Keep Your Batteries Above The Red Line

Nokia's excuse for the BL5C in the N96 is sizing. Sizing of the handset that is... Apparently fitting a bigger battery would have made the phone too large.

However, Steve's point is valid - there are very few smartphones available which actually provide a reliable 24+ hour service without being recharged. My two current phones, a Nokia N95-1 and a Motorola Z8 both have great trouble lasting 24 hours, especially when their HSDPA data abilities are used to the full and set to retrieve email on a push or timed basis. Add a little commuting and subsequent cell re-registering into that equation, and sometimes you're lucky to get 8 hours out of the phones.

Luckily the Z8 supports USB charging, so I can give it a quick boost from my laptop if on a train, but the N95 doesn't have this feature. If you've ever tried using a N95 as either a USB or Bluetooth modem, you'll know that a full battery lasts about 2 hours before expiring, whereas the Z8 will keep going as long as the laptop it's connected to is turned on. (a 3 hour battery on my laptop is able to keep the Z8 fully charged while being an active modem, and run the laptop, for about 2 hours)

I keep wondering what people would have prefferred - the N96 spec as it is, or no 16GB memory and a bigger battery?

Or perhaps no TV tuner, and a bigger battery?

I think people would have lived without the TV tuner... 16GB NAND flash RAM doesn't take up that much space... the N95 8GB managed to get some in PLUS a bigger battery than the BL5C.

True. But in taking away the tuner, what sets it apart from the N95? Very little really.

n81 looks pretty bad on that graph. I though so initially too. I was getting less than a day out of it. Couldn't rely on the alarm to wake me up in the morning without plugging in the charger. However, I found that the battery seems to last much longer if you turn off the annoying flashing light under the navi key.

When you have cells in series, it is incorrect to sum up their capacities (i.e. in mAh) to give a total figure for the battery - i.e. 4x 900 mAh cells in series do not equal 3600 mAh in capacity - but 900 mAh. Thus the diagram showing the devices taking individual cells (which almost always have them in series to provide sufficient voltage) overstates their capacity somewhat!

The statement that "...two AAA cells totalling 3000mAh between them..." is presumably based on the incorrect assumption that you can sum the capacities of cells in series - I haven't seen an AAA cell with a capacity greater than ~1000 mAh yet!

Comparing the performances of a PSION or a PALM M100 with a Nokia N95 is something like the comparison between a 1000 cc car with a Ferrari (Porsche or so on). Anyway, why do not use an external battery pack with rechargeable AA batteries (as example 4 batteries of 2500 mA/h capacity) if you really need more power?

"Luckily the Z8 supports USB charging, so I can give it a quick boost from my laptop if on a train, but the N95 doesn't have this feature"

There is a USB charger for the N95 (and any other phone using the new tiny adapter plug) I believe it's the CA-100. I bought one from ebay only to find it was not genuine...so I can't really tell you how good it works. Ebay complains department here I come.

I'm reading a story on Gizmodo about phones with in built projectors. I wonder when these tech sites get people all worked up over super duper features if they ever stop to consider mundaneties like battery life, basic features like cut and paste *cough*iPhone*cough* and other feasabilty before getting all destracted by the pretty lights and colours?

fchin: I'm sure you have an amount of technical expertise, but I'm no dunce either, having a degree in Physics. And, I'm sorry, but to take your line of argument, you could have 100 AA cells, each rated at 900mAh - are you still saying the usable output wouldn't change from the same 900 figure??

Oh, I see, you mean the mAh figure would stay the same, but the VOLTAGE would change, effectively? So greater power output overall? OK, that makes sense now.

mAh is an established indicator of battery capacity though, and yes, I know it's not exact and that there are a zillion other factors, like how fast you actually draw on the charge, temperature, etc. but to me it's still a good guide that has proved its worth in the real world. So I apologise for the inclusion of the Palm and Psion in my chart, it seems that their rating should be half what it's shown to be. 8-) Just ignore them and concentrate on the lower units, which work at more or less the same voltage!

