PP - Minor Issues - Page 2

Xerxes · 10-30-2009, 08:07 PM

I'm on my 3rd discharge cycle. O_o

ekaser · 10-30-2009, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polly

Do you think that reading off the SD card might increase battery usage? If your theory is correct, would reading off the internal memory with SD card inserted still cause the battery to drain faster? For this round, I'll try it without an SD card and let you know what sort of battery life I have.

If my theory is correct, it's not a question of whether you're reading off of the card or the internal memory, but just whether you have the card in the machine, and whether you "lock the keyboard" or do a "complete shutdown" when you're not reading. (I'm guessing that "locked keyboard" mode still has power to the SD card, whereas "complete shutdown" turns off all power, except for a VERY tiny possible trickle in the "wake-up" circuit.) It would also depend upon the card manufacturer, as I'm sure some flash-technologies are FAR more power-hungry than others. Time (and testing) will tell... If I had more hardware tools at hand anymore, I might try to make an "extender board", so that I could intercept the power line to the SD card and actually measure the current when turning pages, reading, locked keyboard and shutdown. Alas, my hardware days are too many years behind me.

jusmee · 10-30-2009, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekaser

Alas, my hardware days are too many years behind me.

Mine too to some extent. I do recall however, that faster devices tend to consume more power, hence the discussion about the class of the SD card might be close to the truth too. Slower (lower class) cards might use less power.

ekaser · 10-30-2009, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiron

Kingstone 16GB Class 4 and the PP would last 10-12 days reading an overall of 2-4 hours at day (or more or less 6-8 books of 300-400 pages)

Chiron: do you usually "lock the keyboard" or "power down"?

Chiron · 10-30-2009, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekaser

Chiron: do you usually "lock the keyboard" or "power down"?

Lock, only turned it off to do Firmware update or change boot/shutdown logos =D

ekaser · 10-30-2009, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiron

Lock, only turned it off to do Firmware update or change boo/shutdown logos =D

How about you, DaleD?
And you, Polly?

Everyone else (in this thread) is "always Keyboard Lock", no one does "shut down" as a matter of course.

dcalder · 10-30-2009, 10:58 PM

Based on my own testing, battery life is great as long as you turn the device off when it's not in use - regardless of whether it's not in use for a few hours or a few days. If you lock the keyboard, you may get as little as three-four days out of a charge, regardless of how much page-turning you do in that time. I found that leaving the device turned on resulted in about the same battery life as locking the keyboard.

I didn't do extensive testing without the SD card but noticed very little if any difference in battery life with the card in or out. It also happens to be the exact same SD card that worked great with my BeBook, so if there is a problem, it's not with the card.

Regardless of whether the issue is actually with an SD card being present during keyboard lock or with keyboard lock in general, I'm hoping that a firmware update resolves the issue. According to this thread and this post on the BeBook forums, BeBook is going to be releasing a firmware update "this week" to "improve the battery's life". Considering that today's Friday and there's no new firmware on the BeBook site, I'd say that "this week" was a little overly optimistic - but, presumably, if BeBook is planning a firmware update is required in order to improve battery life, that means that Astak will soon follow suit.

I don't consider turning the Pocket Pro off between uses to be an acceptable solution, since the darn thing starts back at the main menu every time it's powered on. I hate having to navigate back (sometimes several folders deep, and often several pages deep into the main menu to start with) to my previous location before resuming reading. Recent Files sometimes provides a shortcut if I was in the midst of a specific, stand-alone document but it's useless if I'm reading my way through individual documents within a folder.

I'm not convinced that not having an SD card in the slot while locked would solve the problem but, even if it did, I don't consider reading from internal memory to be an acceptable solution. I keep suitable demo books on the internal memory and keep my own private reading material on SD card - something I'm grateful for now that I'm having to send my peeling Pocket Pro in for replacement, since I won't lose my spot in any of my reading. I can even pop my card back in my BeBook and continue reading while waiting for my replacement Pocket Pro, assuming that I can wrestle the BeBook back out of my mom's hands and persuade her to put up with the Cybook's shortcomings (no folders, annoying buttons, etc.) again for a while...

Or she may happily trade back my BeBook in exchange for the brand spanking new Sony Pocket Edition that I just ordered from Air Miles on Tuesday and which showed up today, much to my shock (fastest 3-4 weeks for delivery that I've ever seen!); she took one look at it and was itching to get her hands on it ("It's so cute!") before I even had a chance to charge it.

DaleDe · 10-31-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekaser

How about you, DaleD?
And you, Polly?

Everyone else (in this thread) is "always Keyboard Lock", no one does "shut down" as a matter of course.

I just do a keyboard lock. I very seldom power down.

Dale

polly · 10-31-2009, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekaser

How about you, DaleD?
And you, Polly?

Everyone else (in this thread) is "always Keyboard Lock", no one does "shut down" as a matter of course.

I also do either a keyboard lock or leave it on.

polly · 10-31-2009, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

How many Discharge-Charge cycles have you been through?
It take 3 or 4 to settle out the "meter".

This was only its second charge, so I can accept that the meter wasn't correct yesterday morning. When I came home yesterday afternoon, the battery was dead, so I don't think that was a battery meter problem. I charged it overnight when I got it, drained the battery over the weekend and charged it overnight again last Sunday, so I'm certain it had a full charge both times.

