Power consumption woes

[dhbailey]

I think the page turn number and the passage of time are totally unrelated. In typical techno-advertising-speak, if a machine were used to turn the page constantly, as fast as it could reset to press the button again, or if an electronic means were used to send image-change commands to the screen non-stop, a full battery charge would allow 7000 page turns, but that would happen probably within a couple of hours or days.

Then there is the separate and totally unrelated issue of the dissipation of charge that all rechargeable batteries have, which occurs over time. I have rechargeable AA batteries which can't hold their charge for more than a couple of weeks. To be able to lose only 1/4 of the charge of the battery in the Reader in a week is a very GOOD thing, not a bad thing.

So to expect that the 7000 page turns can be done over any length of time (gosh, some people don't read that many pages in a year!) while completely ignoring the fact that all rechargeable batteries lose their charges over time even when totally out of use is silly.

I would be happy if Sony would add a line to their advertising clarifying this point, something to the effect of "Recharge the Reader once a month and carry your library with you anywhere! Avid readers beware -- there is a 7000 page-turn limit per charge so voracious readers may have to charge more frequently than once a month."

But you would never expect total honesty in advertising, would you? Gosh, if we demanded that, most of the advertising copy writers would be out of a job, since they can't seem ever to tell the whole truth!

[kacir]

Originally Posted by dyspepsic

http://ebooks.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/e...hp?p_faqid=837

"Turning the page is the only time power is consumed. "

Why such a blatant lie, Sony?

in a paragraph
Due to the nature of the E Ink electronic display technology, the LCD can retain an image without having power. Turning the page is the only time power is consumed. If the Reader's power is drained, the LCD will retain the last image that was displayed, thus making it appear like the Reader is frozen and in some instances it will not have enough power to perform other operations such as turning on or off.
they talk about the display consuming electricity only when the page is turned. The fact that it is NOT an LCD display is only a small cosmetic problem ;-)

Originally Posted by dyspepsic

Anyone who owns a PRS500 knows that the battery runs down within a couple weeks of charging it, even if one seldom uses it.

You CAN read 7000 pages on one charge. If you manage it in a couple of days.
The processor is running constantly, so you can read immediately then you hit the "on" switch.
I personally prefer this solution to the one iRex offers. I would hate to wait for a couple of minutes before I can start reading.

Originally Posted by dyspepsic

I dont recall if this was a problem before the unfortunate firmware update in Feb, but it needs to be fixed. This seriously limits portability. I find it especially irritating that Sony advertises 7000 page turns per charge. At best, I would estimate 1500 page turns.

I have not updated the firmware and yet I have the same "problem". The only thing (power-wise) that was broken by firmware update is the power indicator

Originally Posted by dyspepsic

I would not buy this product again and would be hard pressed to buy anything from Sony again.

<rant mode>
I was hesitating very, very much before purchasing the Reader - because it is from SONY.
SONY is the company that included BLOODY ROOTKIT!!! on their audio CDs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_rootkit
SONY is the company that tries very hard to make its products as incompatible with any other products as possible.
SONY is the company that charges way too much for their products IMHO.
</rant mode>
But, I would purchase the Reader again if I had to do the same decision again. Provided, of course, that there would not be a comparable e-ink product available from Samsung or any other "more reasonable" company

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by dhbailey

Then there is the separate and totally unrelated issue of the dissipation of charge that all rechargeable batteries have, which occurs over time. I have rechargeable AA batteries which can't hold their charge for more than a couple of weeks. To be able to lose only 1/4 of the charge of the battery in the Reader in a week is a very GOOD thing, not a bad thing.

That's true, but it's not the main reason that the Reader consumes battery charge when swiched off; it does that because it never actually is switched off - the operating system continues to run, consuming power, even when the power switch is "off".

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by dhbailey

"Recharge the Reader once a month and carry your library with you anywhere! Avid readers beware -- there is a 7000 page-turn limit per charge so voracious readers may have to charge more frequently than once a month."

So then: "Battery capacity: 3~4 weeks, or 7000 page turns, whichever comes first."?

[dyspepsic]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's true, but it's not the main reason that the Reader consumes battery charge when swiched off; it does that because it never actually is switched off - the operating system continues to run, consuming power, even when the power switch is "off".

Precisely my complaint. They should have provided the ability to power off the reader. Instead, the "off" switch puts the reader in "standby" mode. 7000 page turns is a theoretical maximum which ignores the power draw of the OS and is probably not possible under normal use. It is misleading to advertise 7000 page turns.