I meant natively supports USB charging

Nice graph and demonstration. that is exactly why i find my E61 a googd fit : features, keyboard and correct autonomy.

but as an electronic graduate, i have to state that two AAA batteries of maximum 1.5V/1000mAh equates an available power delivery of 3V*1000mAh so 3000mWh, which is basicly the same of a 3,6V average (4.2V on top, 3V at the end) 800mAh in terms of what energy is available.

On my regretted psion 5MX, 2 AA rechargeable batteries of max 1,5V/27000mAh where yet more usefull.

i am testing the bookeen http://www.bookeen.com/ebook/ebook-reading-device.aspx it has a small battery but auto recharge it self at eveyr usb plug, eink screen with very low consumption, but really lacks of function so as being hardly usuable. Still it would be an interesting point on your graph.

As a power user of such electronic devices, i have invested in brando small lithium-ion batteries with a USB connector. 5V/2000mAh available with 1A current capability allowing charge or function of quite a few portable device, including my bike front lamp :-)

By natively I assume you mean using the same cable as the Motorola?

The Z8 will charge with just a USB cable plugged into a laptop. The N95 (and all other Nokias currently) will not. They need an extra cable plugged into their power socket.

Thats what I mean. The CA-100 JUST plugs into the USB port and then into the phone...no extra attachments or drivers or software needed.

Great article steve. Agree with it throughly. Am using an n93 currently and am able to pull a day through with the 1100 mah battery. But i have to keep unnecessary stuff off when not using it. Eg. Automatic wifi scanning to off, data connection to when needed, push email to retrival every hour instead of more frequently, etc.

When I saw the picture for the article, I thought you were going to announce that Duracell were going to bring out mobile batteries. They'd be really good IMO.

What really gets to me why Nokia and many other manufacturers don't just realease a 1.5x to 2x sized battery for their handsets? This will solve the problems people have with battery threshold. If you don't like a slightly thicker handset then use the standard battery. At least give us the option to choose! This is unlikely to happen because it would hurt their sales. They don't want you to have the perfect handset so you'll come back for more.

IMHO manufacturers can fit a higher capacity battery into about the same space if they wanted to. Who remembers those Lithium Polymer batteries in Nokia 6310? The battery is built into one unit which acts as a battery cover and encases the battery thus saving space, instead of having both battery which is encased and a separate battery cover. There is also space wasted because the battery cover is never "tight" against the battery. There is about a mm gap for smooth sliding on/off cover. For example the BL-6F 1200mAh battery can fit into the n95-1 but the cover leaves about a mm gap all the way round. A slightly raised cover and the battery will fit perfectly. Will Nokia do this? Obviously not...

It maybe possible get larger sized batteries from 3rd parties but they are usually of poor standard and don't pack as much capacity into the same space.

Rant over.

I know this has been mentioned before, but this is what we need. It says "Given the mature infrastructure behind silicon, this new technology can be pushed to real life quickly," I wonder how quickly? Yesterday would be good!

http://news-service.stanford.edu/new...re-010908.html

s.

Finland can´t make batteries like in the old days.
Evironmental codes are more strict now. Where does your battery come from?
China? Hungary?

No doubt Nokia could make a stronger battery, and it´s just one more serious reason why I got the E90. Its 1500 battery may not last days like they say.. but it´s The Biggest phone battery Nokia makes ;-)

Many peoples have this battery problem on different devices. I also face this same problem on my iphone. The battery life is very worst of it. My iphone's battery stand by only 1 day.

Mine came brand new in a box a few daysago. It came with a blue battery (C-S2). As soon as I put the battery into thephone, the dreaded Icon (battery with a red line through it) showed up. I charged it, thinking that means the batteryis empty and left it charging for over 5 hours, hoping the Icon will go away.It never did, and now 4 days later and an infinite number of battery pulls, some with a twist or two, it is still there. If it was any otherpiece of technology I would dismiss it as junk. But, oh, this is the famous BB.