Quad-core Smartphones With High-res Screens Will Take Over..

[Hammer_Time]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/246032/q ... _2012.html

I know I posted this link already in our "Feedback" forum, but thought it would be a good first post to kick off discussions about Smartphones in this new Smartphone Forum that was just created. Cheers!

[Sauron_Daz]

Enabled quick reply.

I'm still not convinced I need a smartphone. Most people I see have all their attention to that little screen and 'forget' the rest of the world around them..
I bet they are behind some of the traffic accidents as well..

[eCLA]

Bookmarked.

[GaN]

Quad core phones, with HD graphics etc etc, and a horrible battery life. They progress, but forget about the most important feauture of a phone in general: The battery! If you use a gps, or wifi, what's the point if it lasts only for an hour, or if one must charge his phone every night, inb order to make calls the day after? This is not called progress in my opinion.

Also, Sauron is right. We have forgotten about real life and keep focusing our attention on screens...

[clone]

Quad core phones, with HD graphics etc etc, and a horrible battery life. They progress, but forget about the most important feauture of a phone in general: The battery! If you use a gps, or wifi, what's the point if it lasts only for an hour, or if one must charge his phone every night, inb order to make calls the day after? This is not called progress in my opinion.

I don't believe it'll be so bad as implied, if one can get 10 hours out of their phone doing all of the tasks offered then they'll be near the perfect device.

have no particular use for a mobile phone and have always had the attitude that if it's important leave a message but once you bundle everything in then it'll be hard to resist.

[Sauron_Daz]

Well, I use a simple mobile. Battery lasts almost a week.

[MonkRX]

or if one must charge his phone every night, inb order to make calls the day after? This is not called progress in my opinion.

Why can't I charge my phone every night? I can understand complaints of phones not lasting 8-12 hours a day. But I cannot understand people who want their phones to last for days. Most people's usage habits allow for daily charging. Since electricity is almost free (in terms of charging a phone), I would want a phone that burns all its electricity in a day... Performing at max performance with retina burning brightness.

I don't need a phone that sips its battery over a week. It isn't a car. I don't need the efficiency.


... In any case, I do think its progress. Phones are being designed for single day use, performing the best they can in that day. Thats why phones are thinner and smaller now, because the battery capacity is intended for single day usage, not week long use.

[Fuzz]

I think they should have a low power mode that allows them to last days or weeks though. I've got an 8 year old Nokia, and the battery still lasts 2 weeks standby. Sometimes you just forget to plug a phone in at night, and the next day you are running around and get screwed out of making a simple call.

[veli05]

I think in regards to battery life, the business world really pushes for this due to how much of their communication comes from cellphones and mobile email capabilities nowadays (both of which suck battery like non other). Therefore since these businesses mass contract out hundreds if not thousands of devices for their employees which equals a lot of cheddar for providers, mobile device manufacturers would not be giving them due diligence if they kept the battery life factor out of their design process.

Yes, some users usage behavior requires a daily charge over others, but it can be annoying if you have important calls you need to receive or make or if you are tied to your email inbox for whatever reason.

At least it is giving the battery a workout, which in turn will make it last longer. I am pretty sure cell batteries function like laptop batteries and that optimal usage consists of not charging until it is almost dead to promote battery health, constant charging can/will reduce battery efficiency and charge capacity.

My 2 C's

[Hammer_Time]

True!

And there is always this too:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11288_7-6427792-3.html

Solio Universal solar charger kit

Solio Universal solar charger kit
Editor's rating: 8.0
The good: Compact design; delivers ample charging time; internal battery can be charged from the wall or the sun.
The bad: Can't balance on its side when open.
The bottom line: Well designed and high functioning, the Solio Universal solar charger kit is great for power in a pinch on a sunny day.

More here:

http://www.earthtechproducts.com/p7.html

Starting at $43 and on up... good one seems to be around $80 price range or so...

[Fuzz]

Ya, got one from Dealextreme for I think $20. took it with us on our trip to Europe and it was very handy for charging the phone when we had no where to plug in.

[Hammer_Time]

+1

[MonkRX]

I think they should have a low power mode that allows them to last days or weeks though. I've got an 8 year old Nokia, and the battery still lasts 2 weeks standby.

Android's power management is awful. These SoCs can be extremely low power. Drivers and power management is awful when compared to the antiquated Windows Mobile 6.5 from 5 years ago. My phone can last a week on standby. Not Android

In any case, there are numerous solutions to battery life. The most basic solution is to get OEM extended batteries. HTC has models where they have their own extended battery designs, offering OEM case quality. The aftermarket also has many "extended" batteries.

