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discotronic · May 18, 2006, 11:03 AM

I would like to see what the average battery life is before I make a decision to buy one. I have asked in a couple threads and got an answer of about 3 hours from one person.

Please post your results

blackbird_1.0 · May 18, 2006, 11:47 AM

Apple says 6 hours.

harrisjamieh · May 18, 2006, 11:56 AM

But reckon that wifi cuts that down to 3.5 - seems a bit of a steep drop. With bluetooth on as well, I can't see it lasting much over 2 hours

discotronic · May 18, 2006, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by blackbird_1.0

Apple says 6 hours.

Where did you find this information?

icruise · May 18, 2006, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by harrisjamieh

But reckon that wifi cuts that down to 3.5 - seems a bit of a steep drop. With bluetooth on as well, I can't see it lasting much over 2 hours

I don't see any reason to be so pessimistic. My 12" PowerBook lasts well over 3 hours with bluetooth and wireless on.

Stradlater · May 18, 2006, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by discotronic

Where did you find this information?

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Im...son_chart.html

discotronic · May 18, 2006, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by Stradlater

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Im...son_chart.html

I looked all over the site but I didn't see this chart. Thanks

Jerome · May 18, 2006, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by discotronic

Where did you find this information?

Take a guess: on Apple's website!

EDIT: beaten by Stradlater!

harrisjamieh · May 18, 2006, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by Icruise

I don't see any reason to be so pessimistic. My 12" PowerBook lasts well over 3 hours with bluetooth and wireless on.

Well Apple themselves state that battery life goes down to 3.5 with wifi on, so real word thats about 3 hours, and bluetooth is a real juice drinker

icruise · May 18, 2006, 12:24 PM

Wi-fi uses a lot more power than bluetooth, at least in my experience.

hookem2oo7 · May 18, 2006, 12:29 PM

with airport on and bluetooth off on the lowest screen setting (useless in a bright room or outside, but most of the time i'm in dimly lit rooms) i get ~5:15 of battery life on my 12" ibook g4

masugu · May 18, 2006, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by hookem2oo7

with airport on and bluetooth off on the lowest screen setting (useless in a bright room or outside, but most of the time i'm in dimly lit rooms) i get ~5:15 of battery life on my 12" ibook g4

Thats great....but where you Need your battery life is on a plane. Not in your room - near power outlets. Unless you live in a Cabin with no electricity like Ted Kazinsky did -in whiich case you would not be using a computer

discotronic · May 18, 2006, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by masugu

Thats great....but where you Need your battery life is on a plane. Not in your room - near power outlets. Unless you live in a Cabin with no electricity like Ted Kazinsky did -in whiich case you would not be using a computer

Guess you've never been to a meeting where there wasn't enough power outlets to go around. Battery life is very important in situations other than on a plane.

Salty · May 18, 2006, 01:38 PM

WiFi always drains battery power. Don't know why you'd leave blue tooth on all the time.

zmcgill · May 18, 2006, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by discotronic

Guess you've never been to a meeting where there wasn't enough power outlets to go around.

Or a place where it's simply inconvenient to lug around a power supply/cord, like a college campus, or dorm hall, or large four story house. If you're so concerned about planes, you can buy adaptors for them.

dannyillusion · May 19, 2006, 07:28 AM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

Or a place where it's simply inconvenient to lug around a power supply/cord, like a college campus, or dorm hall, or large four story house. If you're so concerned about planes, you can buy adaptors for them.

But the real problem is using it in the bathroom... I hate it when I run out of battery while taking a dump!! I reach for the power adapter, look around for a socket... nothing... darn...
Minimum of 10hrs of battery life should be a human right!!
I'm writing a petition for the UN as we speak!!!!

On second thoughts... 24hrs should be the minimum...

craigb6 · May 19, 2006, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by dannyillusion

But the real problem is using it in the bathroom... I hate it when I run out of battery while taking a dump!! I reach for the power adapter, look around for a socket... nothing... darn...
Minimum of 10hrs of battery life should be a human right!!
I'm writing a petition for the UN as we speak!!!!

On second thoughts... 24hrs should be the minimum...

Isn't that really, really, really, really unhygienic?!?!?

Simon · May 19, 2006, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by craigb6

Isn't that really, really, really, really unhygienic?!?!?

