around that level before they leave the factory.

According to most of the material I've read, these batteries slowly degrade (lose capacity) over time, though it's unclear (inconsistent amongst sources) whether that's entirely from the passage of time, the number of charge/discharge cycles, or a combination.

Whatever the case, it's too early to know with any certainty how long these will have useful capacity, but you could monitor the drop over time and try to extrapolate. My app Battery Guru will show you the "battery health", which is the capacity of your battery now compared to the nominal capacity of a brand new battery (19.8Wh). Mine is currently at 89% and has been for a month or two, having dropped from around 94% when I got it. Someone started a thread a while ago asking for people to report on their numbers, to help everyone compare and learn: http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...health-644515/

[TheScionicMan]

Cell life

Charging forms deposits inside the electrolyte that inhibit ion transport. Over time, the cell's capacity diminishes. The increase in internal resistance reduces the cell's ability to deliver current. This problem is more pronounced in high-current applications. The decrease means that older batteries do not charge as much as new ones (charging time required decreases proportionally).
High charge levels and elevated temperatures (whether from charging or ambient air) hasten capacity loss.[47][48] Charging heat is caused by the carbon anode (typically replaced with lithium titanate which drastically reduces damage from charging, including expansion and other factors).[49]
A Standard (Cobalt) Li-ion cell that is full most of the time at 25 �C (77 �F) irreversibly loses approximately 20% capacity per year. Poor ventilation may increase temperatures, further shortening battery life. Loss rates vary by temperature: 6% loss at 0 �C (32 �F), 20% at 25 �C (77 �F), and 35% at 40 �C (104 �F). When stored at 40%�60% charge level, the capacity loss is reduced to 2%, 4%, and 15%, respectively.[50][citation needed] In contrast, the calendar life of LiFePO4 cells is not affected by being kept at a high state of charge.[51]

If overheated or overcharged, Li-ion batteries may suffer thermal runaway and cell rupture.[57] In extreme cases this can lead to combustion. Deep discharge may short-circuit the cell, in which case recharging would be unsafe.[58] To reduce these risks, Lithium-ion battery packs contain fail-safe circuitry that shuts down the battery when its voltage is outside the safe range of 3�4.2 V per cell.[34][46] When stored for long periods the small current draw of the protection circuitry itself may drain the battery below its shut down voltage; normal chargers are then ineffective. Many types of lithium-ion cell cannot be charged safely below 0�C.[59]

Other safety features are required in each cell:[34]

shut-down separator (for overtemperature)
tear-away tab (for internal pressure)
vent (pressure relief)
thermal interrupt (overcurrent/overcharging)

These devices occupy useful space inside the cells, add additional points of failure and irreversibly disable the cell when activated. They are required because the anode produces heat during use, while the cathode may produce oxygen. These devices and improved electrode designs reduce/eliminate the risk of fire or explosion.

Lots of variables involved, there's no finite answer...

[ummie4]

your playbook will most likely die between its 2nd and 3rd year. Or 300 to 500 full charge cycles. Because you are not fully discharging yours before you charge it the 300 to 500 charges does not apply to you, so you are looking at 2 - 3 years.

[joshua_sx1]

Is there any store where we can buy PlayBook's battery? I was also having the same thinking, that at some point, my precious PlayBook's battery will die... and, can we change the battery by ourselves? or only RIM's service center?

[Barefoot_Kevin]

They really do need to have a user replaceable battery in the next generation. But, if they are really committed to improving the product, then they are figuring users would buy a new unit every couple of years and the battery is a moot point.

[tazish]

Aprox. half way through the 2.0 update.

[TripNFry]

say it isn't so!!! I planned on passing this on to my children and my children's children. well, in my will at least, as they'll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers.

[greggebhardt]

The reason the battery is not replaceable by the consumer is devices like the PB, iPad, iPhone is because they wanted the very most in capacity.

Making a battery removable would have taken up valuable space for a door and connectors, etc. Make it non-user replaceable and you can flat and cover the entire footprint of the device, even wrap around components to maximize capacity.

By the time your PB battery is not longer good, you will have replaced it with a iPad3

[kbz1960]

The reason the battery is not replaceable by the consumer is devices like the PB, iPad, iPhone is because they wanted the very most in capacity.

Making a battery removable would have taken up valuable space for a door and connectors, etc. Make it non-user replaceable and you can flat and cover the entire footprint of the device, even wrap around components to maximize capacity.

By the time your PB battery is not longer good, you will have replaced it with a iPad3

Or another playbook.

[sookster54]

A well taken care of Li-Ion battery lives about 2.5-3 years, that's the experience I've gotten out of most of my electronics using those batteries. If you constantly let it drain (to the point the device shuts itself off and sometimes won't turn back on until you plug it in) then that greatly shortens it, my sister did exactly that with her iPod and it lasted only a year and she had to buy a new one because the battery isn't replaceable.

Maintaining the battery's life around 40-50% before charging it is ideal, I've let mine drop to around 25% a few times which is OK but to maximize the battery's long term you should charge it when it reaches 40-50%. Also when you store spare batteries, leave them at ~50%.

