Battery Life of Blackberry 8800

Been quite good by business equipment standards...

I went a full day, 530am till 930pm on one charge before it got to 5% and told me it didn't have enough power to turn on the radio. That's nearly 16 hours of use, more than adequate for a full business day.

Why is that more than acceptable? Testing methodology included enabling BB push email, Gmail prefetch, Hosted Gmail prefetch, calendar sync, GoogleTalk, AIM, and BlackBerry messenger all running. The GPS was used for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour during this time, and much time was spent on GoogleTalk chatting. All of these involved backlights being active.

A bonus is that within 30 minutes of charging in the car, I was able to get it back up to nearly 35% power, all the while using the integrated GPS with the screen on.

I continue to find the keyboard less than preciese. The BlackBerry 7290 and Cingular 8525 continue to have better keyboards for precision and speed. The BB 8700 isn't bad. But these keys are cramped with not much space between with a weird hump, not quite domed keytop.

BlackBerry 8800 ringer sucks and BlackBerry Maps loaded!

Ringer: Sorry, had to add this to the top... Terrible just like the Pearl 8100 in that if you have RING AND VIBRATE, phone will not ring for the first 2 or 3 vibes so calls go to voicemail and I miss them. Better if it would immediately simultaneously ring and vibrate when a call is received. For now, I've turned off the vibrate feature.

BlackBerry Maps: Got this to installed. Needed to install the SP1 desktop and load the hacked LBS.ALX file so that I could install this with the app installer. Works fine with internal GPS.

BlackBerry 8800 toughts

Some overview notes. Indepth notes later as I haven't gone through several business days yet for battery life. More observations to come.

1. Battery Life: NOT BAD! Testing done with BlackBerry push email, Gmail with Prefetch enabled, Corporate Gmail with Prefetch enabled, Calendar Sync on every 2 hours, Gtalk running, AIM client running, Bluetooth Enabled, BlackBerry Messenger running. With about 60 minutes time running the internal GPS unit, maybe 15 minutes talking (combination handset, bluetooth, and speakerphone), and 30 minutes on an IM client, 20 minutes tethered to a MacBook. Total battery life was approximately 12 hours. Off charger at noon until midnight, power level was down to approximately 5-10% percent remaining (as per status). Day 2 with no tethering, maybe 15 minutes talk time and all applications running after 13 hours, still had 20-25% remaining (keep in mind email volumes were low during both these days as were IM talk requests). It appears the battery icon turns red at 25%.

2. Keyboard: Only okay. Somewhat disappointed. Much easier to type accurately with 7290 as keys have more space between. I seem to hit the keys more accurately on the 8100 even. Talk/End keys are somewhat flat and difficult to press. ALSO, works again (control alt delete) by pressing ALT, right CAPS, and DEL key simultaneously. Backlighting is difficult to see occasionally on keyboard.

3. Charging: GOOD. charges with Motorola, HTC, and BB chargers. Like the 8100 Pearl, gets to 80% charge very quickly, less than an hour from 10%.

4. Speakerphone: Not bad. The integrated speakerphone has surprisingly good quality. Volume louder than most and very acceptable though gets distorted when loud. If you have it on a table in front of you with the device at arms length (18 inches or so from head), far end cannot really tell it's a speakerphone call. Have not been able to tell if it is full or half duplex.

5. VoiceSignal: GOOD. Voice command works well. Needs no training and very convienent to use. Works with Plantronics 640 Discovery headset just fine even with remote voice activated dialing from headset.

6. Keylock: GOOD. Activated by holding down 'mute' key on top of device. More refined than 8100, though they switched the side of the button from the left top to the right top. You don't have to hold it down as long to initiate device sleep and tactile feedback is MUCH improved.

7. Radio: Seems to have a good strong radio. Reception seems to be EDGE almost everywhere and seems to have 'more bars of service' than most devices. However, 'bars of service' are an unreliable source of info. Sitting on my couch, device gets -86dbm.

