I like the phone, but not yet a fan.

[Countbunny]

The GPS issue is a real bummer. I expected a lot shorter battery life than my previous phone a Blackberry 9700. I did not expect what I got which is not a full day or even close. I can barely squeak out a full work day of usage. I know,I know turn of this lower that, don't use this! So if I do not use the widgets, or tell the phone not to sync social networks,and not to retrieve mail in a timely manner. What the heck is the point of this phone?

When it has a full charge I really like the phone albeit behind the app curve. At least for the apps I'd like to use. In my opinion this phone shipped too soon. Funny it has so many great early reviews too. I think myself included a lot of folks want to like this phone. I am still in my return window so it may sadly go back. It has been 7 years with Tmobile and this year may be the last. So far this year alone I have had the BB 9700 (3) a Motorola Cliq XT (slow and laggy) the My Touch slide 3g (too bulky).

 

[Okkoto86]

Unfortunately this is just the nature of a 1ghz smartphone. You think the vibrant is bad, try an EVO, I have. You just have to get used to having a charger with you at home, in the car, and at work, just in case. Also, it takes about a week of charging for any phone battery to reach is full potential, so make sure you give it enough time.

 

[voghan]

Until phone manufacturers can get a battery larger that 1500mh into these phones you will see the same issues with battery life. My hero wasn't a 1ghz phone but had the same issues. It all comes down to usage. Pulling facebook and twitter updates every fifteen minutes will eat your phone.

 

[punchfacejay]

Maybe having froyo on the phone will help the battery situation.

 

[z0phi3l]

All I did to go from barely making it through a 10hr shift was remove the Feeds and Updates widget, all other apps do their normal update interval including Twitter client and Weather widget and I can make it through with ~40% battery, that includes email, texting, and web browsing

 

[voghan]

The whole battery complaint is bs anyways. If its an issue plug it in during the day.

 

[ImTheDuke]

Get a couple spare batteries with charger on ebay. It's so easy to change them soon battery power won't be as big an issue. I hardly use my phone charger any more. Just keep flipping the 3 batteries I have.

 

[Countbunny]

The whole battery complaint is bs anyways. If its an issue plug it in during the day.

Wow, you sure do have the answer. Why did I not think of that!


I am in the entertainment business genius, I am moving some days from studio to studio. Sound stages and locations. I need my phone with me not on the charge. I am not the kind of personality that praises something or becomes a fan just because I own it. I need things work as advertised or I move on simple. In my circles everybody I know is on an iphone or Blackberry. I thought I'd try an Android phone and I am on T-mobile. So far my experience has been a very mixed bag. The yahoo mail thing also sucks, the random crashing well...

 

[voghan]

Buy another battery. Get a car charger. Get an iphone and see if you get a better battery life. You probably have some app killing your battery. My best advice is to not sync your social networking accounts on your phone. Use the standard app for notifications. Check how often they sync. Pulling data every few minutes will eat your battery fast.

I run live wallpaper, a couple widgets and use the twitter and facebook. I get 15 hours on a charge. I use auto brightness and run gps and wifi all day. Carry two batteries and charge them at night. There is no magic fix complaining on a forum will uncover.

 

[caliskimmer]

Have you cycled the battery and bump-charged it a couple times. Reviews say battery life gets better after a few weeks. Also, bump-charging has helped people tremendously with phones like the Evo and I even think, the Captivate.

 

[Countbunny]

Buy another battery. Get a car charger. Get an iphone and see if you get a better battery life. You probably have some app killing your battery. My best advice is to not sync your social networking accounts on your phone. Use the standard app for notifications. Check how often they sync. Pulling data every few minutes will eat your battery fast.

I run live wallpaper, a couple widgets and use the twitter and facebook. I get 15 hours on a charge. I use auto brightness and run gps and wifi all day. Carry two batteries and charge them at night. There is no magic fix complaining on a forum will uncover.

Yes, I wanted to vent a little. However, Samsung Vibrant super fan! I did say I like the phone I am just not fan yet! Please maybe you are trying to help or perhaps you are being a jerk I cant really tell. I am not looking for a magic fix. I am looking to make sure I get my money's worth. I am very familiar how good or not good an Iphone 3,3G,3GS, and 4 battery life is. It is better than my phone for sure. My assistant yesterday has an iPhone 4 and his battery killed mine in performance yesterday. He his not adjusting and fiddling with settings all day to conserve battery power either.

If this phone is great for you awesome congratulations. It is not so great for me yet.

 

[reeneebob]

Yes, I wanted to vent a little. However, Samsung Vibrant super fan! I did say I like the phone I am just not fan yet! Please maybe you are trying to help or perhaps you are being a jerk I cant really tell. I am not looking for a magic fix. I am looking to make sure I get my money's worth. I am very familiar how good or not good an Iphone 3,3G,3GS, and 4 battery life is. It is better than my phone for sure. My assistant yesterday has an iPhone 4 and his battery killed mine in performance yesterday. He his not adjusting and fiddling with settings all day to conserve battery power either.

If this phone is great for you awesome congratulations. It is not so great for me yet.

I have experienced the total opposite.

I have weather widget, facebook widget, live wallpaper, gps, wifi running all day long. I send and receive about 200 - 300 texts a day. Have my gmail being pushed. Brightness is set to 35%. Play Asphalt 5 and a couple of puzzle games periodically for 10-15 minutes at a time. I took the phone off the charger at noon Friday and I finally had to put it back on today (Sunday) around 11am.

Not sure what you are doing on your phone, maybe it's searching for signal alot, I dunno what T-mobile is like and I'm on Bell in Canada, but it trounces the battery life I experienced with BB with the exception of the Curve.

And no. I'm not a superfan. Don't be so defensive.

 

[Smokexz]

Ever since I got my BlackBerry I have now been carrying a USB data cable with me just in case!

 

[voghan]

You might want to try the one click lag fix on the market. I've been running it for a while now. Some people are saying it helps battery performance.

 

[floretbroccoli]

Bump-charge?

 

[gdigenis]

the nexus one needs to be bump charged, that drove me crazy. the galaxy s does not.

blackberries have a tiny little screen that takes up very little power and iphones dont do real multitasking, so these things help with battery life. in saying that, there are things you can do to increase battery life. i have noticed that the bell version of the vibrant i have closes apps when i exit them by pressing the back key. if i am in an app and press the home key the app stays open in the background, so if you dont need to be using an app either press the back key or place a shortcup to the built-in task manager on your homescreen and use it to kill apps not needed. widgets that pull info will use battery because they initiate and maintain a data connection. as mentioned in this thread already, try to have your social networking sites send you emails instead of using widgets, or use the widgets to check every hour or so. turn off bluetooth if not being used. apps like the music player use a lot of battery for some reason, so if you are not listening to music use the task manager to kill the music player. two huge battery killers are massive bright screens and being in areas with weak cell signal. dont max out the screen brightness, use auto brightness or keep it as low as is comfortable and if you are in an area with weak rf i would leave wifi on if it is available as it seems to use a little less power vs 3g. and if you are driving between different locations get a car charger so you can top up while driving or carry a usb cable if you are in an office so you can charge while at a desk or in a meeting.

as also said in this thread, the battery will get better after a week or so of use.