I can understand that not being an optimal solution. But there are TONS of phones that are not part of the bleeding edge. If you choose to drop down a few models, you can find phones offering much, much, more battery life. The market isn't just the top 3 smartphones from HTC, Samsung, and Apple. The former two make many lower end models with more productivity features (such as a keyboard or hardware buttons) with thicker cases to accommodate thicker, larger batteries.

Almost every manufacturer makes smartphones from top to bottom in performance (with an inverse correlation in battery life). I guess if you're still looking for more battery life, you can go to non-smart phones... but honestly, even the higher end "feature" phones still contain power hungry chipsets.

At least it is giving the battery a workout, which in turn will make it last longer.

Nope. This is not true. Lithium Ion cells do not perform better by "working it out". The cell chemestry where that's good practice is Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) or NiCad.

I am pretty sure cell batteries function like laptop batteries and that optimal usage consists of not charging until it is almost dead to promote battery health

No. Don't do this. You will lower the life span of your Li-Ion cells/batteries. This is good for NiMH or NiCad, but not Li-Ion or Li-Poly cells.

constant charging can/will reduce battery efficiency and charge capacity.

Nope.

Veli, all your information is completely accurate for the older NiMH chemestry. This is still widely used in lower end products, like Cordless Phones (Not Cell Phones), and rechargable AA batteries. So continue practicing those habits on those cells. But do not treat Li-Ion cells the same way.

Here's a couple of facts that I'll back up with few links:
1. Li-Ion cells you purchase online typically arrive partially charged. Why? Because their useful shelf life stays longer if the charge is kept between 45-65%.
2. Li-ion cells last longer and lose the least capacity if you keep it between 45-65%. So charge as much as you can to keep it within those numbers.
3. Shelf life of Li-Ion cells drop by approx 5% per year, regardless of use.
4. Use doesn't really affect shelf life. As long as you stay within the general limits (like not drawing excessive power or charging at high rates - none of which is under your control anyway, since the cells were already chosen by the manufacturer, as well as the charge and discharge rate).

What you can gather from this:
1. Never store Li-Ion cells full or near dead. It'll lose more of its capacity faster. So if you ever receive a new battery (Li-Ion) thats not already partially charged, return it. It probably has very little useful life left.
2. Never "cycle" Li-Ion cells. This will lower their useful life span. (Cycle is when you run the battery from full to empty).


Wikipedia Link on Chevy Volt's Battery Managment (Li-Ion Cells)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt

The battery pack stores 16 kW·h of energy but it is controlled or buffered via the energy management system to use only 10.4 kW·h of this capacity to maximize the life of the pack. For this reason the battery pack never fully charges or depletes, as the software only allows the battery to operate within a state of charge (SOC) window of 65%, after which the engine kicks in and maintains the charge near the lower level. The minimum SOC varies depending on operating conditions. When more power is required, such as mountain mode, the lower limit of the SOC will raise to 45% to ensure there is enough power available.

If I recall correctly, they originally wanted the cells to be between 65-85% charge. Never below, never above.

Anyway, I can't get the forums to load, but there are TONS of independent testing and really good info on cells here:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... i8Zr-vcY7g

[Silver]

Why can't I charge my phone every night? I can understand complaints of phones not lasting 8-12 hours a day. But I cannot understand people who want their phones to last for days. Most people's usage habits allow for daily charging. Since electricity is almost free (in terms of charging a phone), I would want a phone that burns all its electricity in a day... Performing at max performance with retina burning brightness.

Im quite happy with having a small pocketfriendly *crap* phone, wich if I soo chose probably last 4 days without recharging
It's a phone for crying out loud, ive got computers at work and at home and rather have a separate device to put music on too.

[Hammer_Time]

MonkRX is correct about not letting lithium ion ( Li-Ion ) batteries drain completely ( no charge ) before recharging them to keep battery life at a maximum. Here is a good article regarding this topic, just to add to his post above:

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/arti ... _batteries

More here:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu ... duct=18703

http://www.laptopbattery.net/laptopbatteries_LI.html

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/glob ... s=04#faq27

Q Should I completely discharge my battery before I charge it?
A No, with current lithium ion batteries this practice does not improve the runtime of the battery. This practice is a holdover from the days in which NiMH batteries were used.

