Gadget Techie

UPDATE: Once you are done reading this post, make sure to go to the homepage of this blog (http://gadgettechie.net) to read the other parts of this series. You can also click on the Apple category on the right of this page.

You can find the other parts of this series here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

The setup for this run was as follows:
-3G ON
-Wifi OFF
-Location Services (GPS) OFF
-Push OFF
-Fetch Every 15 Minutes
-Brightness halfway with auto brightness OFF

This test was also run without the C.E.O. Premier holster with the magnetic flap and with normal usage (NOT running AIM the whole time like the previous tests).

Here are the results:

These numbers definitely surprised me. Here I thought all these stories of iPhones lasting more than a day was a myth and now I was getting those numbers.

Let’s examine the differences between the first 3G test (Part 2) and this second 3G test (Part 4):
1. First test had auto-brightness ON while this second test did not.
2. First test ran the AIM app to simulate real world use while this second test was done with normal use of the device (text, apps, email, internet, calls, etc).
3. First test was set to check email manually while this second test was set to check email every 15 minutes.

Those were essentially the only differences in the two and you can clearly see a huge difference in battery life!

My conclusion: The reason the phone lasted longer in the second test was because the iPhone was checking email in the background while the phone was in sleep mode. By checking email every 15 minutes, the iPhone was increasing it’s usage time but the LCD screen was not on and so not as much battery life was being used.

Think of it this way: When the phone checks my email once, it logs approximately 30 seconds to a minute of usage time (I have a lot of accounts and sometimes their servers do not cooperate with my iPhone). Having the AIM app run for 30 seconds to a minute logs  30 seconds to a minute of usage time. However, the AIM app, while logging the same amount of usage time, drains a lot more battery because it has the LCD screen on. The checking of the email happens in the background while the phone is in sleep mode and so it does not drain as much battery.

With that said, I definitely feel a lot better now with the results shown in the screenshot in this post. I think those usage and standby times are good and I feel confident that I do not have a defective phone. Now the question is: Is my holster really causing the battery life to suffer? The reason I dismissed this idea was because the only complaints I had heard online were that the magnet caused reception issues and sometimes even caused the iPhone to crash. Since I was not experiencing either of these symptoms, I felt like my holster was fine and was not the cause of the short battery life.

Recently, however, I posted a thread in the Apple discussions forum about my battery life issue and included screenshots of the usage times along with my question of whether or not my magnetic holster could be the culprit. One user replied with something that really made me think. He said that the magnet in the holster could cause lower reception and thus cause the EDGE or 3G antenna to use more power to boost the signal causing the battery to drain faster. I had not thought of that. I did not think I had reception problems but it could very well have been because the antenna in the phone was sucking more power from the battery to keep the reception up.

Being an electrical engineer, this explanation does seem very plausible and because of it, I am returning my C.E.O. Premiere holster to Marware (I am still within the 30 day return period). It was a tough decision to make because I really, really, really like the holster and how easy it is to handle the iPhone with it.

Now I just need to figure out what form of protection I want for my iPhone. I definitely am not going to go with a velcro holster. I am trying to decide between an open holster with no flap (such as the C.E.O. Sleeve pictured at the left)…

…Or just an “invisible” skin (such as the BodyGuardz pictured at the right)…

…Or both.

I do not want any bulky case that covers the iPhone’s natural beauty. However, I did find this crazy iPhone case that almost made me consider it. It is called CapsuleRebel and it is by SwitchEasy. Here are some pictures:

It came close to making me consider a case but still did not accomplish it. I like the look and feel of the iPhone 3G in all it’s naked glory!

As far as the battery life tests are concerned… well I think I am going to conduct one more EDGE only test without the AIM application, just normal usage, and see what times I get.