[BATTERY TEST] HTC 1400 vs. Seidio 1600 Quantitative Comparison

[mlpjunior]

Note to Readers: I realize this post is very lengthy. If all you care about are the results, scroll down toward the bottom. There is a graph that sums up my findings. If you enjoy boring, granular details, read on...


Let me start by speaking to those of you who have already purchased the Slim 1600mAh battery from Seidio: I know that many of you have experienced better battery life since receiving your Seidio battery, and my point here is not to call you out. Prior to my formal testing, I too felt that the Seidio battery had provided me with a significant upgrade.

What I will say, however, is that your (our) improved battery life might be attributable to something other than the battery itself. Have you changed your screen brightness setting? Are you using the phone less often, or in less strenuous ways? Are you experiencing a placebo effect? Only you can know for sure what has factored into your personal results.

Ultimately, I don't want anyone to take offense to my results. I spent $50 on this battery just like you did. I.e. we are in the same boat, I feel your frustration, etc. I fully expect people to ask for more detail on my methodology; please just be courteous and know that I put a lot of time and thought into this test--time that I could have been using to school chumps in Black Ops or watch a whole season of Top Gear. Please respect the fact that I did this solely to help the members of this forum make more informed decisions.

Now, onto the details...

I. Battery Conditioning

I have already spoken at some length about the way I went about conditioning both batteries. I encourage you to read this post to get up to speed.

II. Methodology
Because I only have one device, the most difficult aspect of this test was ensuring steady state conditions for both tests, despite the fact that they would occur several hours apart. Before beginning the test, I took some steps to ensure that the test would be as reliable as possible:

• Created a long youtube playlist that would be played in the exact same sequence in both tests
• Set the screen brightness to a static ~25%
• Set screen timeout to "Never"
• Performed both tests in the same room, under WiFi, to prevent 3G/4G signal strength fluctuations from impacting the results. The phone was within 15 feet of my Apple Airport Extreme router for the entirety of the both tests.
• Did not interact with the phone, except to clear battery level warnings towards the end of the test
• Turned off Power Saver under Settings>>Power

III. The Test
I began each test by fully discharging the battery until shutdown. Plugged in and booted the phone. Allowed it to charge to 100%. Shut down and bump charged once to green LED. Unplugged, booted up. Loaded the desktop version of youtube in the stock browser. Selected my pre-configured battery rundown playlist and added it to the queue. Played queue. Left the phone in full-page view and put it on the kickstand in landscape. I used Battery Graph (available here) to track the progress of each battery at 1 minute intervals.

IV. Results
The attached image is a visual representation of how each battery performed. Please excuse the fact that the labels on the X axis didn't really come through.

If you would like more detailed data, I have a crude GoogleDocs spreadsheet that you can review here.

The bottom line is that the Seidio battery shut down about 6 minutes (or about 2%) faster than the OEM battery did. Note the striking similarity of the slope of the lines in the graph. If the Seidio truly had more capacity, we would see a more gradual step-down than what was observed.

In my opinion, this result falls within the margin of error, so I can say with reasonable certainty that there is no difference between these batteries.

Upon further review, my findings corroborate the testing conducted last summer on Seidio batteries by AndroidForums member, DustinF00. Link to his findings: Battery Testing Results... - Android Forums

V. Conclusion
I will be returning the Seidio battery to Amazon. I encourage my fellow purchasers to do the same. If you have not yet picked up a spare battery, I would discourage you from paying any premium for the Seidio 1600mAh battery. Go with the OEM battery, or a cheaper alternative. Also note that the Thunderbolt shares its battery SKU with the MyTouch 4G.

EDIT: So, for those of us that want more battery life from our phones, but refuse to tolerate the bulk of the extra large extended battery, tweaking and optimizing will be key. For more info and tips on adjusting your phone for optimal battery life, see Cory Streater's sticky in the main Thunderbolt forum. Link provided here.

