Why Your Battery Doesn't Last Long And What To Do About It
Sebastián 8. October 2007 :: activefile, battery
One of the most common complaints from the Nokia E50 users is the poor battery life. We’ve previously covered some tips on how to increase the battery life and this time we will look closer why our battery doesn’t last longer than a few days. Understanding the processes running on the phone will help us optimize the usage of our device and improve the battery life.
To do this, we will use a specific application called ActiveFile. ActiveFile is basically a common file explorer for the S60 devices but it has one extra feature which we will take advantage of – tracking the operative system activity. In this case we will use only the Memory Monitor which you can access from the main screen of ActiveFile, under the Options and Tools menu. So let’s see what’s going on in our phone:
Boot Up
As soon as the phone boots there are already several processes running (81 processes in our case) and the free executable memory is approximately 11.5MB. The number may vary based on how many 3rd party applications are running right after the start up. In this case we have 2 extra applications running – ScreenSnap to take screenshots and the previously mentioned ActiveFile with its feature to track memory usage. From this point, we can see the memory usage of common applications. The memory usage has straight effect on the power consumption. Let’s go through some of the most common applications to see how they may affect the battery life.
SMS interface
As we can see on the screenshot, simply going back from ActiveFile (leaving it running on the background, together with ScreenSnap) to the main screen, and entering the SMS application from the Active Standby screen, used almost 2MB of executable memory. No wonder why sending 40 messages per day drains some battery!
You could say this is too much for such a common application, but remember, we are running an entire OS(Operation System). There are a lot of subprocesses involved in something as simple as sending an SMS. For instance, T9 dictionary (that evaluates the written text) together with the link to the Contacts application certainly add up to the whole memory consumption.
Email interface
Let’s have a look at the email application. What you see on the screenshot is not the standard inbox but a 3rd party application called emoze. This application is always running on the background pushing my Gmail account to my phone. Only three apps running and we only have half of the executable memory free. At this point, some applications like Nokia Maps, QuickOffice or OfficeSuite won’t be loaded without closing one of the active applications (remember, this is valid for the Nokia E50 which has a total of 16MB memory; other devices like the E61 (21MB) or the E65 (24MB) can handle more applications at the same time).
Conclusions
1) As we can see, running a complex OS like Symbian S60 (which has a few million lines of code) has its advantages, but also some drawbacks. As in any OS, all apps running on Symbian leave some residual code behind them when they are closed. Think of it as your PC. If you leave it turned on for an entire week, eventually, even if your computer has no active applications running, it will be slower than if you do a reboot. For this reason, it is recommended to restart your phone at least once every couple of days.
2) We’ve seen memory usage of the common applications. Some applications I reviewed have not been specifically analysed here. To mention a few, Contacts uses approximately 800KB of memory, Notes uses a little more (depending on the amount of notes on your phone, on mine it’s approximately 1.2MB) and Agenda (a.k.a Calendar) uses surprisingly 600KB. Only Nokia Maps alone uses 1/3rd of the entire executable memory (in my test 4MB).
3) Ultimately, by tracking the memory usage, you’ll understand what’s going on inside your phone, and when to reboot it. ActiveFile doesn’t use too much memory and it’s a helpful and well designed application which runs without glitches on the E50. I hope it helps you to track your phone’s performance and battery life.
Comment [13]
Nokia will replace batteries for free
Jaro 14. August 2007 :: battery, nokia, replacement
Just a quick note for people having problems with their batteries overheating while charging. Nokia has just announced that they will replace problematic batteries. To find out if your battery is affected go to this Nokia page, scroll down and enter the identification number of your battery. You’ll find it on the back side of the battery.
If your battery is a subject of replacement you will be presented with a form. Fill it out and Nokia will send a new battery to you by post. You’ll be asked to return the old battery in the envelope provided.
Is your battery faulty? Does it overheat while charging?
UPDATE: just to clarify; this is not the place to get your battery replaced. You must follow the link in the article, fill out the form and only then will Nokia send you a new battery.
Comment [27]
7 tips to extend your battery life
Jaro 21. November 2006 :: battery, life, tips
When it comes to batteries it looks like we are at the same point we were 10 years ago. Batteries don’t last longer than a few days. But to be fair to the battery designers we have to admit that nowadays’ smartphones require much more energy than phones 10 years ago. We can’t really compare them but what we can do is use them with more care. Here are a few good tips how to go about it:
1. Turn off your Bluetooth – I find Bluetooth to be the most power hungry application; turn it off when you don’t use it
2. Disable sounds and vibrating alert – you don’t really need keypad tones to be on, do you? What about vibrating? It is surely useful on the meetings or in a cinema but most of time you’ll do just fine without it; I usually set up a vibrating profile to be used in places like cinema or theatre and in all other profiles I have vibrating turned off
3. Brightness – lower the brightness of your screen; not too low, otherwise you’ll destroy your vision
4. Setting the Power saver time-out and the Light time-out to the low values will help too (you’ll find them in the display settings)
5. If you are not using an application switch it off – you’ll get a list of all active applications by long pressing the menu button; this is a general rule that can be applied to any device
6. Games – it’s fun to play games on your way to school but they are power-hungry beasts; I can’t tell you not to play games but think about your battery when you are playing
7. Turn off your phone when you don’t use it – I know that for many of you this is not an option and I’m not sure if turning it off and on is even good for your battery but I heard this tip from so many people that I just had to mention it
Buy cheap batteries from Amazon.com
My Nokia E50 lasts 3-5 days depending on how often I use it. I have to say that I don’t play games, neither I browse the internet very often. How about you? How long does your battery last and how often do you use your phone? Do you have some additional tips that could extend battery life? Feel free to add them in comments below.
Comment [15]
