It seems that the majority of posts here at Mobile-Users recently seem to do with the N900. (I certainly apologise – the handset is keeping me very busy recently!)
One thing I’ve found is that the battery life on the phone seems to drain too quickly… My average over the week is approximately 6-10 hours with Wi-Fi/3G connected 24/7, MSN & Ovi signed in, some music play & calls / texts.
The N900 battery (BL-5J: 1320mAh – same as 5800 Xpress-Music) is officially quoted as offering:
- 2-4 days standby
- Up to 5 hours (3G/WCDMA) / 9 hours (2G/GSM)
- 1 day Active Online Usage
Now, as soon as I got my N900, the battery performance was reminiscent of the Blackberry Bold… nowhere near advertised so the team got hold of a second N900 (aside from my personal one) and performed a series of battery tests over a few days.
Here’s the results:
Test 1:
Test one was the standby time with no connectivity, calls/texts or doing anything with the phone. (i.e. bluetooth, Wi-Fi & Data were all turned off).
Official: 2-4 days
Our Result: 29 hours
Test 2:
Test 2 was continuous music playback with no other connectivity.
Official: 29 hours
Our Result: 13 hours
Test 3:
Active Online usage: connected to Wi-Fi/3G/2G with IM conversations etc happening.
Official: 24 hours
Our Result: 9 hours
Test 4:
Day – to – day usage. This test was performed by me and is based upon averages over 1 week. There is no official time for this so I’ll list my findings anyways.
Our Result: 9 hours on a full charge with Wi-Fi/3G connected, IM conversations open & several short calls & texts.
The point of these tests? To judge exactly how well a 1320mAh battery from the 5800 Xpress Music does in handling the powerhouse that is the Nokia N900.
To be honest, it doesn’t do that great a job. Most people have found battery life is disappointing and all us N900 users can only hope that the next firmware update brings some power saving options & improves battery life!
(Originally published by Nirave on Dec 08, 2009 here)