 

[eloverton2]

how many discharge/recharge cycles had you gone through with each battery prior to testing? good research, method, and test. also was background data and automatic updating off for the tests?

the thunderbolt standard battery is 39.99 on verizon's website. i paid 44.99 for the seidio battery with free shipping. i think i'll just hang onto my seidio battery for $5 and not have to deal with a return/refund/buy another battery for $5 less.

 

[robrecht]

Thanks for proving this. I've been trying to discourage people from wasting their money on these Seidio 'extended life slim' batteries for a while. Aside from the false claims about capacity, the Seidio batteries are also not as well constructed as the OEM batteries. I had three of these on my last phone and after 8 months, they were basically worthless, each lasting only about 2 hours or so, but Seidio only warranties their batteries for 6 months, while Verizon provides a 1-year warranty on the OEM batteries. I think Mugen created this market segment a few years back when some of the OEMs were not optimizing their batteries, but they quickly caught on.

 

[mlpjunior]

how many discharge/recharge cycles had you gone through with each battery prior to testing? good research, method, and test. also was background data and automatic updating off for the tests?

the thunderbolt standard battery is 39.99 on verizon's website. i paid 44.99 for the seidio battery with free shipping. i think i'll just hang onto my seidio battery for $5 and not have to deal with a return/refund/buy another battery for $5 less.

5 cycles each. Not necessarily 100-to-0-to-100, but close enough to full cycles that it shouldn't have impacted the results.

Background data was on for the tests. Because I built my video playlist with videos that were 30+ minutes in length, and because of the way youtube buffers (usually less than 30 seconds ahead of the current position) data was being exchanged almost constantly. So, long story short, background data shouldn't have had a material impact.

 

[robrecht]

the thunderbolt standard battery is 39.99 on verizon's website. i paid 44.99 for the seidio battery with free shipping. i think i'll just hang onto my seidio battery for $5 and not have to deal with a return/refund/buy another battery for $5 less.

Hope your Seidio battery lasts longer than mine did. BTW, you can get a 25% discount on accessories in Verizon stores when you buy at least 3 accessories together. That puts the standard OEM battery at $30 and the real extended life 2750 mAh OEM battery at $37.50. I think this promotion is only for this month, but the Verizon warranty will be good for 12 months.

 

[quanb24]

thanks for the test man

 

[Raptor007]

I had suspected the Seidio wasn't worth the extra money in the past, and now its been proven. You mentioned the My Touch 4G batteries are compatible with the TB.

I looked on T-Mobile's site for the mytouch 4g battery, nothing listed for it. HTC's site doesn't have one. I find that very odd.

 

[bugg77]

Nicely done OP! I wish I would have seen this thread this morning BEFORE I ordered the Seidio battery.

Oh well, I'll just live with the Seidio battery until it dies. I only bought it as a backup battery so I can swap out the battery on days of heavy use or travel.

 

[rajuabju]

Great analysis, and confirms my suspicions about all Seido slim batteries. Unless they increase the physical size of the battery, they have never shown to have any success packing more battery life in the same size of an OEM battery.

 

[anon(3092520)]

Seidio has a long history of overstating the capacity of their batteries. I remember first seeing comparison tests years ago that showed that their batteries didn't perform as advertised. It's not just them, Mugen and other aftermarket battery manufacturers all do the same thing.

If you want to be sure you're getting what you paid for, the OEM extended batteries are always the safest bet.

 

[Sentrix]

This pretty much confirms my thought as well. I'm seeing great life out of both since I made some tweaks and optimizations... but I almost was feeling like the HTC 1400 mah battery was just as good if not even better than the Seidio battery I'm using now. Pretty sure I'm gonna switch back to the 1400 tomorrow.

 

[tropper]

Note to Readers: I realize this post is very lengthy. If all you care about are the results, scroll down toward the bottom. There is a graph that sums up my findings. If you enjoy boring, granular details, read on...