The OS is really slow to boot and I assume this is due to the deliberate choice of a slow processor to limit power consumption. So it seems power consumption was a design consideration. It's too bad there is no way, short of pulling the battery, to stop power drain when the reader is not in use. So much for 7000 page turns when I'm away from a wall socket

--dyspepsic

[NatCh]

You could do a Soft Reset, that shuts it off completely. Of course it also generally wipes any bookmarks, page history, etc. since the last connection to the ConnSoft.

I guess if you knew you weren't going to use it for a while, you could connect it to the ConnSoft, to fix your bookmarks and such, then soft reset it. Incidentally, I think this is more or less what Sony does with them when they box them up originally, I expect that's why the batteries come out of the box with a charge still on them.

Anybody want to volunteer to try it? I'm far too dependent on mine to put it aside for any length of time.

[KDawg]

1. dhbailey beat me to the punch: All batteries self discharge. You completely disconnect any battery from whatever it's plugged into and it will completely discharge in a matter of weeks, months, or years. I do wonder how the sleep discharge rate compares to the battery's self-discharge rate. I would gues less than an order of magnitude.

2. I am baffled by complaints of the Sony lasting only a few weeks. My laptops have to be recharged after a few hours. My phone and iPod have to be recharged after a couple of days. The fact that the Reader lasts for weeks truly impresses me. Of course, I'm a firm believer that lowered expectations are the true path to happiness.

3. I'm really digging the new Dr. Whos. Loved Tennant even more than Ecclestone.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by KDawg

I am baffled by complaints of the Sony lasting only a few weeks. My laptops have to be recharged after a few hours. My phone and iPod have to be recharged after a couple of days. The fact that the Reader lasts for weeks truly impresses me.

Ain't it funny how fast we get spoiled?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by KDawg

3. I'm really digging the new Dr. Whos. Loved Tennant even more than Ecclestone.

Tennant is a less serious Doctor when he doesn't need to be serious and he can be serious when he needs to be. I think he gets on quite well with Rose. Too bad she left after his first season. I have yet to see Tennant's second season yet. I'm watching his first season right now.

[jpchan]

Also don't forget to view the Torchwood series also from BBC. And to keep this post a bit on topic if not to the thread then to the forum any doctor who ebooks out there?

[Nogg]

Originally Posted by KDawg

2. I am baffled by complaints of the Sony lasting only a few weeks. My laptops have to be recharged after a few hours. My phone and iPod have to be recharged after a couple of days. The fact that the Reader lasts for weeks truly impresses me. Of course, I'm a firm believer that lowered expectations are the true path to happiness.

I think the biggest problem there is that Sony advertises it as 7500 page turns per battery charge AND that it only draws power when it turns the page. They don't mention that the OS is consuming power all the time, even when you might think the device is off. Given that, it's hard to compare it to other devices that you know are drawing power just to refresh the screen all the time. Personally I had really expected to be able to read for weeks before seeing any drain on the battery.

You're right, though, it still is an amazingly long time from charge to charge for a mobile device.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jpchan

Also don't forget to view the Torchwood series also from BBC. And to keep this post a bit on topic if not to the thread then to the forum any doctor who ebooks out there?

If you don't mind putting in the work to actually fix the mess BBC has made you can get some books for free.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/class...ks/index.shtml

[NatCh]

They offer a .LIT version.

[JSWolf]

Not all of the books they have listed are LIT format. Some are just pages whereas you have to cut/paste each page. I've started on the Eighth Doctor book cutting/pasting into Word. I've gotten the first 2 chapters done so far.

[jharker]

I don't know what it is about the e-reader community- there just seem to be people with insane expectations for performance.

My laptop lasts 2 hours at best. My cellphone -- usually specifically designed for low power consumption when it's not being used -- goes maybe 5 days without charging, tops, if I don't actually make any calls. Up until now that was the best that could be expected from a piece of technology.

I don't have a Sony Reader, I have an iRex iLiad, and it has to be recharged after 8-10 hours of continuous use, which is more than enough for me. You'll find a lot of users complaining on the forums about it, but honestly, it was designed as a tablet replacement, not an e-book. For the touchscreen and other features, I'll happily take the battery limitations. But some iLiad owners moan and groan and threaten to dump the iLiad... for a Sony Reader!

Knowing what I know about the Sony's battery life, I NEVER expected that anyone would actually COMPLAIN about how SHORT it is. To me, that's insane. I mean, it's crazy. Even if your Reader gets "only" 2 weeks of battery life, how can you complain? Give me one good example of another electronic device -- any electronic device more complicated than a wristwatch -- that can stay constantly turned on, ready to go at the touch of a button, without draining the battery, for two weeks! Let alone the month that most people get.

The Sony Reader has set a new standard for power-efficiency in devices. The only thing even remotely comparable would be one of the other e-books, like HanLin's. For now, the Reader is where it's at.