Any verizon phone match the battery life of a blackberry?

[slackerinabox]

I'm starting a gig as a real estate agent and my droid simply isn't cutting it for battery life. I'm never going to be near a power source (NYC so I won't use a car) and will use my phone CONSTANTLY - even with light use my droid lasts about 6 hours. I even tried underclocking a bit and running on the dimmest setting with zero background apps- best case scenario was the battery lasting from 9 to 4 PM.

A constant recommendation is "just get a blackberry" but I've had a curve before and just didn't like the whole experience - from neutered web to constant butt dialing because my phone would get unlocked all the time.. Way too many 911 calls! Anyways, I don't like blackberry and doubt 6.0 will be worth the wait, but my damn curve would last me 4 or 5 days before needing a charge. I'm about to just buy a blackberry bold but dread going back to a barely useful smartphone (though superb email device, to be honest).

BES might not be as essential as I thought - exchange may cut it. BUT I know I can't expect to run my career on my droid. Multiple batteries and hunting down outlets just won't do, especially since I'm a virgin agent and I'm sure I'll get plenty of grunt work assignments and very little time behind my desk....

SOOo, are there any phones out there that will give me at least 2 days on standby, say 12 hours with moderate use?

 

[Chapbass]

my droid x can do that battery life.

edit: Wait, are you doing light use or using your phone CONSTANTLY? those aren't really the same thing...

 

[slackerinabox]

my droid x can do that battery life.

edit: Wait, are you doing light use or using your phone CONSTANTLY? those aren't really the same thing...

Sorry, I currently use my droid for personal use and lightly. I anticipate, once training is over, to be using whatever new phone I get heavily. All agents get every listing emailed to them as they're posted, so I'll be getting hundreds of emails plus client calls plus scheduling, plus searching mls' web site, posting ads during downtime (which I may use my netbook with prepaid 3g for), etc. etc.

 

[Chapbass]

get a blackberry. New Bold from VZW is pretty slick.

 

[MrX8503]

get a blackberry. New Bold from VZW is pretty slick.

Lol did you totally ignore the OP's post?

Any smartphone you get will not give you the battery life you need. Smartphones are mini computers and are power hungry. Your best bet would be to buy extra batteries.

 

[Spoooon]

While not the most convenient, how about a spare battery?

Especially if you didn't care for the blackberry experience.

edit: With light use, mine lasts 14 hours or so, usually have 20-30% left on the battery, though it's hard to define "light" use.

 

[slackerinabox]

While not the most convenient, how about a spare battery?

Especially if you didn't care for the blackberry experience.

Because frankly it's just another thing to charge and I have to get a separate business line anyways. As much as I like my droid for personal use it just doesn't make sense to buy another one (especially since it's pretty dated).

 

[Chapbass]

Lol did you totally ignore the OP's post?

Any smartphone you get will not give you the battery life you need. Smartphones are mini computers and are power hungry. Your best bet would be to buy extra batteries.

lol I definitely read the OP's post, but unfortunately there isn't really many other options, so I just gave him the advice that I really feel he should do.

 

[slackerinabox]

While not the most convenient, how about a spare battery?

Especially if you didn't care for the blackberry experience.

edit: With light use, mine lasts 14 hours or so, usually have 20-30% left on the battery, though it's hard to define "light" use.

I had it last that long when I forgot it in my car and didn't use it at all I might not be very lucky, I'm using a brand new battery and not getting anywhere near 14 hours. And I send maybe 5 texts, browse the web for 10 minutes, and barely use the phone. I'm definately not a heavy use now, but will be. I can't imagine it lasting very long for power users who are app hungry. But I don't mean to turn this into a droid hate thread- I love mine! I used to work in a cube so have multiple docks (one in each room of my house, one in my car, and one for work) - the battery was never an issue for me when I charged my phone throughout the day. It's only an issue because i'm in the odd field that keeps me away from electricity.

 

[slackerinabox]

lol I definitely read the OP's post, but unfortunately there isn't really many other options, so I just gave him the advice that I really feel he should do.

And your advice was appreciated I'm still hoping someone will chime in with some esoteric sony or nokia phone I never heard of that's surely not as cool as an android phone, but rocks battery use wise.

And you're right, I thought the prior version of the Bold looked kinda cheap but I checked out the refreshed version at the Verizon store - much improved design (looks more like the tour to me) and it feels robust and not plasticy, and the price was right. I'm just holding out for something a bit less stale.

 

[Chapbass]

Well, its not for VZW, but I got AMAZING battery time when I was testing the Nokia E73 Mode. I swear that thing would not die. Not for VZW though.


