Battery life of electronics (1 Viewer)

[vds700]

For electronics like iPods and phones, I've always been of the belief you should wait till the battery is flat before charging, and then charge fully, otherwise the life of the battery gets shorter over time (I know this does happen anyway, but isnt it worse if you dont charge it properly?).

I always try to do this, coz I like to get maximum life out of my phones/iPod battery, but with todays battery technoogies, does it really shorten the life of the battery if you say charge it all the time before it runs out?

 

[SnowFox]

Bit of a iffy subject, im sure it depends on the charger type, the type of battery, the amount of power going through and the it takes.

 

[Omie Jay]

not necessarily.

Years ago they used to use Ni-Cd batteries (Nickel-Cadmium), and i think they kinda developed a 'charging memory', meaning if you constantly charge them when they're only half depleted, you'll eventually lose half of your battery.

These days (and for the past few years) its changed to Li-ion batteries, which dont have this problem, so afaik u can charge whenever u want.
I guess for efficiency's sake it'd be good to waste the battery before charging, but i dont think it really matters.

 

[SnowFox]

I think its less then 1%, but as i said, it depends on lots of factors.

 

[vds700]

oh ok thats good. Sometimes its just inconvenient to wait until the battery is flat before charging.

Thanks for the input guys

 

[Omie Jay]

also they usually say something like "after 500 charges the maximum battery power available will be 70% of the initial power"..something like that.

So it does wear down over time, but 500 charges, thats like 2 years or so (assuming u charge every 2 or so days, which is unprobable itself considering the ipods' 24hr battery power)

 

[youngminii]

I do believe Apple's tips for better battery life include waiting until the battery runs flat before charging.
They use a different type of battery than most other electronic devices.

Edit: No they do not.

 

[Mudkip94]

Current Apple stuff uses Li-ion batteries, like most other electronic devices.

 

[youngminii]

Oh damn they do too.

 

[Omie Jay]

yea they're Li-Ion batteries, apple just have secret magical techniques to make their laptop batteries last for 5 > hrs (probably due to their OS and/or hardware).

oh, and they also manage to fit their batteries into the sleek cases of macbooks, damn i hate macs >:-[

 

[dux&src]

yea they're Li-Ion batteries, apple just have secret magical techniques to make their laptop batteries last for 5 > hrs (probably due to their OS and/or hardware).

oh, and they also manage to fit their batteries into the sleek cases of macbooks, damn i hate macs >:-[

Laptop PCs represent

Though when i first got it my battery would hold a charge for 3.5 to 4 hours but as i kept my laptop running on AC power rather than letting the batteries deplete i found it could only hold a charge for 2 hours after a year..
Does that sound normal to you guys?

 

[ClockworkSoldier]

Careful people, you may start yet another off-topic Mac vs. PC debate.

Though when i first got it my battery would hold a charge for 3.5 to 4 hours but as i kept my laptop running on AC power rather than letting the batteries deplete i found it could only hold a charge for 2 hours after a year..
Does that sound normal to you guys?

Simple.

A battery has a zero point, and you should run the battery to that zero point at least once a week. Keeping it fully charged allows the battery to "forget" that zero point and only deplete to what it "thinks" is the zero point. Much like the old Ni-Cd batteries.

A simple battery reconfiguration would do the trick.

 

[mcflystargirl]

not with most electronics but with ipods it certainly damage the battery , i dont know why they should not, but they do.

 

[Mudkip94]

Careful people, you may start yet another off-topic Mac vs. PC debate.



Simple.

A battery has a zero point, and you should run the battery to that zero point at least once a week. Keeping it fully charged allows the battery to "forget" that zero point and only deplete to what it "thinks" is the zero point. Much like the old Ni-Cd batteries.

A simple battery reconfiguration would do the trick.

That's called the memory effect. Li-ion batteries don't suffer from the memory effect.

 

[vds700]

also they usually say something like "after 500 charges the maximum battery power available will be 70% of the initial power"..something like that.

So it does wear down over time, but 500 charges, thats like 2 years or so (assuming u charge every 2 or so days, which is unprobable itself considering the ipods' 24hr battery power)

My nano's battery has only ever lasted about 6-7 hours since it was new (I know this coz I do a few long trips each year). Quite dissapointing as it was advertised as 24 hour battery life, I always charge it only when it runs out

 

[Omie Jay]

My nano's battery has only ever lasted about 6-7 hours since it was new (I know this coz I do a few long trips each year). Quite dissapointing as it was advertised as 24 hour battery life, I always charge it only when it runs out

they just say 24hrs, they dont specify HOW to get that 24hrs.

eg maybe its playing music constantly with 0% backlight and low volume.

Everytime you change the song and the light turns on, it uses a little extra power (to power the light), and the volume at which you listen to also makes a difference.

Always, the biggest power users are backlight and sound. To maximise gameboy battery, i always played with the sound off (backlight off too for you gameboy SP or DS users, but then you'd need to be in a really well lit area).
Main useage of ipod is for music, so obviously u cant keep it on mute, but at least u can dim the brightness.

 

[vds700]

they just say 24hrs, they dont specify HOW to get that 24hrs.

eg maybe its playing music constantly with 0% backlight and low volume.

Everytime you change the song and the light turns on, it uses a little extra power (to power the light), and the volume at which you listen to also makes a difference.

Always, the biggest power users are backlight and sound. To maximise gameboy battery, i always played with the sound off (backlight off too for you gameboy SP or DS users, but then you'd need to be in a really well lit area).
Main useage of ipod is for music, so obviously u cant keep it on mute, but at least u can dim the brightness.

yeah actually now that you mention it, 1 time i just listened to an audio book for the whole trip, and it lasted about 9 hours, whereas other times when im listening to music and constantly changing songs, it runs out after about 6 hours.

I'll try dimming the brightness or even turning it off provided i can see the screen

thanks man