The dark secret behind iPhone battery life

Rands on the Twitter:

PEOPLE the battery life appears less because YOU CAN'T PUT THE DAMNED THING DOWN.

That would pretty much explain it.

[jlgilkey]

The real dark secret is when will Apple/ATT allow the iPhone 3G to be used as a modem like you can with a Windows Mobile device. Is Microsoft *THAT* far ahead of Apple, or are Jobs and Co./AT&T looking for a way to draina little more blood from the turnip? I can't believe someone hasn't come up with an App that will do the job. It's straight forward on a WM device. My guess is that Apple/ATT are blocking its release to limit 3G bandwidth consumption because the network isn't what it could/should be.

[Sparky_McMuffin]

Who worries about that? A handful of people at ComicCon? Talk about battery life decline, this would be guaranteed to turn your iPhone into an iBrick in no time at all. I find it laughable that you think a device that has a built-in accelerometer, proximity sensor, and touch sensitive screen is *behind* any Win Mobile device. Didn't it occur to you that perhaps turning the iPhone into a broadband modem was a feature that Apple wasn't interested in implementing?

[Orenge]

Wow, the Microsoft trolls are trying so hard I can see the little vein bulging on their foreheads!

Tethering costs $30/month--on any 3G AT&T phone--which means only a small percentage of iPhone users would use it, and those that did would be compensating AT&T quite well for the extra bandwidth. Therefore, I doubt AT&T needs to limit it in the long run. Maybe for a short time, though, since they've just made 3G changes. Either way, that's nothing to do with Apple.

Now, that small percentage of people would love to have it, and it's not hard to guess why the don't have the option--yet. We know already that Apple's iPhone team's time has all been spent on developers lately--which is a great thing that benefits a lot more users than tethering would. And as a result, Apple has admitted to having additional iPhone software features that just couldn't be read for 2.0 (with vague mention of copy/paste and driving-specific GPS functions).

Those features could come at any time by software update, all at once or one by one. I certainly hope tethering is one of them, and would be very surprised if that doesn't appear by MWSF.

If, in all of this, any sane person can sit down with a Windows Mobile device, and an iPhone, and believe that Microsoft is anything but light years behind, then they are letting their feelings cloud their reason to an impressive degree.

And jlgilkey is a bit behind: someone HAS come up with an app to do tethering on an iPhone. You can do it right now if you like. It's unofficial, and it's taking a $30 services from AT&T for free--something against the terms you agreed to when you signed your AT&T contract. So I'd suggest waiting for official tethering, and paying the extra $30 just like all those "delighted" Windows Mobile users

(Yes, that would be the same Windows Mobile that has more devices in use than the iPhone, has been around for far longer, has been driven by a desktop and office monopoly.... and yet STILL has only a FRACTION of the iPhone's web usage. Sites track these things, and iPhone users dominate the usage of the Web from mobile phones. Because the iPhone and its browser are that much better and easier than Windows Mobile. A difficult pill for some, but undeniable.)

[ayoung45]

I keep my iPhone on he Edge network when not using data... saves a LOT on battery

[georgec2008]

You iphone guys are crazy if you think that the iphone is more advanced. Hardware-wise, the iphone is probably better than most smartphones. But that's it.
Apple has put a chokehold on this phone. Let's start:
1. No ability add memory.
2. No ability to change battery.
3. No ability to send/rec files via bluetooth to/from another bluetooth device. (Even my crappy nokia 6100 does that)
4. Doesn't play WMA files. And NO, I can't convert them. I want to listen to live streams. WMA accounts for half the live streams on the net.
5. No tethering. I am willing to pay the $30, which I currently do with my Treo 750. Not a serious business phone. Tethering is important.
6. Apple controls all the software. Windows Mobile and Symbian, you can get software from anywhere, and there is much more software available.
7. No access to the file system without jailbreak.

Don't get me wrong, I think its a pretty cool phone though. But some of you guys need to climb down the tree and look at reality. All those features that the iphone does can be done with most Windows mobile and Symbian phones too.

Look at Apple's tv commercials:
Wow! I can check the weather on my iphone - Big deal! Even phones from 10 years ago could do that.
Wow! I can browse the internet. Every phone on the market today gives you internet access.
Wow! I can listen to music - Most phones can offer this too, although the iphone does a better job, except for the fact that Itunes stinks!