Umm, why? While you're sitting there, your hands do nothing they wouldn't do otherwise either. When you're done, put away the Mac, clean up, wash hands, take Mac again. Using your Mac after blowing your nose is the greater hygiene problem.

dannyillusion · May 19, 2006, 07:51 AM

Originally Posted by craigb6

Isn't that really, really, really, really unhygienic?!?!?

Sure is!!! But it's my MacBook and I MacBook wherever the MacBook I want to...

**********NEWSFLASH************
Kofi just phoned me, thanked me for my comitment to the cause of world dom and said he's sending peacekeepers to Apple HQ.
**********NEWSFLASH************

dannyillusion · May 19, 2006, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by Simon

Umm, why? While you're sitting there, your hands do nothing they wouldn't do otherwise either. When you're done, put away the Mac, clean up, wash hands, take Mac again. Using your Mac after blowing your nose is the greater hygiene problem.

Thanks you for your support my friend. This will not be forgotten once we obtain world dom.
I agree that nose blowing is a big problem.
Will place another call to Kofi.

masugu · May 19, 2006, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by discotronic

Guess you've never been to a meeting where there wasn't enough power outlets to go around. Battery life is very important in situations other than on a plane.

Did not meant to say Planes were the only place

Umm. I actually have been to meetings w/ few outlets.

This is an interesting predicament tho...Unless you are presenting, using a laptop in a meeting is sorta rude / disctracting. But I know we all do it.

pbook · May 19, 2006, 01:09 PM

I watched Under Siege 2 (run time 100 minutes) and still had about over 2 hours left according to the batter meter. This was with wireless on and screen brightness set to the lowest bar. The battery life on the MacBook is quite a bit better than the TiBook it replaced.

Simon · May 19, 2006, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by dannyillusion

Thanks you for your support my friend. This will not be forgotten once we obtain world dom.
I agree that nose blowing is a big problem.
Will place another call to Kofi.

Give him my best regards.

harrisjamieh · May 19, 2006, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by pbook

I watched Under Siege 2 (run time 100 minutes) and still had about over 2 hours left according to the batter meter. This was with wireless on and screen brightness set to the lowest bar. The battery life on the MacBook is quite a bit better than the TiBook it replaced.

Was it a DVD, or a movie file on the hard drive?

amazing · May 19, 2006, 02:33 PM

arstechnica posted a MB review, which now (after some anxiety-inducing delay) has battery figures:

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/macbook.ars

sadly enough, it doesn't review the wireless range. Guess that's another thing the reviewer forgot...

the battery life results are interesting--and at least the reviewer was savvy enough to post a variety of battery scenarios, for example figures with wireless and bluetooth off, screen at half brightness.

pbook · May 19, 2006, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by harrisjamieh

Was it a DVD, or a movie file on the hard drive?

DVD

harrisjamieh · May 19, 2006, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by pbook

DVD

impressive

masugu · May 19, 2006, 06:18 PM

Originally Posted by amazing

arstechnica posted a MB review, which now (after some anxiety-inducing delay) has battery figures:

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/macbook.ars

sadly enough, it doesn't review the wireless range. Guess that's another thing the reviewer forgot...

the battery life results are interesting--and at least the reviewer was savvy enough to post a variety of battery scenarios, for example figures with wireless and bluetooth off, screen at half brightness.

One of the most comprehensive reviews I have seen so far. Build quite a case for pciking one up. Just don't know if I should wait for Core 2 Duo or not. AAAARGH

Star-Fire · May 19, 2006, 06:24 PM

That's not bad, apple always overrates there battery life, but 4 to 5 hours websurfing and I'm happy.

amazing · May 19, 2006, 08:03 PM

Patience rewards the cautious: Every day, more considered reports emerge on the MB.

For example, Peter Cohen has a very good opinion on 3D games and the MB, along with the gaming clincher in the last sentence. If you're going to be salivating over these games, the MB is not for you:

"Already some games are being released that implicitly exclude the Mac mini, and by extension, the MacBook, from their supported system requirements. Aspyr Media announced earlier Friday that Call of Duty 2 will ship soon—that’s one such game. Aspyr’s recently-released Quake 4 is another."
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/game...ames/index.php

Also at Macworld.com, a "What you need to know article" about the MB--required reading!! No other review puts it as succinctly, and no other review talks about the excellent wireless range (a horizontal antenna on the left side, a vertical antenna on the right side of the display--wow!)

http://www.macworld.com/2006/05/firs...kfaq/index.php

Contrast that with the arstechnica review that doesn't even mention wireless performance, anywhere.