Help Newb questions (I've searched)

[kymatt]

Hi folks!
First time poster, but I've been lurking for a while.
I currently have an old Blackberry 8330 that I'm going to replace with a new Android based device.
The Incredible seems like the ideal phone for me but of course my only real concern is battery life.
I've searched the forum several times, read every online review I can find, and I've learned a lot, but I still have a few basic questions/scenarios regarding battery life that I'm hoping you all could help me out with:
(1) On a full charge, can I watch a full-length movie without recharging? (for airline travel specificaly)
(2) Not a heavy user during the day, just an occasional check of my Twitter account. I may or may not download the FB app. I'm I going to have battery issues?
(3) If I'm at a friends house watching a few hours of college football on a Saturday, and checking scores frequently with an updating scoreboard app, will my phone make it?
Thanks guys.

 

[gonzoguy24]

Hi folks!
First time poster, but I've been lurking for a while.
I currently have an old Blackberry 8330 that I'm going to replace with a new Android based device.
The Incredible seems like the ideal phone for me but of course my only real concern is battery life.
I've searched the forum several times, read every online review I can find, and I've learned a lot, but I still have a few basic questions/scenarios regarding battery life that I'm hoping you all could help me out with:
(1) On a full charge, can I watch a full-length movie without recharging? (for airline travel specificaly)
(2) Not a heavy user during the day, just an occasional check of my Twitter account. I may or may not download the FB app. I'm I going to have battery issues?
(3) If I'm at a friends house watching a few hours of college football on a Saturday, and checking scores frequently with an updating scoreboard app, will my phone make it?
Thanks guys.

(1) On a full charge yes this should not be a problem.
(2) The FB app will not cause battery issues as long as it is not syncing every hour. Turn off auto sync for it and you can still use it to just check your news feed every so often.
(3) This can drain your battery pretty good but it should make it an afternoon on a full charge.

 

[howarmat]

all of those have to many variables IMO for a concrete answer, but on a full charge you SHOULD be able to have no issues with those activities. If you are in a bad coverage area battery will drain fast, as long as you arent syncing every 5 minutes though you should be able to get thru the day on a full charge

 

[Terabethia]

(1) On a full charge, can I watch a full-length movie without recharging? (for airline travel specificaly)
(2) Not a heavy user during the day, just an occasional check of my Twitter account. I may or may not download the FB app. I'm I going to have battery issues?
(3) If I'm at a friends house watching a few hours of college football on a Saturday, and checking scores frequently with an updating scoreboard app, will my phone make it?
Thanks guys.

Welcome to the board! Once you get an Android (be it an Incredible or any other) we are going to be your new best friends

The battery on the Incredible is not all that incredible Most people here have upgraded to at least the 1500 mAh, many a 2150 or even more. I highly recommend at least the 1500, you can get a legit one on EBay for $15 from a seller called Bidallies. He is highly recommended on this forum.

1) On a full charge and on an airplane you shouldn't have any problem. While on a plane you will need to have the phone on airplane mode anyway, so all of your 3G and Wifi and whatnot will be off so there won't be much running or syncing. You should be fine.

2) Nope, if you are a light user you will be fine. I am sort of a moderate user and I was able to last well over 15 hours on the 1500 mAh battery. Now that I am rooted I can last at least 2 days. Get the twitter and facebook apps (these come preloaded anyway) and make sure they don't sync more than every hour or two. I actually turned off automatic syncing all together and just manually sync it when I care to look.

3) You'll be fine for a few hours assuming that you are not also doing tons of other things, too.


With all that said, please keep in mind that the battery will take about a week to fully calibrate to the phone. So don't get freaked out on day 1 or 2 of having the phone if it's not lasting that long. After 5-6 charging cycles it will improve and steady out.

Also, if you plan long trips where you are using the phone a lot you have a couple of options for batteries. You could get a second spare battery and keep it on you (fully charged of course) in case you need to switch out. You could also get an external charger to keep on you for those emergancy times. This is a little devise that runs on batteries (using one or two AA's or AAA's) that you plug into your phone for a full charge. They are pretty cheap, running about $15-$25 depending on brand and where you get it. I have a universal one (different tips for different connections) and keep it in my car and take it with me on planes.