Apple just does a much better job of marketing these features. They make it seem like they invented the wheel, and many people beleive it.

[posershadow]

The iPhone 3G is nothing new. The complacent smug users of Apple products believe the iPhone 3G is something major, yet you can trace 3G in touchscreen PDA's back to the days of the 8525 aka HTC Hermes of November 2006. The Tilt aka HTC TyTn II matches basically every feature of the iPhone and it was released in October 2007 with no media coverage because AT&T wasn't going to make the major bucks like it does off the clueless iPhone owners. The Tilt even tops the iPhone with a full keyboard, 3MP camera, and a true GPS system which doesn't need Google Maps. Who would want to use Google Maps when then could run a full installation of TomTom or Garmin on their Tilt? The iPhone has only 2 distinct advantages and they are: appearance and accelerometer. Amazingly, Apple can sell a product based on appearance, which says a lot about how amazingly stupid the consumers are for sucking up all of the advertising. As far as apps are concerned, there are a hell of a lot more apps in the Windows Mobile world than in the wonderful App Store. The Apps Store will never go anywhere good unless Apple stops being a dictator and demanding every app get their approval before being released. Some of you mentioned tethering, there's no reason to spend $30/month on tethering when you can use the built in internet sharing feature on the Tilt. You can also use WMWifiRouter which basically turns your Tilt into a WiFi router for laptops and computers to connect too to utilize the AT&T 3G internet.

In general, Apple users are just kidding themselves when they believe they have the best stuff. Sure Leopard is a pretty good operating system, but look what you're running it on. The cheapest Mac Mini's are the price of quad-core PC's nowadays. If Apple were to release Leopard for PC's, they might loose some of their Mac sales, but think about how many people would be throwing Windows away and switching over. The profits would outweigh the losses. I'm ashamed to admit that I simply don't care for Apple, first it was AOL now it's Apple. More then the company I really disagree with the majority of it's customers that have this "You use a PC? your soooo a sheep of the government"-type of attitude. To me Apple is a company that takes a concept, makes it somewhat idiot proof (I've seen my fair share of broken iPods) and calls it revolutionary. Afterwards we have the army of zombies claiming individuality left and right with the strong need to buy what everyone else is buying..... yes my friend your truly one of a kind. Face it guys, the only thing Apple has ever done worthwhile was OS X and the iPod(and they've done a pretty crappy job making it mandatory iTunes and way overpriced).

[galleyhannon]

@georgec2008
@posershadow

ROFL

Bonus points for no mention of battery life. Way to keep on topic.

Sent from my iPhone

[posershadow]

What an accomplishment galleyhannon... Nice to see your amazement of browsing internet on your phone which started loooong before the iPhone days. Only today are the complacent smug users of Apple getting around to internet on phones. By the way, maybe your iPhone skipped Orenge's (Apple fanboy) post which doesn't mention battery life once, that's who I was specifically responding too. I consider certain things like OS X and the iPod to be Apple's success stories, and am not to bigheaded and conceited to deny them like the Apple fanboys including yourself. To the rest of the community, unfortunately for people like galleyhannon, they live and die by Apple and will go to the grave defending Steve Jobs. If someone is going to tell me that the iPhone or iPhone 3G is a major innovation, they obviously have little knowledge of technology and probably have done absolutely no research on any Apple product they own, they simply just go down to the Apple store and buy whatever the herd is buying. There are no differences in spec's between iPhone 3G vs. Tilt that would cause one or the other to have a clear advantage, yet, when the Tilt was released in October 2007, no media coverage, but when the iPhone was released in July, it was received as a work of God and something that would change the world. Come on folks, throw your egos away already. I'm not saying Windows Mobile is without flaws, so don't come on here acting conceited.

[Phalougher]

@ Orenge: Bulging? To me it looks like they're bursting.

[bmglab]

Right you are. Although being on the 3G network chews up battery life faster than when on edge, the real problem with drain (at least for me) is not being able to put the iPhone down. Almost had to get a BB for the office, glad I waited. Although the iPhone has its flaws and people will argue, there is no device that can touch it. The iPhone is truly the future today.

[ripragged]

If you don't think the iPhone is technologically advanced, you don't know what the words mean. It's like saying a Tesla isn't more advanced than a Model T because the Model T had wheels and seats, too. Clowns.

