How does music playing drain the battery?

MikeF74 · 10-15-2007, 02:32 PM

I've got a 3 hour train ride tomorrow and was wondering how long the PRS-505 lasts when playing music? Will it last the whole trip, or should I ease off on it?

I just want a little background music to drown out the sound of the train. I suppose I should invest in active noise-cancelling headphones someday.

Nate the great · 10-15-2007, 02:43 PM

I tested it once, and found that the battery lasted about 5 hours for music playing only.

ecmartinjr · 10-15-2007, 05:05 PM

The Sony Reader clearly works great for books. I can only listen to a relatively few songs before the battery is depleted. Is there an external battery pack that would supply the 5.2 volts and enough power for perhaps 15 to 20 hours of music and reading? Even better if it would recharge with the Sony included charger cord (but this wouldn't be required. Thanks. Ed

MikeF74 · 10-15-2007, 05:18 PM

Hmmm.... I could always bring along my iPod mini, I was just trying to travel light.

jamesdmanley · 10-15-2007, 05:36 PM

duracel makes a charger that runs on 2 AA batteries and is available in a variety of plugs; usb being of them. i bet that would work on the 505 since sony changed how the reader charges via usb

mdhuang · 10-15-2007, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecmartinjr

The Sony Reader clearly works great for books. I can only listen to a relatively few songs before the battery is depleted. Is there an external battery pack that would supply the 5.2 volts and enough power for perhaps 15 to 20 hours of music and reading? Even better if it would recharge with the Sony included charger cord (but this wouldn't be required. Thanks. Ed

This one is rechargeable.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3303
Less that $12. The PSP plug should work with the reader.
Dealextreme sells cheap stuff. Sometimes the quality is not as good as that of higher price counterparts. In general, it works ok for me.

Greymage · 10-15-2007, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdhuang

This one is rechargeable.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3303
Less that $12. The PSP plug should work with the reader.
Dealextreme sells cheap stuff. Sometimes the quality is not as good as that of higher price counterparts. In general, it works ok for me.

I love dealextreme - they are a great source for cheap high-power flashlights (Luxeons and Crees, not the little LEDs), but I had never looks around at their other offerings before.

The only downside to them is it takes a couple of weeks to deliver, unless you spring for express shipping.

RWood · 10-15-2007, 07:50 PM

2 AAs would only give 3.0 volts at best, well below the 5.2 volts the Reader requires. I also once tried to use the Reader as a music player. After one album the battery meter had dropped to 2 of 4 bars.

ecmartinjr · 10-15-2007, 10:44 PM

After placing my query concerning an external battery so one could listen to extensive music I called Sony tech support. I spoke to several people in ascendingly elevated employment positions. Ultimately, no one had a clue as to either an external battery pack or even how much power the Reader uses per hour when it is playing music. "They don't tell us that." All they knew was that you could turn 7500 pages. I have asked for some input from the www.dealextreme.com on point and will report when and if I learn more. Ed

dhbailey · 10-16-2007, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecmartinjr

[snip]All they knew was that you could turn 7500 pages.[snip]

What they're not told is that you can only get 7500 page turns (I thought the advertised page turn count was 7200) out of it if you set up an automatic button pushing machine to turn the page without pausing to actually read the page.

For normal usage, it is time which is more critical to battery life, not page turns. My battery seems to lose about 1/4 charge over the course of 5 or 6 days whether I'm reading or not. And I certainly don't read 1800 pages in 5 or 6 days! I realize that for battery usage, "page turn" is simply another expression which means "screen redraw" but even with that concept, I don't get 7200 out of a charge!

HarryT · 10-16-2007, 07:27 AM

That's absolutely right. Unless you're an extremely avid reader, the Reader will need charging roughly once every three weeks, no matter how much or little you use it.

NatCh · 10-16-2007, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdhuang

This one is rechargeable.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3303
Less that $12. The PSP plug should work with the reader.
Dealextreme sells cheap stuff. Sometimes the quality is not as good as that of higher price counterparts. In general, it works ok for me.

I'm not sure I see the point of adding a battery pack to my "carrying around stuff" that's almost as big as an iPod Classic just so I can listen to audio on my Reader.

But that's just me.

I recently decided to go with Audible.com books for my plane flights (I'm less weary with them than with regular reading on a plane flight), and went for a dedicated MP3 player that's about the size of a pack of gum, and gets 16 hours of play time.

mdhuang · 10-16-2007, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

I'm not sure I see the point of adding a battery pack to my "carrying around stuff" that's almost as big as an iPod Classic just so I can listen to audio on my Reader.

But that's just me.

I recently decided to go with Audible.com books for my plane flights (I'm less weary with them than with regular reading on a plane flight), and went for a dedicated MP3 player that's about the size of a pack of gum, and gets 16 hours of play time.

If you go on a long trip to an island with no electricity, it may help recharge your reader for reading books

But then you may want to use a Solar charger like this one:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4923.
Save the planet

NatCh · 10-16-2007, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdhuang

If you go on a long trip to an island with no electricity, it may help recharge your reader for reading books

But then you may want to use a Solar charger like this one:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4923.
Save the planet

Well, see, that idea I totally grok.

I just don't get it for the purpose of listening to music.

10-15-2007, 02:32 PM	#1
MikeF74 Groupie Posts: 179 Karma: 28 Join Date: May 2007 Device: Sony PRS-505	How does music playing drain the battery? I've got a 3 hour train ride tomorrow and was wondering how long the PRS-505 lasts when playing music? Will it last the whole trip, or should I ease off on it? I just want a little background music to drown out the sound of the train. I suppose I should invest in active noise-cancelling headphones someday.

10-15-2007, 05:05 PM	#3
ecmartinjr Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2007 Device: Sony Reader	External Battery & Sony Reader Music The Sony Reader clearly works great for books. I can only listen to a relatively few songs before the battery is depleted. Is there an external battery pack that would supply the 5.2 volts and enough power for perhaps 15 to 20 hours of music and reading? Even better if it would recharge with the Sony included charger cord (but this wouldn't be required. Thanks. Ed

10-15-2007, 10:44 PM	#9
ecmartinjr Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2007 Device: Sony Reader	Battery Power when playing music After placing my query concerning an external battery so one could listen to extensive music I called Sony tech support. I spoke to several people in ascendingly elevated employment positions. Ultimately, no one had a clue as to either an external battery pack or even how much power the Reader uses per hour when it is playing music. "They don't tell us that." All they knew was that you could turn 7500 pages. I have asked for some input from the www.dealextreme.com on point and will report when and if I learn more. Ed

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10-15-2007, 02:43 PM	#2
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	I tested it once, and found that the battery lasted about 5 hours for music playing only.

10-15-2007, 05:18 PM	#4
MikeF74 Groupie Posts: 179 Karma: 28 Join Date: May 2007 Device: Sony PRS-505	Hmmm.... I could always bring along my iPod mini, I was just trying to travel light.

10-15-2007, 05:36 PM	#5
jamesdmanley Groupie Posts: 156 Karma: 817 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: houston Device: prs-500	duracel makes a charger that runs on 2 AA batteries and is available in a variety of plugs; usb being of them. i bet that would work on the 505 since sony changed how the reader charges via usb

10-15-2007, 07:50 PM	#8
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	2 AAs would only give 3.0 volts at best, well below the 5.2 volts the Reader requires. I also once tried to use the Reader as a music player. After one album the battery meter had dropped to 2 of 4 bars.

10-16-2007, 07:27 AM	#11
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	That's absolutely right. Unless you're an extremely avid reader, the Reader will need charging roughly once every three weeks, no matter how much or little you use it.

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