Let me start by speaking to those of you who have already purchased the Slim 1600mAh battery from Seidio: I know that many of you have experienced better battery life since receiving your Seidio battery, and my point here is not to call you out. Prior to my formal testing, I too felt that the Seidio battery had provided me with a significant upgrade.

What I will say, however, is that your (our) improved battery life might be attributable to something other than the battery itself. Have you changed your screen brightness setting? Are you using the phone less often, or in less strenuous ways? Are you experiencing a placebo effect? Only you can know for sure what has factored into your personal results.

Ultimately, I don't want anyone to take offense to my results. I spent $50 on this battery just like you did. I.e. we are in the same boat, I feel your frustration, etc. I fully expect people to ask for more detail on my methodology; please just be courteous and know that I put a lot of time and thought into this test--time that I could have been using to school chumps in Black Ops or watch a whole season of Top Gear. Please respect the fact that I did this solely to help the members of this forum make more informed decisions.

Now, onto the details...

I. Battery Conditioning

I have already spoken at some length about the way I went about conditioning both batteries. I encourage you to read this post to get up to speed.

II. Methodology
Because I only have one device, the most difficult aspect of this test was ensuring steady state conditions for both tests, despite the fact that they would occur several hours apart. Before beginning the test, I took some steps to ensure that the test would be as reliable as possible:

• Created a long youtube playlist that would be played in the exact same sequence in both tests
• Set the screen brightness to a static ~25%
• Set screen timeout to "Never"
• Performed both tests in the same room, under WiFi, to prevent 3G/4G signal strength fluctuations from impacting the results. The phone was within 15 feet of my Apple Airport Extreme router for the entirety of the both tests.
• Did not interact with the phone, except to clear battery level warnings towards the end of the test
• Turned off Power Saver under Settings>>Power

III. The Test
I began each test by fully discharging the battery until shutdown. Plugged in and booted the phone. Allowed it to charge to 100%. Shut down and bump charged once to green LED. Unplugged, booted up. Loaded the desktop version of youtube in the stock browser. Selected my pre-configured battery rundown playlist and added it to the queue. Played queue. Left the phone in full-page view and put it on the kickstand in landscape. I used Battery Graph (available here) to track the progress of each battery at 1 minute intervals.

IV. Results
The attached image is a visual representation of how each battery performed. Please excuse the fact that the labels on the X axis didn't really come through.

If you would like more detailed data, I have a crude GoogleDocs spreadsheet that you can review here.

The bottom line is that the Seidio battery shut down about 6 minutes (or about 2%) faster than the OEM battery did. Note the striking similarity of the slope of the lines in the graph. If the Seidio truly had more capacity, we would see a more gradual step-down than what was observed.

In my opinion, this result falls within the margin of error, so I can say with reasonable certainty that there is no difference between these batteries.

Upon further review, my findings corroborate the testing conducted last summer on Seidio batteries by AndroidForums member, DustinF00. Link to his findings: Battery Testing Results... - Android Forums

V. Conclusion
I will be returning the Seidio battery to Amazon. I encourage my fellow purchasers to do the same. If you have not yet picked up a spare battery, I would discourage you from paying any premium for the Seidio 1600mAh battery. Go with the OEM battery, or a cheaper alternative. Also note that the Thunderbolt shares its battery SKU with the MyTouch 4G.

EDIT: So, for those of us that want more battery life from our phones, but refuse to tolerate the bulk of the extra large extended battery, tweaking and optimizing will be key. For more info and tips on adjusting your phone for optimal battery life, see Cory Streater's sticky in the main Thunderbolt forum. Link provided here.

+1 Thank you for the testing an the time spent to post that !
The questions I have for you is not to try and call fault, to what you have said. Because your right most people have played with there phones, skewing the results.

Were there any apps installed or removed between battery tests.
Were the batteries near the same temp?
Did you check the batteries voltage/amps outside of the phone prior to testing?

I for one have had better battery life after switching to the seidio 1600 and as it "breaks in" it seems to be getting better, even under heavier loads as well as more intense apps.