 

[NoShftShck16]

First off, welcome to the forum

IMO, this phone does not have the greatest battery life, but you have a lot of control over the little things to improve it.

Here are some things I've done to improve:
-Train the battery when you first get the phone, (the cycling process)
-Turn off all animations (if you do it when you first get the phone you won't miss them)
-Get Timeriffic (http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.alfray.timeriffic): this will help you conserve battery but shutting down brightness, gps, etc based on the time of day.
-Get Tasker (http://www.appbrain.com/app/net.dinglisch.android.taskerm): I use this to control my GPS/3G. When I open a GPS type app itll turn on GPS and when I exit it will turn it off. The same goes for any apps (including dialing the phone) needing 3G.

I am a heavy user and I only charge my phone to and from work during the week (about a 30-45 min commute).

However, with all this being said, I just picked up a Seidio extended battery (not the type that makes your phone fat) and I've been cycling the battery this past weekend. The phone lasts 12 hours+ with a battery draining live wallpaper, fullscreen widgets on all 7 homescreens, sync for every app set to the most frequent setting, max brightness w/ 30 minute screen timeout and GPS/Bluetooth/Wifi/3G constantly on.

Here is what my most recent and suggested purchase was:
-Seidio Innocell 1750mAh Extended Battery for Verizon HTC Droid Incredible, HTC Droid Eris - Android Batteries - Android and Me
-Seidio Innocase Active for Verizon HTC Droid Incredible - Android Skin Cases - Android and Me
-BodyGuardz Protective Skin for Verizon HTC Droid Incredible - Android Protective Films - Android and Me

 

[Hightech]

I've been keeping my eye out for an external charger like this.....all I've seen are the duracell's that are rechargeable. I use rechargeable AA's and would like to use them in this type of charger.

Any suggestions on what and where to buy?

Welcome to the board! Once you get an Android (be it an Incredible or any other) we are going to be your new best friends

You could get a second spare battery and keep it on you (fully charged of course) in case you need to switch out. You could also get an external charger to keep on you for those emergancy times. This is a little devise that runs on batteries (using one or two AA's or AAA's) that you plug into your phone for a full charge. They are pretty cheap, running about $15-$25 depending on brand and where you get it. I have a universal one (different tips for different connections) and keep it in my car and take it with me on planes.

 

[Terabethia]

I've been keeping my eye out for an external charger like this.....all I've seen are the duracell's that are rechargeable. I use rechargeable AA's and would like to use them in this type of charger.

Any suggestions on what and where to buy?

I have seen them on various cell phone accessory websites but without some research I don't have any specifics.

I bought mine about 2 years ago at a shop in an airport right before a very long flight.

 

[sabrewings]

Why buy one that runs on batteries? I picked up one for $20 from an AAFES that is 2000mAh and charges off of USB. Very slim and portable.

 

[NoShftShck16]

I'm looking to buy this Solar Charger

 

[Terabethia]

Why buy one that runs on batteries? I picked up one for $20 from an AAFES that is 2000mAh and charges off of USB. Very slim and portable.

Well not everyone can shop at an AFFES or even knows someone who can.

But yea, you can find those at lots of places. BUT... what if you forgot to charge your external charger? And then your car breaks down on the side of the road and you need a quick charge, but your phone AND your charger are dead?

Having one that just runs on some batteries means that it can be used anytime, anywhere and doesn't require any maintenance. And they are about the size of an iPod Nano. So if you just plan on using it in emergency situations or for the rare plane ride, it's the better choice.

 

[iowabowtech]

Big shock going from an 8330 to the Incredible battery-wise. That's the same phone I was running previously. I think you can do everything you listed in the OP. What I've done is buy an extra charger for use at work and a car charger. It's just become a way of life and totally worth it when comparing what this phone has to offer with my previous one.