I have a company phone, and it has just been changed for a smartphone - a budget smartphone, but an android smartphone none the less.
This is new territory for me and I've downloaded c:geo which is the one app I know I might use, but what other useful apps are there out there. There was some sort of sky-map app mentioned on the One show last night -anybody know what it is and where I could get it from. Having a new toy meant I did rush out and buy a copy of 'what app' or some such magazine, which claims on the cover to be for 'iphone and android', that claim being a load of old toot - it is the '100 best apps' edition and not a single one is android
There are capacity limits on the contract and I don't want to pop up on the radar, so is there any way of measuring how much bandwidth I'm using ?
Also it is wi-fi enabled and Ive configured it to connect to home and work networks, but how do I ensure/know that that is what its using ?
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This is the data usage monitor I've used on my Android phones:-
market.android.com/details?id=net.rgruet.android.g3watchdog&hl=en
TBh I'd don't use many apps. these days, mainly Maprdoyd, which basically stores entire country streetmaps on your SD card so you can navigate without using data.
www.mapdroyd.com/
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If you see a "G", "3G", or "H" in the notification bar at the top, it's using the phone network. I just leave wireless turned on 24/7 on mine and once it gets in range of the access points at home or work, it switches to them automatically.
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Doesn't that eat battery though?
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Martin - wifi is much more battery friendly than 3G. Slight disadvantage that it wakes up from time to time to look for an access point when out-and-about, but I don't think there's any real impact.
Will easily do three days on the trot without charging which is all I need.
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>> Doesn't that eat battery though?
>>
Not as much as it used to, by and large, although I still leave 3G data & WiFi switched off when i'm not using 'em. GPS, particularly combined with Google Navigate, eats battery like there's no tomorrow.
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What's smart about a phone?
I'm smarter than any phone, let's see one change the spark plugs on an Astra or clean the dust off the top of a lampshade.
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I've got wifi,bluetooth and gps on, and been playing audio all afternoon in an attempt to get the battery to run down so I know what to expect and it show no signs of running out....
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If you are using a smartphone remember to keep a dumb phone in the car as well for backup. The smartphones are smart for everything except the battery life.
As long as you have juice in your dumb phone you can call up any of your mates and ask them to look at internet whatever information you need to find.
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>> If you are using a smartphone remember to keep a dumb phone in the car
>> as well for backup. The smartphones are smart for everything except the battery life.
Or get a spare battery for your smartphone. For most smartphones these are readily available as well as fast and easy to swap over.
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>> Or get a spare battery for your smartphone. For most smartphones these are readily
>> available as well as fast and easy to swap over.
Unless you have something like an iPhone or the new Motorola Razr. Batteries are not user replaceable.
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>> Unless you have something like an iPhone or the new Motorola Razr. Batteries are not
>> user replaceable.
Well thats ok then, the iphone has never run out of juice on me yet.
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>>
>> >> Unless you have something like an iPhone or the new Motorola Razr. Batteries are
>> not
>> >> user replaceable.
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>> Well thats ok then, the iphone has never run out of juice on me yet.
>>
>>
How long does it last, on average?
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>> How long does it last, on average?
Mine lasts me all day, with a combination of phone calls, surfing, and emails.
I've only once ran it down with 5% battery remaining and that was only because I was in Southsea for the day and bored out of my mind, so the iPhone was almost in constant use either surfing the net or game playing.
So what that it hasn't got an easy replaceable battery. Instead of keeping a dumb phone in the car, just keep a phone charger lead in there instead.
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>> How long does it last, on average?
Without any wifi, gps (location services) being used, about 4 days. Two days with wifi use, and a day with wifi and heavy gps use.
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Is that 24 hours per day. I leave Wifi on, GPS on (not really used by much), Bluetooth on all the time etc. And my Galaxy S would struggle to get through 48 hours.
