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iomatic · Feb 8, 2006, 02:42 PM

I really only get 2 hrs. ±15mins., with this new dual-layer 15" PowerBook. (BTW, will having 2GB RAM affect it much more over 1.5GB?) So I took it to the Apple Store and the "genius" told me that it's typical. To expect more, I'd have to turn off Airport and Bluetooth, and turn the screen brightness way down. Is this true? This can't be…?

Battery Information:

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4371
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 4355
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12530
Cycle Count: 21

He said this was normal readings, and that if he saw less than 100mAh or some such, he would consider looking at it further. So I just did what he said and now I get a reading of 4:20ish Hrs.

Battery Information:

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4353
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 4302
Amperage (mA): -972
Voltage (mV): 12327
Cycle Count: 21

Seems kind of unusable at one bar brightness

Meh.

lubberwort · Feb 8, 2006, 04:01 PM

Yeah, its the same for my powerbook 15" dl. You really just have to watch and turn off your bluetooth and wifi if you're not using it. Brightness takes a little getting used to at such low levels, I usually just start high and turn it down slowly until i get used to it. But the battery even for 2 hours usually is long enough for me. And if its not, atleast apple's power adaptor is portable enough than most of manufacturers that it is easy enough to throw in the bag and it not make it too much of a hassle.

hickey · Feb 8, 2006, 05:30 PM

I think you have to cycle the battery a few times to get it conditioned for optimized life. And my 1.25Ghz pbook doesnt get over 2 hours, Im jealous

mduell · Feb 8, 2006, 05:51 PM

2 hours is slightly low; C|Net got 2.7 hours while playing a DVD.
The genius is correct, you can improve your battery life by turning off wifi and BT and putting the screen on minimum brightness; other ways to prolong your battery life are to avoid using the optical or hard drive, avoid plugging in USB or Firewire devices, and not touching the computer at all.

The extra 512MB RAM consumes about 1W.

iomatic · Feb 8, 2006, 06:29 PM

I like the not-touching part. I'll have to try it sometime.

1W = what, exactly (real-world examples), for reference?

mduell · Feb 8, 2006, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by iomatic

I like the not-touching part. I'll have to try it sometime.

1W = what, exactly (real-world examples), for reference?

1 watt is, uh, 1/100th what a 100W lightbulb draws.
At 12V, 1W draw would be an additional 83 mA, which is a change of less than 10% of your current power draw.

iomatic · Feb 8, 2006, 07:58 PM

That assumes we run a 12V system, yeah? Thanks, man. I knew you would pull through.

mduell · Feb 8, 2006, 11:22 PM

Your battery info reports 12.327V, so I was rounding a bit.

Simon · Feb 9, 2006, 04:35 AM

Another way to look at is to consider what capacity a new battery offers. In your case it's got 50Wh, so your additional 1W equals to about 6% consumption if your battery lasts for roughly 3h. That's also pretty consistent with mduell's estimate.

CorpITGuy · Feb 9, 2006, 06:55 AM

Most of what you see here is accurate. Notebook computers, in general, only get about 2-2.5 hours of use with everything powered on and the screen up. My Dell D810 gets about that with BT, Wi-Fi and the screen up. My PowerBook G4 gets about 1.5 hours with those settings, but it is 2.5 years old now.

The most important thing you mentioned is your screen brightness. Having your screen all the way up is damaging both to the screen (causes it to burn out more quickly) and to your eyes. Moderation in everything, as John Calvin would say!

I like a fairly middle-of-the-line brightness setting, no bluetooth when I'm not using it, and wi-fi disabled on airplanes or other long trips (especially since you technically should turn off all radio frequency devices anyway on a plane).

kmarketing · Feb 9, 2006, 07:46 AM

Hi,

That was one of the main reasons why I sold my 15" aluminum. It was definitely great and all, and I certainly could have bought a spare battery, but for the basic things that I was doing - surfing on the net, typing, etc. 2 hours was just pathetic. I sold it, and got myself a titanium 400, for a couple of hundred dollars, and couldn't be happier. I still get about 3.5 - 4 hours with the battery, and I have a spare just in case. Sure it's not as powerful, but I can't tell the difference in speed and performance for the things that I need to do on the road. Best decision I made.

I really hope that the new machines will have better battery life. I know the titaniums did. Isn't that the whole point of portables/laptops?!

JKT · 08:44 AM

Originally Posted by kmarketing

Hi,

That was one of the main reasons why I sold my 15" aluminum. It was definitely great and all, and I certainly could have bought a spare battery, but for the basic things that I was doing - surfing on the net, typing, etc. 2 hours was just pathetic. I sold it, and got myself a titanium 400, for a couple of hundred dollars, and couldn't be happier. I still get about 3.5 - 4 hours with the battery, and I have a spare just in case. Sure it's not as powerful, but I can't tell the difference in speed and performance for the things that I need to do on the road. Best decision I made.

I really hope that the new machines will have better battery life. I know the titaniums did. Isn't that the whole point of portables/laptops?!

If that was/is your requirement for a laptop, then the iBook could have suited your needs better than either the TiBook (better performance for similar battery life) or the AlBook. I highly doubt that the MBP is going to have greatly better battery performance (on the basis of the figures I've seen for PC laptops based on the Core Duo) than the current AlBook's, but the updated iBooks should be just as good or better than the current models.

kmarketing · Feb 9, 2006, 09:03 AM

Hi,

I had an ibook also, and you are absolutely right. Airport range was good, battery life great, etc. But I just didn't care too much about the feel of the ibook. Just to hear the creaking from the palmrest when I would pick it up made the ibook feel cheap. Not to mention, I just prefer widescreen (even though the ti400 does not have as good a resolution as the later models). Finally, after taking apart some ibooks, the powerbooks (especially the titaniums) were just so much easier to upgrade.

I just hope some of the fabulous ibook features will show up on the powerbook line, and vice versa. But until then, my titanium is just a dream to use.