Battery life drain scale

[Tronied]

From my experience with my S9, I thought I would write an ordered list of things which drain battery life going from most to least:

1) Flash games / Applications
2) Performing a scan for radio channels
3) Watching videos
4) Using the voice recorder
5) Using the radio
6) Using picture viewer and other utilities
7) Listening to music

So, would you say this list was correct? I'd take a guess and say that if I was to use Flash games from full charge until the battery dying, it would take 3-4 hours, while at the opposite end with music and BBE settings it usually lasts 40+ hours.

No real point to this thread, but it might be handy for new people with S9's to understand how long their battery lasts using the above features.

[CrowdAds]

[dfkt]

A scan through the whole FM range won't take more than a few minutes, so I guess that isn't a realistic battery drainer.

You forgot Bluetooth, this one should suck the life out of the S9 for good.

[The DarkSide]

Also, using the radio should actually get better battery run time than playing music files. No decoding means longer run time.

[newone]

As far as I know animations drain the battery a lot. So I'd guess that using the picture viewer and scrolling through the pictures wouldn't consume much less than using games or apps (unless you just stare at a single picture...).

[Tronied]

I put scanning for radio channels near the top as it always seems to zap me down to the next level of battery when I do it - so the process seems to be quite high on drainage even though it only lasts a couple of minutes per scan (maybe im always just on the edge anyway).

I haven't used bluetooth so thats why I didn't put it in the list. I have heard it is quite bad though, so it would probably go in the top 3, but is slightly different to the other items as it can be used at the same time rather than on its own.

For some reason I always find I use more battery by listening to the radio than listening to my music. I'm not exactly sure of the inner workings of how the radio feature works, but the antenna is quite good and so to pick up, process and play music in as high quality via radio as it does I would imagine it would use more battery than a file stored and played locally.

As for the photo viewer, you are probably right but I haven't spent the time in there long enough looking at photos to notify any serious drain on the battery.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Also, using the radio should actually get better battery run time than playing music files. No decoding means longer run time.

Interestingly enough, the manual for the S545 says that receiving FM takes more battery than playing back MP3's. It lists an estimate of 17 hours continuous playtime with FM, as opposed to 42 hours with 128kbps MP3's. I have no plans to test this, as I rarely use the radio, but it is interesting.

[Dreamnine]

Bluetooth is a heavy drain on the P3 - I haven't noticed the FM radio draining it much, but I'm usually only listening for half-an-hour or so.

[scowl]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Also, using the radio should actually get better battery run time than playing music files. No decoding means longer run time.

The S9 hardware has to decode the FM signal by continuously sampling the frequency spectrum of the station you're tuned to and decoding the FM signal. That's how they've been able to make FM receivers without bulky analog electronics. This requires a lot of power compared to decoding an audio file but it still takes a fraction of the power of old analog receivers.

[biscuitownz]

Bluetooth actually uses that much power?! no wonder i need to recharge my p2 daily now

[The DarkSide]

Hmm, my bad on the FM then . I used to remember the radio was less of a power drain on a player. Guess I was thinking of my old cassette/cd Walkman type players, as those use actual moving parts to play media, and therefore drain the battery faster.

[newone]

Originally Posted by Tronied

For some reason I always find I use more battery by listening to the radio than listening to my music. I'm not exactly sure of the inner workings of how the radio feature works, but the antenna is quite good and so to pick up, process and play music in as high quality via radio as it does I would imagine it would use more battery than a file stored and played locally.

The S9 has no built in antenna, but the cables of your headphones/speakers work as antenna (as mentioned in the user manual).

Originally Posted by Tronied

As for the photo viewer, you are probably right but I haven't spent the time in there long enough looking at photos to notify any serious drain on the battery.

Well it's the same if you play within the menus a lot (for example if you are applying custom icons and switch the screens a lot).