Dumped Sprint Hero, Should I give it a go with MyTouch?

[EinZtein]

I returned my Hero after 4 days, horrible implementation of Android for many, many reasons.

I'm a power user that device won't last 2 years, I like the MT3G hardware much better and am considering the Fender Edition.

With the new roms, rooting and 1.6, how is battery life? Can you get away with one charge a day with moderate use?

 

[shivers316]

I am a heavy user on the myTouch and I can get at least 12 hours out of it with A LOT of web surfing, multiple apps running in the background, and some calls and texts. With moderate use, you'll definitely get at least a day out of it.

 

[vorsicht]

I'm a fairly light user of the MyTouch but bounce in and out of 3G areas. This is the worst battery life of any phone I owned, counting the Startac analog phone.


My normal usage drains the battery before the end of a 8 hour work day. However with some manual power managment the phone has gone 16 hours with out a charger

• Wifi is really bad you can watch the power meter drop.
• GPS is a close second leaving it off makes a notable differece
• bluetooth is a near third. The phone need to charge before my blue ant headset
• widgets and background apps are also a major drain.

I once tried useing the locale app to manage my phones profile by location. I took it off the charger at 8 am and the phone needing to recharge by 11am.

Worst stress test I did was not hitting the power off comfirmation button when I went camping in a dead zone. It went from 94% to 10% in about 2 hours.

The lightest test I did was leaving the MyTouch on my desk with a blank sim so everything off. The battery was dead in about 36 hours.

The hardware of the hero and mytouch are essentilly the same so don't expect the MyTouch to give you anything better. There is no indication that Android is working on improving power usage in a meanigful way.

/Yes I have tried replacing the battery.
//Hope that was a bit more useful that "Yeah android" or "This phone sucks"

 

[CRPercodani]

The Fender addition is really nice in that it is more or less a Hero without Sense. About battery life, the best thing you could do is get a spare battery to take with you or a larger one. Turning off location services makes a big difference, same with wifi, gps, bluetooth and 3g.

 

[MattOhn]

There is also an battery type accessorie, ive been thinkin about gettin one. I keep my usb cable with me most of the time

 

[Clackamas]

Yes. I go about 12 hours in the Seattle/Bellvue/Redmond area. But, as noted, it depends on how much the phone is retraining on a signal. For non-video use, I often leave my phone on edge instead. Of 3g. I am a heavy user of Touchdown (a full featured exchange client).

 

[johnmed3]

I'm a medium to heavy user (lots of emails, youtube and web browsing) and my battery last all day.

 

[EinZtein]

Thanks for the info everyone, think I'm going to get the Fender Edition when it becomes available.

 

[B-Rod]

I am a heavy user on the MyTouch 3g. I definitely recommend it, its a phone to have. The battery life is great i can use it all day without worrying about it dying on me. Not having a physical keyboard doesn't bug me at all because the on-screen keyboard is just as good and it has no problems. Email and Web browsing is great. It has a lot of memory i have a lot of apps and im not even halfway through the memory. I have a lot of cases for the mytouch and i love that its customizable inside and out. Hope i helped.

 

[larryccf]

don't know if you guys know it, but tmobile has an accessory battery that mounts at the bottom of the phone, connecting thru the usb connector and increases battery life by 50% (according to sales info)

mine goes 1.5 days , i'm a moderate user but i leave it on 3g and usually forget gps on (trapster running in background)

 

[EinZtein]

Thanks for the replies so far, been a great help. I was ready to pick up the Samsung Android phone Tmo has out, but after I found out that it's not true Android(Samsung has a layer that can't be removed, like notifications for sms, can't install to sdcard even after root and so forth) I decided against it. I was going to pick up the Fender Edition of the MyTouch but that has been delayed, probably because Fender said "that sounds like crap" when they heard the music through the loudspeaker. Bummer, cause I was digging the 3.5 jack and 16 gb card.