Edit: For reference: I use my Droid X pretty heavily all day, starting around 7am, usually down to 10-20% around 10pm or so. Usually includes around 2-4hrs of talktime as well. Might be worth a trial just to see how it does for you. Can't really tell how much youll really be using it until it starts.

Honestly, thats what I'd probably do. Once it starts, get an X, use it for a little, if it doesn't work out, swap it out for a BB Bold.

 

[slackerinabox]

Well, its not for VZW, but I got AMAZING battery time when I was testing the Nokia E73 Mode. I swear that thing would not die. Not for VZW though.


Edit: For reference: I use my Droid X pretty heavily all day, starting around 7am, usually down to 10-20% around 10pm or so. Usually includes around 2-4hrs of talktime as well. Might be worth a trial just to see how it does for you. Can't really tell how much youll really be using it until it starts.

Honestly, thats what I'd probably do. Once it starts, get an X, use it for a little, if it doesn't work out, swap it out for a BB Bold.

my wife had that on AT&T after she lost her iphone. Or was that the e71? Something like that could actually work perfectly - I liked the fit and finish and, you're right, we never had to get her an extra charger because it always lasted all day using something absurd like 20% of the battery. It seemed to be pretty enterprise friendly too.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Extended batteries will double (or more!) your battery life. Of course, they make your phone like twice as thick.

Unfortunately, I don't think there are any other options. Modern smartphones just don't get great battery life. You have to charge them every day. So you either have to figure out how to get access to a charger, get a spare battery, get an extended battery, or get a Blackberry.

One option no one has mentioned is a portable battery charging pack. I don't know a good brand but it might be an option. This would be a device that has its own battery inside that is much larger than your phone's battery, and you just plug your phone in to charge it up. Probably good for a couple of refills before the pack itself runs out. Some of them run on AAs which you can get anywhere, others you plug in to charge them up. I've seen solar ones too, although I'm not sure those would be ideal unless you're in Arizona or something.

 

[MrX8503]

I think there are plenty of options available as to where you don't have to turn to a BB.

There's also the iPhone. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it has the best battery life. But if I was in your position I would buy more batteries. It's not like you'll never be home to have extra batteries charging where you can grab and go out the door.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Just get the latest BlackBerry Tour, as it will get OS6 and resolve the browsing issue.

 

[abaez]

Well, its not for VZW, but I got AMAZING battery time when I was testing the Nokia E73 Mode. I swear that thing would not die. Not for VZW though.


Edit: For reference: I use my Droid X pretty heavily all day, starting around 7am, usually down to 10-20% around 10pm or so. Usually includes around 2-4hrs of talktime as well. Might be worth a trial just to see how it does for you. Can't really tell how much youll really be using it until it starts.

Honestly, thats what I'd probably do. Once it starts, get an X, use it for a little, if it doesn't work out, swap it out for a BB Bold.

I have to echo the X's battery life. It's fantastic.

The X will also be receiving an official 1900 mah battery that will only add like 1mm to the phone. Should be available any day now.

 

[Chapbass]

I think there are plenty of options available as to where you don't have to turn to a BB.

There's also the iPhone. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it has the best battery life. But if I was in your position I would buy more batteries. It's not like you'll never be home to have extra batteries charging where you can grab and go out the door.

iphone isn't on vzw, and also isn't as good as a blackberry.

 

[Chapbass]

Just get the latest BlackBerry Tour, as it will get OS6 and resolve the browsing issue.

Why tour over the new bold for vzw? I've used em both, seems like just the tour with a trackpad instead of trackball...oh and soft touch plastic/rubber on the back on the bold. I had both at one point, liked the bold better.

 

[smitbret]

Hate to be a bad echo, but if you want battery life, good messaging and an easy to use keyboard, you just described the BB Bold. I never have a problem with it coming unlocked and butt dialing and it will get the upgrade to OS 6. BB is not the multimedia gem that iPhone and Android are, but that doesn't seem to be something you are interested in. What else soured you on BB besides the poor web performance and butt dialing?

 

[MJinZ]

Sorry, I currently use my droid for personal use and lightly. I anticipate, once training is over, to be using whatever new phone I get heavily. All agents get every listing emailed to them as they're posted, so I'll be getting hundreds of emails plus client calls plus scheduling, plus searching mls' web site, posting ads during downtime (which I may use my netbook with prepaid 3g for), etc. etc.

That is extremely heavy usage.

And a Blackberry probably won't even do half of that.

 

[gsaldivar]

The problem is that most of the sexy new Verizon phones are also very power-hungry. So if you're in the market for a new phone, and you expect to get comparable battery life as your old BB, you may have to compromise on features...

