How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

Today I experiences my n900 as I envisioned when decided to purchase it.

- 7:50 ssh - RDP into office PC to check outlook.
- 7:59 unplug after charging over night
- leave the house 8:00 . to Drive 55min to do a technical review of a new product we are designing.
- check information from e-mail
- Listen to Pod cast via FM transmitter, I use BoostFM because my n900 sits more than 30cm away from the radio while driving.
- Directions to destination Via GPS (on during trip)
- take photos and video of product review.
- make a call conformance call during review.
(I considered streaming live video during review . but I don't have a data plan so I didn't bother but could be cool.)
- review Product manual in PDF and .dock files
- Use GPS and listen to pod cast on 55 min drive back

All this was done by 10:45 (just for reference my screen brightness is @ 2 out of 5 bars.)

And the part that is so BAD! my battery was sitting at 25% fortunately the rest of my day is at the office and I can recharge but to go through 75% of the battery on moderate to heavy use is just BAD!

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

Two hours with GPS, FM transmitter and screen on continuously will really chew through the battery, yes.

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

I don't think thats too bad, 2 hours of continuous GPS will pretty much kill the battery on my N95 too, and thats without the FM transmitter...

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

Battery drain is definatley the worst aspect of the N900 in my experience of having it over the last month..

However, there are some way to mitigate it:

- I use an in car charger whenever I'm streaming or playing music in the car
- Use Autodisconnect to disconnect wireless or GPRS connections when not using then
- Use the app that lets you switch to 2G only when you don't need 3G (forgotten what it is called)
- Buy a desktop charger and 2nd battery

Since I did all those things the battery life (which I knew was bad before I got the phone) has stopped annoying me. Loads of other ideas in the various battery life threads.

Hope you continue to enjoy your new device :)

Hope that helps!

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

Since I installed the auto-disconnect for 3G/GPRS/WLAN my battery life went up by at least a day. Now it lasts ~2 days.

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

re battery life i would think - the n95 is old school (a laptop) the n900 is new (net book)

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

I don't use 3G or GPRS, I only use WLAN and I use a Skype in Number so being online when i am in a Wifi Zone is critical to rescinding a call. I if i could set auto disconnect settings based on conection that would be great.

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

But you do stuff that you could never ever do with n95? Also screen is huge compared to n95. But yeah battery life could be better. You should buy data cable to your work where you can keep your n900 on your laptop/desktop.

Keeping screen on, only on 2 will eat battery quite fast sadly so pay attention to it :| Search for battery consumption thread and look other usage cases.

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

I do very similar stuff but don't use the gps, and my battery lasts 15 hours or so, so I guess the GPS is the villain in this scenario. I'm also always online with gprs or wifi with 4 im accounts.

Re: How can somethings so good be so bad!
 

Is there a widget or otherwise handy way to switch between 3G and 2G? 3G drains a lot of battery, so I would prefer 2G when I'm not browsing or downloading something.