Q Should I totally discharge, then recharge my DellT laptop battery occasionally to make it last longer?
A No, discharging and charging does not increase the life of a lithium ion battery.

What is ExpressChargeT?
A For a battery advertised as having the ExpressChargeT feature, the battery typically will have greater than 80% charge after about an hour of charging with the system off, and fully charge in about 2 hours with the system off.

Q How long does it take for a Dell laptop battery to fully recharge?
A The charge time varies depending on the system. If the battery supports ExpressChargeT, the battery typically will have greater than 80% charge after about an hour of charging with the system off, and fully charge in about 2 hours with the system off. Batteries that do not support ExpressChargeT typically charge in about 3 hours with the system off. See your system's user's manual for more information.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/h ... ttery.html

How to Charge a Laptop Battery

You must charge your laptop battery to keep it operational. You charge your laptop battery by plugging the laptop into a wall socket. You can recharge your battery whether the battery is fully drained or not.

Note that lithium-ion batteries have a rapid-charging option. This option is available either on a custom tab inside the Power Options dialog box or through special battery software that came with your laptop. In a pinch, a rapid charge can save time. Otherwise, you want a nice, full, slow charge for your laptop’s battery. Other battery-charging points are as follows:

You can recharge your laptop’s battery whether the battery is fully drained or not. Especially if your laptop is using a lithium-ion battery, it makes no difference.

Lithium-ion batteries have a rapid-charging option. This option is available either on a custom tab inside the Power Options dialog box or from special battery software that came with your laptop. In a pinch, a rapid charge can save time. Otherwise, you want a nice, full, slow charge for your laptop's battery.

I leave my laptop plugged into the wall whenever I can.

There’s no need to fully drain your laptop's lithium-ion battery every time you use it.

The battery continues to charge even when the laptop is turned off.

It doesn’t take longer to recharge the battery if you use the laptop while recharging.

You do not need to discharge or charge a li-ion battery fully - they do not suffer from the "memory effect" experienced with nickel cadmium or nickel metal hydride rechargeables. So only discharge partially - avoid going below 20% capacity if you can.

Good advice! ( applies to cellphones using Lithium Ion batteries too )

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-573 ... ge-longer/

Redesigned lithium ion battery charges faster, holds charge longer

by Bonnie Cha November 16, 2011 10:22 PM PST

Battery life is always an issue with today's gadgets, from smartphones to tablets to electric cars, but researchers at Northwestern University have come up with a new technology that might lead to longer-lasting devices in the next few years.

Engineers from Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science discovered a way to redesign today's lithium ion cells, which are used in a number of consumer electronics, to address two major problems with today's batteries: energy capacity and charging time.
"We have found a way to extend a new lithium ion battery's charge life by 10 times," explained Harold H. Kung, professor of chemical and biological engineering at McCormick and lead author of the research paper. "Even after 150 charges, which would be one year or more of operation, the battery is still five times more effective than lithium ion batteries on the market today."

The team was able to do this by making changes to the material used in a battery and the way ions travel within a cell.

Understanding how lithium ion batteries work

To better understand the technology, it's helpful to know how lithium ion batteries work in the first place. As soon as you engage your smartphone, tablet, or some other device, a chemical reaction takes place where the lithium ions move from one end of the battery (called the anode) to the other end (called the cathode) of the battery. During this process, the ions are traveling through the electrolyte and giving off an electrical charge to the device. When you recharge the battery, the ions travel in the opposite direction, going from the cathode back to the anode.

The problem with today's batteries

The current design of lithium ion batteries presents two big problems, however. The first is that the number of ions that can be packed into the anode or cathode is limited, which affects how long a battery can maintain its charge. The second issue is that there can be a delay in how fast the ions travel from the electrolyte back to the anode, thus affecting the recharge time. The culprit of both these predicaments? The material used to make the anode.
The anode consists of layers of carbon-based graphene sheets. As it currently stands, the anode can only accommodate one lithium atom for every six carbon atoms, which isn't very much, so scientists have tried replacing carbon with silicon, which handle four lithium atoms for every silicon atom. That said, problem with silicon is that it expands and contracts dramatically during the charging process and causes fragmentation.
On the charging issue, the shape of the graphene sheets slows down the whole process. The sheets are thin but very long, and the lithium ions need to travel to the outer edges first before entering and settling between the sheets. However, as researchers explain, since it takes so long for the ions to make their way back to the middle, an "ionic traffic jam" occurs and slows down the charging rate.

