[Firmware 1.4] How many page turns are you getting

[pleochroic]

so many are complaining because they're getting nowhere even near what they imagined when reading "8000 page turns or up to 2 weeks". there are dangers in offering people such idealized numbers; i wouldn't recommend it to any company, because it will come back to bite them. people didn't buy the kobo expecting to sit there click-click-clicking for 8000 pages, but to have about 2 weeks worth of reading between charges. clearly that's not happening for many.

i figured that 8000 was one of those lab condition numbers, and bought the kobo thinking that if i get half that, i'd be happy with it. a week between recharges? oh yeah, i take it. and i'm not panicking from looking at the battery indicator (at least it works now), i'm cranky because i could go for 8+ days each on my first few charges (yay!) but lately just for 2 without changing anything, and now (after the upgrade) for 3. that made me think there is something wrong with this unit, because it falls SO much short of what has been advertised.

thank you for the high-speed page turning test, and also thanks for confirming that the battery indicator is non-linear. that means it's not the most useful it could be, but at least now we know that there's still a lot in the tank when it looks nearly empty. i wonder whether i can get myself to try and repeat your test. i probably will, because there is no sense in exchanging a unit when it actually fulfills the "lab condition" test.

i've fully charged my kobo after the upgrade, and have been reading fiction as i normally do, from the built-in memory, no SD card. i'm reading books i've formatted so a page equals a page turn, to make counting easier. i've got ~1200 page turns on the full charge, which took me 3 days. i'm doing it again now, and keeping better track of power off/on cycles and processing times after loading new books.

[3d0g]

I can't imagine not getting 2 weeks or more in my normal use (maybe 50 pages a day, on average). Yours really goes from a full charge to unresponsive dead in 3 days? I wonder if I got the "golden" kobo????

[Stinger]

Originally Posted by 3d0g

I can't imagine not getting 2 weeks or more in my normal use (maybe 50 pages a day, on average). Yours really goes from a full charge to unresponsive dead in 3 days? I wonder if I got the "golden" kobo????

heh. Well I'd wager that many of the folks with the biggest complaints about batter life are HEAVY readers. Whether they read in many smaller intervals during the day, or just power through novels in a few hours before bed, I would definitely not call them the average or casual reader.

I'd also wager that the first type of people that pick up the Kobo and read in smaller increments many times a day are experiencing the worst battery life (due to increased battery drain from frequent booting and book loading).

[marleyfan]

Originally Posted by roguefan99

As for the 8000 page turns comment, how many people here have a laptop or netbook? How many of these people have actually gotten the battery to last as long as the companies claim. Same goes for cameras. Battery claims are for the best conditions thus you rarely get the claim.

I was just about to post the same before I saw this. I don't think I have EVER gotten the advertised use out of a battery for anything electronic I've owned. Likewise I've never gotten the posted gas mileage out of any car I've bought.

[jimr]

Originally Posted by marleyfan

I was just about to post the same before I saw this. I don't think I have EVER gotten the advertised use out of a battery for anything electronic I've owned. Likewise I've never gotten the posted gas mileage out of any car I've bought.

Kinda like anyone of us not living until the 'average age'....who does one complain to when that happens? (update the firmware, I doubt it)

[HarleyB]

Originally Posted by 3d0g

I can't imagine not getting 2 weeks or more in my normal use (maybe 50 pages a day, on average). Yours really goes from a full charge to unresponsive dead in 3 days? I wonder if I got the "golden" kobo????

Yes well I think you do have the "golden kobo" - wanna swap?
If you only read 50 pages per day you really don't need one with a super battery. Although you do need some kind of award for such dedication.

My original kobo was a complete dud. I was unable to read a full book on a single charge. I would be happily reading and then the kobo would just die and wouldn't work again until I recharged it. I have just checked and the first book had 420 pages and I was needing 2 page turns per actual page. So I got less than 840 page turns. I tend to read books from start to finish in a single sitting so usually only one power up and read until I'm done. It was hugely frustrating to have the kobo konk out before I finished the book - because it always died at a really good bit.
I put up with this for a week before asking for a replacement.
My second kobo was significantly better. I could read 2 books easily but only finished a third one time. It usually died somewhere in the third book - so about 2000 to 2500 page turns. After my experience with the first kobo I didn't want it to die on me part way through a book so I started recharging after the second book to avoid the inconvenience.
I did the upgrade a couple of days ago. Since my last charge I have read about 1000 pages which have required 3 page turns per page so about 3000 page turns.
The battery indicator dropped almost immediately after the charge but is still holding strong at about halfway. I'm really keen to see how far I can go now. Maybe after the upgrade my kobo is golden too? I really hope so.