All phones on CDMA networks (Sprint, Verizon) generally burn batteries more quickly than GSM phones. This is due to the design of the network but varies by person depending on factors like reception and site load where your phone spends time on standby. A Sprint or Verizon phone left on standby in an area with heavy network load or low reception will consume much more power than one left on standby in an area with light load or high reception.

Certainly it's possible to hit the 2-day target you're looking for. However, you might need to be creative in the way you choose to setup your phone. An Android phone, can use some specialized utilities to "underclock" the high-powered processor even below its factory idle-state value, to yield extraordinary improvements in battery life at the expense of slight delays in processing idle-state tasks (retrieving emails, etc). This technique requires rooting of the phone, which is only possible on some devices and may void your warranty.

Alternatively, you might simply consider purchasing a good battery upgrade for your phone and/or carry more than one battery. I purchased a 3500mAh upgrade for my HTC Incredible which is over a 250% upgrade from the stock 1300mAh battery that my phone shipped with. It's made all the difference in the world for me, as I'm now able to use my phone heavily and still have plenty of battery left at the end of the day. I know I can further increase the battery life by rooting and using the SetCPU utility, but so far I haven't had the need to do that.

If you carry multiple batteries and plan to swap between them, you will want to choose a phone that allows you to quickly and easily remove the battery. It is not easy to do this on my device (requires partial disassembly) so that is one reason why I chose to get the largest battery possible as I don't plan to remove it often.

BES is RIM's proprietary version of ActiveSync for Exchange email. So pretty much anything you could do with BES (real-time "push" email, contacts, calendar syncing) can be done with an ActiveSync compatible phone. This means any Droid or iPhone. Also, you won't have to pay $15/month extra for the BES corporate data package. ActiveSync can be done with any basic data plan on nearly all providers. Also, if you don't have a hosted Exchange email account, you can also get "push" email through Google/Gmail for free. Yes, ActiveSync will cause any phone to burn through its battery more quickly, due to the increased network usage.

Good luck!

 

[gsaldivar]

I have to echo the X's battery life. It's fantastic.

The X will also be receiving an official 1900 mah battery that will only add like 1mm to the phone. Should be available any day now.

Seidio is working on a 3500mAh upgrade for the Droid X. To get absolute max battery life (at the expense of a few ounces of weight) I would highly recommend this instead:

http://www.seidioonline.com/category-s/4358.htm

http://www.seidioonline.com/product-p/bacy35mtdx-bk.htm

 

[dguy6789]

Seidio is working on a 3500mAh upgrade for the Droid X. To get absolute max battery life (at the expense of a few ounces of weight) I would highly recommend this instead:

http://www.seidioonline.com/category-s/4358.htm

http://www.seidioonline.com/product-p/bacy35mtdx-bk.htm

Agreed.

This is the way to go if you want a non Blackberry with very good battery life. The X comes with a 1530 battery and already has the best battery life of any Android phone by far(I get comparable battery life to what my Incredible had with an extended battery) and possibly the best battery life of any smartphone except the BB. Putting a 3500 battery in it, it would be extremely difficult to make the battery run out if you charge it nightly.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Agreed.

This is the way to go if you want a non Blackberry with very good battery life. The X comes with a 1530 battery and already has the best battery life of any Android phone by far(I get comparable battery life to what my Incredible had with an extended battery) and possibly the best battery life of any smartphone except the BB. Putting a 3500 battery in it, it would be extremely difficult to make the battery run out if you charge it nightly.

with my droid x, i once did 46 hours, with light usage and only 2 hours talk time during that 46 hours. very little browsing, email sync on and only receiving a few texts.

with moderate use, 1 to 2 hours talk time, locale using gps location profiles on, about 1 hour browsing, 1 hour spent on emails and texts, i get about 12 hours on my droid x.

with a 3500 battery, i think you could get thru a heavy use day, 12 hours, no problems.

i don't recommend leaving locale on using gps, if you want to preserve battery.

 

[slackerinabox]

Well, its not for VZW, but I got AMAZING battery time when I was testing the Nokia E73 Mode. I swear that thing would not die. Not for VZW though.


Edit: For reference: I use my Droid X pretty heavily all day, starting around 7am, usually down to 10-20% around 10pm or so. Usually includes around 2-4hrs of talktime as well. Might be worth a trial just to see how it does for you. Can't really tell how much youll really be using it until it starts.

Honestly, thats what I'd probably do. Once it starts, get an X, use it for a little, if it doesn't work out, swap it out for a BB Bold.

I just may do that - it is damn sexy. How's push email on it? Always found it odd how my blackberry used to beat out my enterprise outlook, while my droid gets emails about 10 minutes after they're actually received. Not the end of the world, really.