3G Battery

[Rhino Chaser]

Castigate and chastise me all you want. I don't think that it is that bad.

Here is what I have noticed so far and how I have been conserving power:

The regular iPhone ate up batteries in a day, especially when seeing heavy phone use. My 3g definitely eats them faster and may require a boost in the late afternoon on a heavy day. I was prepared for much worse.

The 5 hour estimate is about accurate. I used my data plan 100 times more on my original iPhone than I did with any other device. With my 3g I would say that I have about doubled my usage again. So I am using power hungry services and browsing the internet longer or using it in greater frequency. I am also accessing more applications which will keep my screen lit up more and basically use all of the phones resources on a more regular basis. Most of the apps that I use also have some sort of internet access or location service which is a double whammy for power consumption as far as I am concerned.

If you turn off 3g you will be about on par with the regular iPhone. Turning off location services helps as well. I believe that they pop back on again with prompts whenever a ‘location aware’ application is accessed. WiFi helps as well…but I haven’t turned this off.

I also started using my gmail account to handle traffic for several email accounts. This has cut down on the number of accounts that my phone checks and outsources that responsibility to a server someplace. This is a great way to maintain those little used accounts without turning them off to conserver power.

Call me crazy, but I am willing to live with it. I have jacks in my vehicle, and in my office to boost the phone during the day. Applecare is outstanding…so if I feel like I have a dud I can always take it in.

I also picked up a Lenmar Powerport Kit for about $34 at Frys…it has a 5v output. I had originally picked this up to power my XOG gps (another powerhog) and was going to build a waterproof housing for use on my boat. But it fits nicely in a pocket and will charge/power the 3g no problem.

If I am going camping I can always slip my simcard into a throwaway phone without a problem. So until Armageddon hits, I assume that I will have ready access to power supplies to boost my phone during the day…until then I will keep my fingers crossed for cold fusion or a mini-nuclear reactor that will fit safely within the slim housing of the iPhone.

[Wondermonkey]

Interesting. I charge my current phone every other day, usually whilst sleeping. My iPod use of it though has dropped dramatically since working from home since I don't have to commute as much.

I was worried that the 3G would eat up the battery a lot more than the Edge phone, but after reading reports, I'm less worried. Especially after yours.

Good deal!

[Rhino Chaser]

It does make a ding and you will notice a difference, but there were days on the 1st gen that I would need to juice up as well.


I figure if you can default it to the equivalent of a 1st gen iPhone...why not.

But you will be screwed and need juice simply because you are using it more...

The ipod functions for pure audio seemed to be able to run for days on the original..I haven't tested them on the 3g.

[MadBryan]

My wife has been complaining about the push and fetch that I turned on, and the location aware thingy. I have turned both off now. One day charge on a gen 1 iphone was not typical Rhino. Maybe if you had gotten more you would be more disappointed.

[Rhino Chaser]

It is all about use. I am a heavy user.

My wife's gen 1 iphone can last for about 3 days.

It is 5:22 and I still have about a 3/4 charge. 3g has been off and Wifi on.

I haven't used it a lot today and I have fewer email accounts checking for data.

Today was a good day.

I got to say it was a good day