BlackBerry 8800

Initial usage... size is larger than I'd thought. Thickness seems the same as a Pearl 8100. Keyboard is a big cramped and the keys aren't domed but slanted making it difficult to press the correct key sometimes. This could just take some getting used to.

No Camera
No WiFi
BlackBerry Navigator or Maps not included on Cingular version

The maps/navigator isn't included and when you try to download from the blackberry website, states that you need version 4.1+ for the application to work. I've read some stuff on line that if you install BB Desktop 4.2.x SP1, then it will have the app and you can install. There is definitely a GPS chipset inside as pressing refresh in the settings shows your coordinates.

Will report back in battery life.

The 8800 also knows when it is in the holster and will power off the screen and turn on the screen when removed from holster.

Comparison of Motorola Krzr K1 and K1m (CDMA vs GPRS GSM)

I will try to post pictures later, but both devices appear similar on the front. The K1m (CDMA) has 3 touch sensitive buttons on the face to play music and change tracks, while the K1 (GSM) model has an green LED/oLED indicator for charging that turns off as well as a bluetooth indicator (need to confirm). I find the indicators on the K1 version more useful telling me when the unit is fully charged. Both units use different batteries.

The K1 has a 2mp camera, while the K1M has a 1.3mp. Sound quality is quite good on either, with nice full range sound without the harshness that hurts your ear often experienced with iPaq or HTC devices.

Battery life on the K1m has been good. It will easily last me a day no problem from 9am to 1am. I normally have 1 bar left. I talk a lot of off peak during commutes and driving, and can clear over 3000+ minutes a month.

While in Tahoe, I had the extended battery in the K1m. This extended battery comes with a battery cover that makes it quite thick. After some investigation, it appears that the Moto Q and the K1M use the same extended battery. I swapped the batteries between the two with no problem, and they are indeed the same identical unit.

Comparison of Motorola Krzr K1 and K1m (CDMA vs GPRS GSM)

I will try to post pictures later, but both devices appear similar on the front. The K1m (CDMA) has 3 touch sensitive buttons on the face to play music and change tracks, while the K1 (GSM) model has an green LED/oLED indicator for charging that turns off as well as a bluetooth indicator (need to confirm). I find the indicators on the K1 version more useful telling me when the unit is fully charged. Both units use different batteries.

The K1 has a 2mp camera, while the K1M has a 1.3mp. Sound quality is quite good on either, with nice full range sound without the harshness that hurts your ear often experienced with iPaq or HTC devices.

Battery life on the K1m has been good. It will easily last me a day no problem from 9am to 1am. I normally have 1 bar left. I talk a lot of off peak during commutes and driving, and can clear over 3000+ minutes a month.

While in Tahoe, I had the extended battery in the K1m. This extended battery comes with a battery cover that makes it quite thick. After some investigation, it appears that the Moto Q and the K1M use the same extended battery. I swapped the batteries between the two with no problem, and they are indeed the same identical unit.

Wireless Coverage Tahoe Truckee and Olympic Village

Wireless coverage in this mountainous area is challenging. It appears that the coverage with Sprint PCS is best, then Tmobile, followed by Cingular and then Verizon. In Olympic Valley or Squaw Valley, Sprint PCS was best with both Nextel and TMobile being strong once you get in the valley. TMobile and Cingular drop as you're coming up hwy 89 and then the first 1/2 miles or so into the valley.

Sprint PCS and Nextel also happen to be widely used by the local venues as their carriers if that means anything.

Northstar personell also use SprintPCS which appears to function well.

There is a TMobile site within the Squaw Village and a Skytel radio inside the Resort @ Squaw Creek.

No 3g or fast internet mobile services are available. SprintPCS connects on 1xRT, Verizon when you can get coverage is on 1xRT, and Cingular and TMobile switch between EDGE and GPRS.

In Reno Nevada not too far away, Sprint does offer PowerVision EvDO 3g service. I could not get 3g HSDPA/UMTS Cingular service nor could I get Verizon EvDO service in the Reno Sparks area.