[3d0g]

INTERESTING developments in today's 1000 page run...

power-on - no change
7100 - no change
7200 - no change
7300 - no change
7400 - no change
7500 - no change
7600 - no change
7632 - kobo shutdown with please charge message
power-on - E now on battery
7700 - no change
7800 - no change
7900 - no change
8000 - no change

Here's the message that came up after 7632 pages. The kobo immediately powered down:


I wondered what would happen if I tried powering it back up. Turns out it fired up just fine. Battery now clearly shows an E symbol for empty, yet the kobo resumed working fine:


So, I find this extraordinarily interesting. I've come across nobody who's mentioned their kobo shutting down with a charge message nor seeing an honest-to-goodness "E" symbol on the battery. I'm now wondering if many people with "short" battery life actually have plenty left and their kobo just locked up and needs a reset...

[RedRoverJ]

That is interesting. Excellent observation. I, too, wonder how many that complain about poor battery life are getting to this point.

I have never had an issue with my battery. However. I am still plugging mine in on a regular basis to add/remove books. Usually, I leave it plugged in for a while afterwards to top up the charge.

[3d0g]

One last interesting data point - my kobo did NOT run through the normal 30 min sleep / power-off cycle after I stopped at 8,000. I just noticed it was still showing the last page and I figured it had finally died. Nope. Still turning pages fine. So, I've manually powered it off until tomorrow. Can it reach 9000????

[leighisme]

I've had the E before and I read for a few more pages before plugging it in. It did not freeze. That's happened twice. But, I've also had it die completely, freeze on me and I had to charge it - I have never rebooted it when that happens and once it's charged it worked fine. However, I haven't tested the battery life since updating to 1.4...

[HamsterRage]

I'm still on the same charge from July 1st, and I'm maybe 4 or 5 books read since then.

The indicator just recently shifted to 1/4 charge. I'm going to plug it in soon to download a couple of books. That will probably boost it a little bit.

I am curious about how much is left. It's good to know that I'll get a warning and then a few hundred more page turns once it's close to dead.

[HarleyB]

Aren't the battery warning "Please charge your eReader" and the E symbol on the battery new since the upgrade? I though that was one of the major changes they introduced.
I have NEVER seen them even though prior to the upgrade I completely drained my battery multiple times. The original version had to be powered off and back up again to register any difference in the battery charge - the closest I ever got to an empty battery indicator was just one bar left. After a bit more reading the kobo died.
Since upgrading a few days ago my battery life seems to have improved so I haven't seen any recharge messages yet.
Hopefully I will get a few more days but who knows?

[leighisme]

I had the E before the upgrade.

[Bismar]

Hmm nice to know it is possible to get the full 8000 page turns.

Interesting point also about the 'Please charge your ereader' notice, i think i'll run down mine again at my normal pace and see how many extra page i can get out of it.

Have to say though, the statistics on the poll still looks slightly iffy. But thats probably because we have an insufficient sample size.

So yes, please vote on the poll if you haven't already, to give us a better idea of the mean we can expect on the kobo.

[3d0g]

Sadly, the great kobo battery test experiment has come to an end. This morning, my kobo would not start up. Pressing the power button showed only a red light and no other response. It is now getting a well deserved feeding off my iPad charger. So, here's my observations after the past week of mad blue button mashing:

• Under ideal conditions, it is possible to get the fully advertised 8K page turns! Does this mean we can all expect to get that many? No. The one key data point this test did not address is idle power consumption. I changed pages as rapidly as the kobo allowed. In "real" use, your kobo will be on and consuming a little power while you read the page. Even a speed reader at as little as 5 seconds per page will have over 11 additional hours of "on" time over 8K pages.
• With the 1.4 firmware at least, the kobo provides very definite and clear feedback of low battery. If you're not seeing the "Please charge" notice, your kobo's not empty. It's also possible to go beyond the "Please charge" notice and read at least a couple hundered more pages.
• The D-pad is more durable than I figured. After 8K forward and backward presses, I can detect no change in its response or feeling. I also never experienced the kobo "missing" a press unless I pressed too soon and the prior page wasn't finished rendering. I can assure you, after 8K rapid presses, you get a really good feel for button behavior. The kobo's buttons work absolutely perfectly (well mine do at least).
• The battery gauge is very non-linear initially. I think this is the single biggest "problem" that koobo noobies are experiencing. They start using their new device and freak out when the battery indicator starts dropping after only a hundred or so pages. The battery gauge has 7 levels total from full to empty (showing the "E"). You can basically dismiss the first two as response becomes much more linear from there.

Here's a simple chart of battery level over 8,000 page turns:


Now, if y'all don't mind, I'm gonna go actually read on my kobo for a bit.