[dssoren]

Why do I need to use the iPhone as a modem? Since getting the iPhone, I rarely even use my desktop or laptop and have never wished to use it as a modem. I've stopped taking my laptop with me when I travel. Face it, it's just that good.

[Moeskido]

The Windows Mobile clan wants the iPhone to be (among other things) a magical Swiss-army knife, accommodating every clunky workaround that other phones have gotten them used to thinking of as "features." They can't accept "simple" and "clean" for consumer hardware; they'd rather a smartphone look like a 767 cockpit so they can brag about how much smarter they are for using it.

It's fun to watch them recite their little MCSE talking points, isn't it?

[posershadow]

The issue with Apple is that it has lots of great ideas and products with tons of innovation in them, but their are certain issues with their current business plan and the way they go about handling those products is not very good.

1. iPod: Overpriced compared to the rest of the mp3 players in the market and yet it lacks features that the other mp3 players have. Also, a big problem I see with it is that iTunes is mandatory. I really don't like being forced into proprietary stuff, I simply want an iPod to hook up to a computer through a simple mini-USB cable that you can get from any store for a few bucks and then have the iPod show up on any computer, Mac or PC, as a USB flash drive would, that way I can drag and drop my music or movies on without having to use any program whatsoever, just like you do with a flash drive. iTunes maybe a good program for some, but it should not be mandatory, and should be an option for consumers to use for media management. I like the iPods stylish design, but the higher prices and mandatory iTunes really pushes me away.

2. Macs: These are interesting because Apple really puts a lot of effort into creating an innovative and stylish computer and it really pays off. They separate themselves from PC's here in a major way. Mac Minis are excellent for their small form factor, iMacs are great in the fact that they look amazing and they contain the whole computer in the monitor, and the Mac Pro is a very stylish way of putting server power into consumers hands. But there is a major downside to all of this and it's the price. The cheapest Mac Mini is the price of a 2.4ghz quad core PC with 3GB of RAM and 500GB hard drive. iMacs are far overpriced as well, considering that same quad core PC for $600 with a 22" monitor comes out to be around $850. And the Mac Pro, if you were to build a PC version of it, it would cost around $800 less than the Mac Pro. The next flaw is the lack of upgrades and availability to build your own system. iMacs and Mac Minis are just plain impossible to upgrade. The Mac Pro is upgradeable in a really cool way, but having to spend $2800 just to get a system that is upgradeable isn't worth it to me. There also aren't enough versions of Macs for people who are just looking for an ordinary tower for cheap with some power under the hood. Either you get the underpowered iMac, or you spend another $1k to bump into a Mac Pro. Mainly on Macs, I'd like to see a lot more versions of Macs, cheaper prices equivalent to the prices of equal PC setups, the ability to buy parts to build your own Mac, and a bigger push in the upgrade market so you can upgrade your Mac without having to go out and buy a Mac Pro.

3. Leopard: Great operating system. Probably one of the best out there. Only major issue here is that you cannot install it on a PC legally. Microsoft has allowed their OS to be installed on any machine, why won't Apple release theirs? If you think about it, sure they might loose some Mac sales, but think of how many people would throw Vista away and switch to Leopard. I think the pros outweigh the cons here. Basically, Apple needs to release Leopard for the world to enjoy, instead of forcing you to buy a Mac. Microsoft releases Office and their OS for Macs and Linux is completely open, now why can't Apple do the same?

4. iPhone: The iPhone is great. It takes the Windows Mobile devices of the past and shapes all of that technology into a more user friendly form. It is also displays Apples love to make things stylish. But the major issues are the required contract and the mandatory iTunes. It is far too expensive due to the required contract. Consumers should have a free choice to sign up for whatever they can afford. They should not make the iPhone a prize of only those who can afford the hefty contract. Again, look at the pros and cons of opening up the iPhone. Sure you won't be selling many of those high priced contracts anymore but you are going to sell a hell of a lot more iPhones now that anybody can get their hands on one. Also, iTunes, this should be optional. In Windows Mobile, with a MicroSD card, you can basically put any music, movies, or documents on your device with the same method you would a flash drive. Drag and drop and its on your device, no programs to mess with, only 2 mouse clicks. iTunes maybe good for some people, but not everybody wants to use iTunesProprietary stuff is just a hassle and a way to make more money off of people.

If Apple followed some of the tips I just gave, they would destroy Microsoft and the PC market in no time at all. They have the right products, they just need to make some modifications and they would definitely gain a lot more of my support.