PS I've had my Cowon A2 media player since 2004 and it still has a strong charge, I rarely charge it though since I don't use it heavily.

[OniBerry]

MY Playbook seldom gets below 60-70%, and I keep it on the charger often for over 16 hours a day...occasionally it stays on charge all day. How long should my battery last?

I remember one of the criticisms of the iPad being that it didn't have a replaceable battery...nobody is saying anything about it now, but the same thing is true about the Playbook. I wonder where RIM and the Playbook will be when my unit reaches the 'true death'...

The day after you lose interest in it......of a broken CPU.

[wxman123]

I think these estimates are WAY too short. I'd say most modern batteries like that in the PB will work for at least 5 years or more (maybe much more), but by then the drain from fully charged to nada will be much shorter. Most likely the current model of the PB will be obsolete by the time the battery is truly unusable. A user replaceable battery in these devices is a suckers game except for the rare few who routinely need more than one cell between charges.

[AggreX]

The relatively new Toshiba Thrive has a removeable battery but the capacity is much smaller than other android tablets. i have replaced the glass on an ipod touch so it might be possible to replace the glass or battery on the PB. IME rechargeable batteries are good for 2-5 years with decreased endurance over the life of the battery.

[bembol]

I've never had to worry about it because I don't think I've owned anything for more than two years. LOL

[lnichols]

After DevCon.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[untouchablz]

Hey OP,

I share your concern too over the battery issue, in fact it was one of my first complaints/criticism of the apple products.

I have a tendency to hold on to my techno gadgets even if some may consider them "obsolete". Having a portable hd player/camera/video camera/browser etc... Will have a long life span in my book.

This link (http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Blackberry-PlayBook-Teardown/5265/1) may help you out, I have already bookmarked it and saved it's content. It shows a pretty easy method of accessing your playbooks battery. Once the battery does use up its useful life span, I am sure there will be ways of getting a cheap replacement battery to revitalize your baby.

Have a good one, and I hope this helps.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jwn66]

Probably not during it's useful lifetime, and even then I wouldn't worry about it lol.

[geogejost]

MY Playbook seldom gets below 60-70%, and I keep it on the charger often for over 16 hours a day...occasionally it stays on charge all day. How long should my battery last?

I remember one of the criticisms of the iPad being that it didn't have a replaceable battery...nobody is saying anything about it now, but the same thing is true about the Playbook. I wonder where RIM and the Playbook will be when my unit reaches the 'true death'...

Well, the quality of the iPad is better than the playbook. At least, this is my experience with my 16 GB.

It takes forever to charge my playbook fully.

I made the mistake of charging it last time through a USB combined with wall plug in

Now, it is dead.

Thing is, RIM designed the playbook to be almost impossible to re-charge if you charge it down to 0. I did this by accident.

I tried the magic aerobics to revive it to no avail. The worst idea was apparently trying to "cycle power". After trying that, my Playbook is in a RIP state.

I bought my playbook at full price in septemeber of last year. It is dead after less than a year.

Compare that to the iPad? Well, my wife's iPad is still fine and I bought that at the same time. It doesn't take 1 minute to boot up.

[geogejost]

I've never had to worry about it because I don't think I've owned anything for more than two years. LOL

With a playbook, the time is like, apparently, 10 months.

[Chaddface]

Well, the quality of the iPad is better than the playbook. At least, this is my experience with my 16 GB.

It takes forever to charge my playbook fully.

I made the mistake of charging it last time through a USB combined with wall plug in

Now, it is dead.

Thing is, RIM designed the playbook to be almost impossible to re-charge if you charge it down to 0. I did this by accident.

I tried the magic aerobics to revive it to no avail. The worst idea was apparently trying to "cycle power". After trying that, my Playbook is in a RIP state.

I bought my playbook at full price in septemeber of last year. It is dead after less than a year.

Compare that to the iPad? Well, my wife's iPad is still fine and I bought that at the same time. It doesn't take 1 minute to boot up.

Instead of digging up multiple old threads to complain maybe you should ask a question or call RIM for a replacement.
My PB is no different then it was 14 months ago. I have drained the battery until auto shut down many times without issue.
You may have a problem with your device.
That's what the warranty is for.

[djmm2]

My wife's playbook too drained to the point of shut down. She left the camera on for 4 hours. It came back to life on the charger. I believe PB to be a tough unit, and kicks !

[osubass1]

The reason the battery is not replaceable by the consumer is devices like the PB, iPad, iPhone is because they wanted the very most in capacity.

Making a battery removable would have taken up valuable space for a door and connectors, etc. Make it non-user replaceable and you can flat and cover the entire footprint of the device, even wrap around components to maximize capacity.

while that may be partially true, the biggest reason why manufacturers don't make removable batteries is due to recycling and hazardous waste restrictions in multiple countries.

if you make your battery field replaceable, you have to provide a way to dispose of that battery at the cost of the manufacturer.