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>> Is that 24 hours per day.
yeah
I leave Wifi on, GPS on (not really used
>> by much), Bluetooth on all the time etc. And my Galaxy S would struggle to
>> get through 48 hours.
Bluetooth is off most of the time, GPS only kicks in when a location service is called (like a sat nav, as soon as you kill the service the GPS turns off) 3G and wifi on.
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Thanks Zero. I wanted to check because I know some people claim a phone doesn't need charging for x days. And then you find out they turn it off at night.
In six months I can probably get an upgrade to my phone. Although it is still fine. But I would consider an iPhone 4S... or the 5 when it finally arrives. The top end Android phones are starting to get screens that are too big. The iPhone in my opinion is a bit small. But the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has a 4.65" screen - granted the screen is where the buttons are located.
Yes you're right that unless something is accessing the GPS API, the GPS is really off.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sat 17 Dec 11 at 22:31
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Always flatten the battery before re-charging.
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I do have a spare battery because I think there was a problem with the original in my phone. The replacement was a big improvement. I do think there is some truth in what is said about the first charge even with Lithium Ion batteries. I didn't really do what it said.
The replacement more importantly came with a charger for the battery. So I can have one in use and have another I know is charged. More useful when working away or on holiday.
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>> Always flatten the battery before re-charging.
>>
Nooo... quickest way to kill the battery. Lithion-ion / lithium-polymer / NiMh batteries don't suffer from any memory effect* and lifetime is determined by number of charge cycles. A reasonable battery might last 500 full charge cycles, or 2000 partial ones.
In theory your phone's battery controller will prevent damage caused by a deep discharge, but not every battery is identical.
Long story short - plug it in every night and it'll last years.
* Memory effect is actually a misnomer and has never really affected consumer hardware, but everyone has their own battery superstitions and this is one of them.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Sat 17 Dec 11 at 23:17
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>> Nooo... quickest way to kill the battery. lithium-ion / lithium-polymer / NiMh batteries don't suffer from any memory effect
Agree about everything bar NiMH batteries. They were only a marginal step up from NiCads, but still suffered some memory effect. The ones made from Lithium are far better and don't need to be fully discharged before recharging.
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[battery geek alert]
Memory effect is only apparent when you discharge a sintered plate NiCd battery to exactly the same level repeatedly, and then recharge it to 100% capacity without overcharging. IIRC it tends to be an issue in things like satellite power systems instead of earthbound stuff.
[/battery geek]
Why not? In general, when you recharge any kind of modern battery you either cut the charging when you get a rapid rise in battery temperature or a slight voltage drop, which signals the end of the charging cycle. On top of that, most chargers will continually trickle a small amount of current into the battery anyway, so they're always slightly overcharged.
What most people attribute to the memory effect is a combination of two things: age and voltage depression, which is when the battery voltage drops unexpectedly even though there's plenty of charge left. Any item that judges charge level by monitoring the voltage concludes that the battery is flat. Exacerbated by the cold.
Interestingly, fully discharging cells will cure a voltage depression, but fully discharging the battery pack will irreversibly damage it, because the stronger cells will reverse charge the weaker ones. I think this is where all the confusion sprang from - after all, in the past your typical battery was just the standard cell, whereas now they're all packaged together in funky shapes.
I discovered all this stuff a couple of years ago when I was rebuilding NiMh battery packs for bike lights. A lot of info on the internet if you're ever tempted to do it yourself, as you save a load of dough.
Not as relevant now we have cheap batteries from China - incidentally, an imported NiMh battery is generally safe. Li-ion? Don't go there.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Sun 18 Dec 11 at 11:21
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My iPhone is good for three to four days depending on usage. Far better than my old Blackberry Bold....2 days and that was it.
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Can I recommend an app for Android users which turns off WiFi until you are in range of a "known" access point then it turns it on. Search Android market for Y5 battery saver. Helps keep battery usage down with no overhead.
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new Smartphone - spamcan61