A fix

The engineers at Northwestern came up with a solution for these problems by recreating the anode using a graphene-silicon design. By sandwiching silicon clusters between the graphene sheets, the anode can accommodate more lithium atoms, while the flexibility of the graphene can combat the silicon's fragmentation.
In addition, the team used a chemical oxidation process to create miniscule holes in the sheets, so the lithium ions could travel faster back to the anode. The result of all this was a 10x increase in speed in recharge time.

What's next?

Though all the focus was on the anode this time around, the group from Northwestern say it will work on the cathode next to increase the effectiveness of batteries and aim to improve the electrolyte system so the battery will automatically shut down at higher temperatures. The latter pertains more to electric cars and is viewed as a safety mechanism.
Researchers say that we could see the new battery technology hit the marketplace in the next three to five years. I'm sure more than a few mobile device users will agree with me when I say, that day can't come soon enough.
(Source: Popular Science)

Bring it!!

[Sauron_Daz]

Better batteries are always a good thing. If they are not too expensive..

[MonkRX]

MonkRX is correct [...] just to add to his post above:

Good to know H_T is here to add sources to my completely baseless post

if I soo chose probably last 4 days without recharging

But you probably don't , since recharging daily is a trivial "chore" to add to your daily routine.

It's a phone for crying out loud

You've hit the hammer on the head. Its not just a phone anymore.

ive got computers at work and at home

I don't have access to a computer at clinicals. (Well I do). Mobile computing is a lot easier with a phone. Quick look ups like finding out what drug your giving to a patient or what the hell diverticulitis is a lot easier on a phone.

[I'd] rather have a separate device to put music on too.

Which begs the question: Why?

I think Smartphones should no longer be called phones. Lets face it - convergence is the future. If your mobile phone can perform (at an acceptable level) the tasks that a dedicated device would normally do - it should replace it. Its more convenient. I can understand the level of convergence isn't quite there yet for some tasks (Picture taking, for example). But Cell Phones have totally obliterated many tasks relegated to beepers, or even laptops. All a cell phone IS a computer. It just happens to have a cellular radio.

[TAViX]

Guys, from you experience, what is the smartphone closest to iPhone 4 in terms of OS stability, performance and functionality. Yeah, I am talking about the Android ones, but so far ALL my friends that are having Samsungs, HTCs, LGs, etc, are complaining about the same thing: system instability, processes no closing and eating up battery, crashes, etc, etc.

[Hammer_Time]

You want/need Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0

very polished, fast, and stable!!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/246642/i ... _2012.html

Ice Cream Sandwich Destined for Samsung Galaxy S II in Early 2012

By Daniel Ionescu, PCWorld Dec 20, 2011 5:58 AM

Samsung Galaxy S II owners will be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the first quarter of 2012, the Korean manufacturer has announced. The completely revamped OS debuted on the Galaxy Nexus phone this month, and S II models will benefit from the improvements early next year, too.

Samsung said most of its Galaxy-branded devices would get the Android 4.0 update some time next year. This includes the Galaxy S II, S II LTE, Note and R smartphones and the Galaxy Tab 10.1, 8.9, 7.7 and 7.0 Plus tablets as well. There’s no exact timeline for the update on each device, as Samsung said this depends on each market and carriers’ requirements, so individual announcements should follow in the spring.

With Android 4.0, Google hopes to bridge the gap between Android 2.X for smartphones and Android 3.X for tablets. Most parts of the operating system received a makeover with Ice Cream Sandwich; the most notable change is that new devices running the OS do not require the four Android hardware buttons anymore, replaced by contextual software keys. Other new features include face unlocking and Android Beam sharing over NFC (for NFC-equipped devices).

Other Android manufacturers are rushing to get Android 4.0 to their customers, too. Sony Ericsson acted fast and released a version of Ice Cream Sandwich that can be installed on unlocked Xperia devices such as the Arc, Neo V or Ray. Meanwhile, Motorola said the Droid Razr and Bionic on Verizon will get Android 4.0, and HTC is working to bring the updates to some of its devices early in the new year.

It's worth the wait, trust!! Samsung Galaxy II S with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is gonna be the BOMB!! Trust!! Coming very soon!!

[Hammer_Time]

New HTC smartphone, "FarCry 2 Edition" :



Apple is working on getting SIRI to recognize Tutsi/Hutu African languages, but they are having trouble getting the clicks and grunts sorted properly!!

( just kidding here, no offence to African people, parody only )