... the continuing X10 Mini Pro battery saga...

As per my previous post, there have been reports of users getting well over 4 days of standby time from the X10 Mini Pro. I have yet to experience over one day of use with it.

Ok... aside from not using the phone... I've tried to find a combination of apps that will help maximize battery use, without sacrificing too much of the capabilities of the phone.

For people that do not have unlimited data plans, then you're over half way there... having unlimited surfing capabilities really takes its toll on your battery... mainly because you're always surfing... hahahaha... and background sync does drain a lot as well. Leaving it on 3G doesn't, but data polling and push services (if you get a lot of email and facebook updates like I do) does drain a lot.

So far, I've tried a ton of power management apps... and so far... there are 3 that look very promising together.

Juice Defender shuts off cellular data services when your screen goes on standby, and turns it back on when you use your phone. This prevents apps and widgets from connecting to the net and draining your battery when you're not using your phone. Free version logs in every 15 min so email and MMS can come in during those intervals... it might be worth getting the paid version if you want more control over time and scheduled log-ins.


SMODA Widget, a small 1x1 button to shut off data services manually. Can over-ride Juice Defender when you're screen is on and you don't want to surf.





Timeriffic allows you to control and trigger wifi, ringer, screen brightness, vibration, volume, and airplane mode using user set times and days. Like you can have the phone automatically go on silent at 10pm and turn all sounds back on at 6am. Or completely cut-off using airplane mode during Sundays. I personally only use this to control my screen brightness during the day.

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There's also an app called Power Manager that enables wifi when you plug in your phone, and disables it when you unplug your phone. This runs in the background, and you can always over-ride it manually.

There are a ton of other apps that can help you manage and save battery life... so far, for my use, Data on Demand seems to be the one with the biggest difference since all I give up are push messages. So it has the least impact on my use, without me giving up too much functionality or convenience (I don't like having to turn things off and on all the time)

What battery savings apps do you guys have running on your Android phones?

***August 7, 2010 - Juice Defender has a widget that performs the same function as the SMODA widget, so if you like Juice Defender (I'm hoping to get the full app when it's available here in the Philippines) you don't need SMODA anymore... but if you just want a simple widget that shuts off your data transfers, SMODA is the way to go***

***December 20, 2010 - Momax Portable Battery Review***

Android apps...

Finding the right app takes time. There are dozens of apps that perform the same task, but all slightly different from one another. Mash-App is a site for Android users to share apps they have installed on their devices.

X10 Mini Pro battery review: supplemental entry

Two words: Car Charger... hahaha... I need to buy the official car kit for the Mini Pro.

Some users have reported (with proof) up to 4 days of battery life.

Rated capacity for the X10 Mini Pro is approx 6 days of standby or 4 hours of use (I do really use it for 4 hours straight, at least now that I'm still experimenting with the phone)

This translates to about 1.5 days of standby lost for every hour of use.

So to get about 4 days worth of charge, you have to use the phone as little as 15 min per day, total ... this includes calls, composing and reading SMS, email, surfing, etc... inclusive of background/push activity.

3 hours of use will give you about a day of power...

3.5 hours of use will yield only half a day total...

and 4 hours... is well... just 4 hours.


*****correction*****
Rated standby time on the X10 Mini Pro is 12 days, and 4 hours of use... someone on Esato was able to get 8 days... I barely get a day... hahahaha...

***December 20, 2010 - Momax Portable Battery Review***

on Sony Ericsson's Timescape...

Timescape was introduced by Sony Ericsson as a one-stop messaging app/widget for all your contacts.

In theory this is great. You always see the latest updates in a fancy 3D gallery.

Now, in practice, it's very different. The app is quite nice, but far from 100% practical.

There aren't many settings to customize HOW your data is displayed... and it's not an all-in-one app. The 2 major features it is missing are call history (all calls should be logged by Timescape as well, not just missed calls), and of course... email! Why can't I tie it in with my email account(S) to show me any and all emails I have with any given contact?

And multiple updates from the same contact come out as separate 3D cards... there should be an option to collate by contact... like only the contact with the latest update is on top... and all their previous updates aren't displayed until you click on their card.

This is an issue because if contact A sends me an SMS... then another contact B decides to post 20 things on Facebook... the SMS gets buried under 20 cards of contact B. If it was sorted by contact. Then I would only see 2 card... the SMS of contact A, under one SINGLE card of contact B which will only expand if I click on his card.

Now, Timescape does have a practical use, as a widget, it always displays the latest update whether it be a missed call, SMS, Twitter or Facebook update... but the lack of an email tunnel limits this app to just a cute show-off app for now.

In it's infancy, Timescape is fun... it has the potential to be an incredibly great app that could be THE all-in-one news collector if it was refined further, and email was added.

CHARGE!!!! an X10 Mini Pro battery review...

Ok, after a week of using my X10 Mini Pro, I've been trying to use it in different ways... and so far these are my observations...

Full use... everything on (Bluetooth, Wifi, GPS, Sync, and backlight on full) ... chatting, downloading apps, and the screen never turning off... drum-roll... 4 hours. Granted, that's how long my iPod Touch lasts when I surf that much too... so no big surprise there.

Medium use... backlight set to medium, wifi set to auto-off when screen locks, GPS on only when app turns it on. I was able to get a respectable 16 hours... broken down to about 2 hour of surfing via wifi, an 1 hour of calls, and about 75 SMS.

Light use... backlight on medium during the day and on low at night. 30 min of surfing, 30 min of calls, and about 20 SMS... this can make your phone last over 24 hours.

Although I can see the phone lasting more than 2 days with really light use, it defeats the whole purpose of getting a PDA phone. The screen really does chew up the battery. Calling and leaving wifi, bluetooth, and 3G on don't kill it... playing with the phone does. Screen constantly eats up about 85% of the battery charge.

The phone is also way more efficient at handling a 3G/HSDPA connection rather than a Wifi one. Leaving this on is a much more practical way of surfing than via Wifi.

Best way, I've found, to conserve battery without sacrificing the functions of the phone are:

• 3G on
• wifi off
• backlight on medium
• screen timeout to 30 sec
• Bluetooth on only if you have a headset
• disable the 'media' function of the headset unless needed
• get an app that consolidates your communication functions, my fav is Executive Assistant. It minimizes the number of times you check on your phone for messages, email and SNS updates.