Like I said NOT knocking you at all kudos for being a great A/C member and taking the time out for us.

 

[mlpjunior]

+1 Thank you for the testing an the time spent to post that !
The questions I have for you is not to try and call fault, to what you have said. Because your right most people have played with there phones, skewing the results.

Were there any apps installed or removed between battery tests.
Were the batteries near the same temp?
Did you check the batteries voltage/amps outside of the phone prior to testing?

I for one have had better battery life after switching to the seidio 1600 and as it "breaks in" it seems to be getting better, even under heavier loads as well as more intense apps.

Like I said NOT knocking you at all kudos for being a great A/C member and taking the time out for us.

I did install one app, Screebl, between the tests. I made sure to uninstall it before conducting the second test, though. Screebl is a pretty neat app, by the way.

I didn't measure the battery temps, nor the voltage/amps outside the phone. Can you help explain how that information might affect this test?

 

[mlpjunior]

Also note that I tested the HTC battery second, so if I had had any additional services running (which I didn't) it would not have changed the verdict.

 

[tropper]

I did install one app, Screebl, between the tests. I made sure to uninstall it before conducting the second test, though. Screebl is a pretty neat app, by the way.

I didn't measure the battery temps, nor the voltage/amps outside the phone. Can you help explain how that information might affect this test?

I know that my L ion drill batteries are greatly affected by the cold and so are my lithium polymer batts for my RC trucks.
And the voltage outside the phone may be different if taken with a voltmeter, maybe the phone might not be reading the batteries correctly.

 

[tropper]

Screebl is a pretty neat app, by the way.

I looked it up. Does it really work?

 

[mlpjunior]

I looked it up. Does it really work?

Yeah, it works really well. Just make sure you use the settings to tailor it to your needs.

 

[Keri-b]

Thanks for your test! You definitely stopped me from paying $40 on Amazon for this. I wish you could get the extended at the stores or online. With employer discount, it is $37ish but no one has it or knows when they will get it in stock. Probably will go with New Trent IMP1000 for now since it would work with any phone (I change phones about every 10-11 months to try something new) and even for the iPad. Plus I won't have to fight to get the battery door off to switch out batteries so I can use my car mount.
BTW, I registered for this forum solely so I could see the results of your testing!

 

[mlpjunior]

Thanks for your test! You definitely stopped me from paying $40 on Amazon for this. I wish you could get the extended at the stores or online. With employer discount, it is $37ish but no one has it or knows when they will get it in stock. Probably will go with New Trent IMP1000 for now since it would work with any phone (I change phones about every 10-11 months to try something new) and even for the iPad. Plus I won't have to fight to get the battery door off to switch out batteries so I can use my car mount.
BTW, I registered for this forum solely so I could see the results of your testing!

Hey, glad I could help! And welcome to the AC Forums!

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Okay... After rooting and removing some things along with using a better rom and kernel my battery life has been okay... I'd say pretty decent for a 1400mah battery... I was happy with it, I could easily go 8-10 hours with moderate use. After reading all the negative reviews on the Seido 1600mah battery I decided I wanted to see for myself... sometimes you can't trust reviews or what other people think they know. I figured an extra 200mah of battery would give me an extra hour to an hour and a half of battery life... better then nothing. After using the 1600mah battery for two weeks now I can definitely see an increase in battery life. I'm at 13 hours right now when on a day like this I would normally see close to 10... so I'm averaging an extra 3 hours for today's use... not bad... every bit counts. Supposedly this battery only has a 6 month life span compared to HTC's 1 year but I'll have to wait and see when that time comes. As for now I'm glad I bought the 1600 battery. For $32 and an extra 3 hours a day, I'm more then happy. I'm averaging out the hours and the amount of phone use since each day will be different but from a person who uses their phone pretty consistently each day... I can definitely see an increase over the stock battery. I'm not promoting this battery in any way and saying you should go out and buy it since everyone has their own experiences... but from my stand point and what I observed.. this battery is better then stock... just my opinion.