I have to say that after the Sony 505, 4-5 days of battery life is a real disappointment.

UchihaNaru · 10-31-2009, 04:39 AM

I used to leave the keyboard locked when I don't use it. Now I turn it off (coz I like looking at my customised shut down page). The battery life now is surprisingly good =D

Xerxes · 10-31-2009, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polly

This was only its second charge, so I can accept that the meter wasn't correct yesterday morning. When I came home yesterday afternoon, the battery was dead, so I don't think that was a battery meter problem. I charged it overnight when I got it, drained the battery over the weekend and charged it overnight again last Sunday, so I'm certain it had a full charge both times.

I have to say that after the Sony 505, 4-5 days of battery life is a real disappointment.

Sounds like a bad battery.

AJ Starr · 10-31-2009, 01:57 PM

I always turn mine totally off when I'm finished reading for the time being. Even if I pick it back up five minutes later, I always turn off.

BTW, I hope that everyone who has had a battery problem has taken the suggestion to reseat the battery plug. Since it is obviously plugged by hand, it is subject to human errors, and might not be plugged all the way. I acknowledge that this is not the problem with all the batteries, so please don't come down on me.

AJ

Xerxes · 11-02-2009, 12:20 AM

I always figured On and off used more battery than locking it. How crazy is that.

DaleDe · 11-02-2009, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xerxes

I always figured On and off used more battery than locking it. How crazy is that.

I suspect you are right, depending on the off time length.

Dale

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10-30-2009, 08:07 PM	#16
Xerxes Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 90 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Houston, TX Device: Astak EZReader, Pocket Pro	I'm on my 3rd discharge cycle. O_o

10-30-2009, 10:58 PM	#22
dcalder Zealot Posts: 127 Karma: 9856 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Sony PRS-300/Kindle Keyboard/iPad Mini	Based on my own testing, battery life is great as long as you turn the device off when it's not in use - regardless of whether it's not in use for a few hours or a few days. If you lock the keyboard, you may get as little as three-four days out of a charge, regardless of how much page-turning you do in that time. I found that leaving the device turned on resulted in about the same battery life as locking the keyboard. I didn't do extensive testing without the SD card but noticed very little if any difference in battery life with the card in or out. It also happens to be the exact same SD card that worked great with my BeBook, so if there is a problem, it's not with the card. Regardless of whether the issue is actually with an SD card being present during keyboard lock or with keyboard lock in general, I'm hoping that a firmware update resolves the issue. According to this thread and this post on the BeBook forums, BeBook is going to be releasing a firmware update "this week" to "improve the battery's life". Considering that today's Friday and there's no new firmware on the BeBook site, I'd say that "this week" was a little overly optimistic - but, presumably, if BeBook is planning a firmware update is required in order to improve battery life, that means that Astak will soon follow suit. I don't consider turning the Pocket Pro off between uses to be an acceptable solution, since the darn thing starts back at the main menu every time it's powered on. I hate having to navigate back (sometimes several folders deep, and often several pages deep into the main menu to start with) to my previous location before resuming reading. Recent Files sometimes provides a shortcut if I was in the midst of a specific, stand-alone document but it's useless if I'm reading my way through individual documents within a folder. I'm not convinced that not having an SD card in the slot while locked would solve the problem but, even if it did, I don't consider reading from internal memory to be an acceptable solution. I keep suitable demo books on the internal memory and keep my own private reading material on SD card - something I'm grateful for now that I'm having to send my peeling Pocket Pro in for replacement, since I won't lose my spot in any of my reading. I can even pop my card back in my BeBook and continue reading while waiting for my replacement Pocket Pro, assuming that I can wrestle the BeBook back out of my mom's hands and persuade her to put up with the Cybook's shortcomings (no folders, annoying buttons, etc.) again for a while... Or she may happily trade back my BeBook in exchange for the brand spanking new Sony Pocket Edition that I just ordered from Air Miles on Tuesday and which showed up today, much to my shock (fastest 3-4 weeks for delivery that I've ever seen!); she took one look at it and was itching to get her hands on it ("It's so cute!") before I even had a chance to charge it.

10-31-2009, 04:39 AM	#26
UchihaNaru Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 64 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Astak Pocket Pro	I used to leave the keyboard locked when I don't use it. Now I turn it off (coz I like looking at my customised shut down page). The battery life now is surprisingly good =D

10-31-2009, 01:57 PM	#28
AJ Starr Guru Posts: 815 Karma: 1029784 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nebraska, USA Device: PEZ, Color Libre, 2@Sony T1, Onyx i62HD	I always turn mine totally off when I'm finished reading for the time being. Even if I pick it back up five minutes later, I always turn off. BTW, I hope that everyone who has had a battery problem has taken the suggestion to reseat the battery plug. Since it is obviously plugged by hand, it is subject to human errors, and might not be plugged all the way. I acknowledge that this is not the problem with all the batteries, so please don't come down on me. AJ

11-02-2009, 12:20 AM	#29
Xerxes Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 90 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Houston, TX Device: Astak EZReader, Pocket Pro	I always figured On and off used more battery than locking it. How crazy is that.

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