spaetz, Shaggy,
I’m not sure
what it is that you disagree
with; a lithium-ion-polymer battery is capable of holding a full (90%+) charge for well over 6 months. After fully charging my DR, it will not power-up after 3-4 days of being turned ‘off’. Whatever the
causes the drain, the drain
is significant, causing not only an annoying nuisance, but seriously shortening the life of the battery (estimated to be over 700 recharge cycles), and this is on a device designed to have the battery factory replaced.
If your disagreement is somehow related to what percentage of battery drain while ‘off’ is caused by the cap sense switches, I say again, for the
nth time, that that is irrelevant. The relevant fact is that the battery discharges so quickly while being powered ‘off,’ whatever the Major cause of the drain is. Also relevant is the fact that iRex
designed the DR to use power while ‘off,’ unlike, for example, the iPod, or any other battery powered device that I know of. I think that anyone who bought an expensive rechargeable flashlight that would not hold a usable charge for three or four days of non-use would believe they had bought defective merchandise, and would not be appeased by the manufacturer’s response, “That’s a
known issue; we’re working on it.”
These issues have nothing to do with the fact that eInk is an emerging technology; in fact, they have nothing to do with eInk
at all--battery powered devices have been with us since the 19th century, and cap sense since 1922 (the theremin).
As I said, I’m not sure
what it is that you disagree
with:
I don’t believe that
any battery powered device should drain power while ‘off;’ if you disagree with
that, let me know, and please explain
why.
A mechanical switch on the DR’s battery would reduce power drain while ‘off’ (no matter
what causes it) by about 99%; if you disagree with
that, let me know, and please explain
why.
I don’t believe that
any device should be sold with switches or buttons that operate inconsistantly and unreliably; if you disagree with
that, let me know, and please explain
why.
I do believe that iRex has, quite simply, made some
bad design choices; if you disagree with
that, let me know, and please explain
why.
If your disagreements are based on something else, let me know, and please
be specific.
BTW: As to the cap sense circuitry while powered ‘off,’ it is not just that the clock must be kept running; the capacitive field for the button, or buttons, must be generated, requiring constant power. My mention elsewhere of the cap sense clock was in reference to a
possible contributing factor in the erratic behavior of the buttons while
in use, not while ‘off,’ and, if that’s the case (and I have
no idea), I can’t really ‘fault’ iRex for--it would simply be a part of a necessary design compromise.
My major complaint about the DR’s cap sense switches is that they are erratic and troublesome
in use,
not that they drain power while the DR is ‘off.’ Primarily, they are (
as iRex has implemented them) a pain in the arse to
use, secondarily, they are a (
major or lesser) contributor to the battery drain while ‘off’ issue.
If the buttons worked well,
and the DR held a charge, these issues would
not concern me. That these flaws could have been so
easily eliminated before the DR was put into production
annoys me. My EZReader, which I praise on other MR threads, contains design elements that
I would have done differently, however, it functions
reliably, consistently, as advertised and as I expect it to, which is, I think, the most a consumer could
hope for--I have
no complaints about it, I
enjoy using it, and
recommend it to others. If I could leave my fully charged DR unattended for a week, and then be able to use it, I wouldn’t care if it had discharged slightly; I would still be able to use it--and I would certainly use it more often (getting my money’s worth) if it were more reliable.
As it is, when I go to use my DR, I let out a sigh, and wonder what problems I’ll encounter
this time.
Kent Walters
Edit: added:
Quote:
Originally Posted by spaetz
... If it is the only reason that the clock has to be kept powered, then the sin of using one makes the designers deserve eternal hell.  |
I doubt that any of this was the fault of the engineers; more likely corporate bean-counters or execs pushing for bottom lines or deadlines--but then, I'm partial to engineers.
KW