Android Phones Battery Tests are in And We Have a Winner!
The Droid X comes out as the sure winner in the batter tests. Mind you the tests performed by LaptopMag only looked at mobile browsing. Talk time, email, WiFi, bluetooth were all omitted from the tests. This gives us pretty good indicator of the power drain of the screen if all of these other services are turned off. Something else to keep in mind is the si\e of the battery. The lowest rated phone, the HTC Incredible, only has a 1300 mAh battery. It shouldn’t really be in the same test it’s 1500 mAh counterparts. What is interesting is that the Samsung Captivate gets a full 3 hours less browsing time than the Droid X. Really it should be a comparison between AMOLED and LCD or TFT as Motorola calls it. Nicely done Droid X. Let us konw how important battery life is to you. Is it truly form over function?
Category: General
Actually, battery life is one of my most critical concerns with a smartphone. I knew it was risky, but I still decided to make the switch from a Blackberry to a Droid X…and sure enough, the poor battery life really irritates me. And I do all the tricks to entend the life, plus I shelled out for the extended 1800mAh battery (the one with the different baterry door). Overall I don't regret my decision as I really like the X, but man, the battery life hurts actualy usability. Any worse and I think I'd give up the luscious screen and everything and head back down Blackberry Way. So no, for some of us at least, it isn't form over function at all costs.
I agree with SA. Battery life should be one of the most critical concerns for any portable device user. It doesn't matter how awesome the device is if the battery is dead it's simply a brick. You can always carry and additional battery or two, which should suffice for most people.
AMOLED screens actually use less juice that LCD (although the new SLCD are much more efficient than older LCDs and the difference appears to be fairly negligible), and there are nifty tricks to cut that usage dramatically that have been discussed/demonstrated all over the place. Would I sacrifice screen quality for battery life? Absolutely. If there is one thing I find more annoying that a crappy battery it's a crappy screen. I can carry more batteries, annoying as it may be, but if the screen sucks you're stuck with it. Having said that, I am rarely away from a power source, so I can easily go an entire day without running out of juice (and that includes a good 2-3 hours of game time) on my Galaxy S. If it can get me through the day then that is all I care about. I plug it in every night…
I love my Super AMOLED screen. I wouldn't trade it for any of the current LCDs (although I would have to see an SLCD before committing to that statement
On a side note…I think someone should make clear backs for the HTC phones (if they haven't already). It's a shame to cover up such a pretty interior!
Android rocks!! To get the most out of your AMOLED screen you need to use black whenever possible to save your battery as it uses a lot less power than white. There's http://bGoog.com which is a black Google Mobile search.