[Hey_Daniel]

Hi All

I have been a Blackberry user for about 3 years now, and I have analysed most of the devices and how to save Battery life...

I have also tested the device to see which is the main battery killer...

Looking through the different threads on Crackberry, I see some people have trouble with the following which are linked with battery drain

1: Leaving applications running in the background
2: Having Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Gps or 3G on all the time
3: Screen backlight
4: Using Blackberry messenger or using applications that auto update like Facebook or E-Mail

But I can tell you that I am heavy user as I work on the road and use everything on my Blackberry and I can get 2 full days out of my battery.

My battery life only lasts me a day when I use my phone constantly to make calls, When I say constantly I mean 6 sometimes 7 hours a day... I lose about 10%-15% per hour which is mind blowing and this is without 3G as my curve doesnt have this.

So I suggest, if you want to make your battery last longer, limit the phone calls as I feel this is the biggest killer in my eyes

Some people that get 2 Days+ on there BlackBerry is either that they dont use their phone much to make long phone calls or they dont use their phone constantly.

But what do you guys think is the battery killer?

[hondateg91]

1: Leaving applications running in the background
2: Having Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Gps or 3G on all the time
3: Screen backlight
4: Using Blackberry messenger or using applications that auto update like Facebook or E-Mail

Those are the most common battery drains on a BB. I think the biggest are apps that are constantly needing to update like weather, twitter, etc.

[Reed McLay]

BlackBerry - 9700 Specifications - New BlackBerry Bold 9700 Specs

Battery & Battery LifeBattery:
1500 mAh removable/rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Talk Time: Up to 6 hours (GSM and UMTS)
Standby Time: Up to 21 days/504 hours (GSM), Up to 17 days/408 hours (UMTS)
Music Playback Time: Up to 38 hours
...

The specs for all the models are similar. It clear the biggest power user is voice with a 6 hour limit.

In Standby, only the default apps running, your good for nearly 3 weeks between charges.

Interesting to note, they now include Music playback in the specs sheet, 38 hours on a charge.

I have a different set of observation to contribute. I do not find Wifi and Bluetooth to have any noticable effect of my battery life. I run both on, all the time.

Second, applications in the background do not update, there is no penalty to leaving them active. There is little benifit in closing them, they still occupy a footprint in memory.

When the application is active, it will use power. When it no longer has the focus (not on the screen) it does not use power. I have one app that does not communicate, but it does a constant time interval calculation. That does use power when active, but suspends when not focused.

In conclusion, the impact of voice call is so great, all other power consumption can be considered noise.

if you want to make your battery last longer, limit the phone calls as I feel this is the biggest killer in my eyes
...

[bry360]

Hi All

I have been a Blackberry user for about 3 years now, and I have analysed most of the devices and how to save Battery life...

I have also tested the device to see which is the main battery killer...

Looking through the different threads on Crackberry, I see some people have trouble with the following which are linked with battery drain

1: Leaving applications running in the background
2: Having Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Gps or 3G on all the time
3: Screen backlight
4: Using Blackberry messenger or using applications that auto update like Facebook or E-Mail

But I can tell you that I am heavy user as I work on the road and use everything on my Blackberry and I can get 2 full days out of my battery.

My battery life only lasts me a day when I use my phone constantly to make calls, When I say constantly I mean 6 sometimes 7 hours a day... I lose about 10%-15% per hour which is mind blowing and this is without 3G as my curve doesnt have this.

So I suggest, if you want to make your battery last longer, limit the phone calls as I feel this is the biggest killer in my eyes

Some people that get 2 Days+ on there BlackBerry is either that they dont use their phone much to make long phone calls or they dont use their phone constantly.

But what do you guys think is the battery killer?

I agree. Having many applications open at a time, having apps set to auto
update such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and even Weather applications. I use my phone for work and personal and I am on calls, texting, emailing and running 2-3 apps throughout the day. From when my phone is taken off the charger till around 5 pm I have about 1/4 of battery life left but it gets me through the rest of the day. So if you call, text and email all day like me you're gonna drain it fast. Otherwise, I can see it lasting longer than a day.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[cadzilla74]

Phone calls ...

I can go 2 days between charges on Storm 1 just texting and BBM'ing. Listen to Podcasts downloaded to my SD card via PodTrapper drops to 8 hours but my BlueTooth headset only lasts 6. VZ Nav for GPS runs all day no problem. Streaming with Slacker or Pandora about 4 - 6 hours depending on connection strength.

Phone calls, 2 hours tops.

YMMV

[Josh.Harris]

Second, applications in the background do not update, there is no penalty to leaving them active. There is little benifit in closing them, they still occupy a footprint in memory.

When the application is active, it will use power. When it no longer has the focus (not on the screen) it does not use power. I have one app that does not communicate, but it does a constant time interval calculation. That does use power when active, but suspends when not focused.

That's incorrect. Whether the application is at the forefront is irrelevant. The scheduler makes no distinction between "focused" and "unfocused" apps. If it's running and it actually does something then it will get CPU time and it will increase power consumption.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Artemis68]

I've found that some IM apps, like Beejive, can also decrease your battery life when you log into them and then just leave them "on" in the background.

That's why I only log onto IM on my Blackberry when I really need it or I'm bored and want to talk with someone right then. I wouldn't suggest leaving it on all day if you want a long battery life.

[xseri]

I've found that some IM apps, like Beejive, can also decrease your battery life when you log into them and then just leave them "on" in the background.

That's why I only log onto IM on my Blackberry when I really need it or I'm bored and want to talk with someone right then. I wouldn't suggest leaving it on all day if you want a long battery life.

I agree with beejive, it was such a battery drainer. Once uninstalled I can go through 2 days. I've been using the regular aim app and its a much better choice for the battery, though its less aesthetically pleasing.

[Laura Knotek]

Phone calls drain the battery more than anything else.

[christopherp]

Biggest drain is operator error.
CLOSE your apps.

[Reed McLay]

That's incorrect. Whether the application is at the forefront is irrelevant. The scheduler makes no distinction between "focused" and "unfocused" apps. If it's running and it actually does something then it will get CPU time and it will increase power consumption.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Thanks for the comment Josh. I may have based observations on too few applications samples to be valid.

The specific apps I have in mind, Bloomberg Mobile and Facebook, do suspend when not on the screen. Selecting them from Switch Apps, or the home page icon, display out of date data for a second until the current data is refreshed.