 

[nmprofessional]

When I was looking at Android phones, I was tempted by the Sprint Hero until I found out that that also has Sense UI and similarly has a similar integration/customized layer.

I opted for the myTouch so I could get "just the Android OS" un-altered. This past weekend I used it as just a phone on 2G only and got a about 3 says with moderate calling pattern.

My standard day is: charge overnight (100% battery), listen to 4 hours of podcasts (50%), take lunch and let charge, listen to 2 hours of podcasts and light web browsing until midnight. Rinse and repeat.

I though I wanted the Fender Edition and 3.5mm plug... but with the 3.5mm adapter I can pause/stop/resume/forward to the next track on the music player without having to turn on the screen and mess with controls. I think it is better for me than if I got the 3.5mm jack.

 

[EinZtein]

Thanks a lot for all this great info, I've really been a power user on Symbian the past 10 years and have to rely on many tools for daily professional and personal use.

I'm trying to migrate all my apps to Android, so far I think I can find a comparable app for most, including some work arounds for calendar and tasks.

Right now I have one show stopper and it is the most important app I rely on.
It is called "Handy Safe Pro". It stores all my personal and professional info, including every important number in my life the past 10 years, ids, pwds, utilities, home warranty numbers...everything. This app syncs with a desktop app and my Nokia n78.
Here's a link:
Handy Safe Pro application for Nokia N78

I'm looking for a comparable app that stores info and syncs with a desktop companion.

Thanks again for all the GREAT info!!!

 

[EinZtein]

...and one more thing...I currently tether my laptop to my n78 by turning my n78 into a wifi hotspot using "JoikuSpot".

Is anyone tethering to there MyTouch, using any method, cable or bluetooth?

 

[nmprofessional]

I've been using SplashID for maybe 5 yrs. They have great customer support. I have used Splash ID for my: Palm OS, Symbian, iPhone and Android devices. I am using their Android app + desktop app.

I heard that PDANet will allow thethering, but I believe you need it tethered.

 

[EinZtein]

Splash ID, great, forgot about that one, wasn't aware it was available for Android, and the fact you're already using it, that might be the clincher!!!

 

[EinZtein]

Tether update...a friend of mine is using the new version of pdanet and tethering via bluetooth on his droid...looks like it's all systems go...now if I can find a vpn client...

 

[Markece]

I swear my MyTouch was almost fully charged last night and died for no reason by the morning... Iono what happened?

 

[ClintJones]

My battery life is always good just dont have your wifi on or bluetooth when your not using it.

 

[BiGMERF]

well htc has confirmed 2.0 for the hero.... wish ya havent left huh, lol

 

[EinZtein]

I've been using SplashID for maybe 5 yrs. They have great customer support. I have used Splash ID for my: Palm OS, Symbian, iPhone and Android devices. I am using their Android app + desktop app.

I heard that PDANet will allow thethering, but I believe you need it tethered.

I picked up a MyTouch 3 days ago and it is off the hook!

Thing I don't like is it seems all my info in SplashId syncs with there servers over the internet, not only does that suck, the connection is not secure, meaning anyone can sniff it out.

A little scary, if you have any more info to the contrary on SplashId it would be appreciated.

Don't know the product but that seems pretty risky to me.

 

[EinZtein]

...loving this device...battery has achieved beyond expectations for me...

 

[nmprofessional]

To my knowledge SplashID is local to your computer. The desktop software does use your computer IP address to sync your phone SplashID software to your computer using your local WiFi connection.

 

[EinZtein]

To my knowledge SplashID is local to your computer. The desktop software does use your computer IP address to sync your phone SplashID software to your computer using your local WiFi connection.

Good info, I really need to verify this as I will be storing some very sensitive data that could ruin me financially if it is accessed by anyone other than me.

I'll try to contact those folks at Splash and see what they have to say.

Thanks.

 

[ballroomdru]

The Hero has been rooted. You could have actually put stock 1.5 on it and been ready to go.