Pat Moorhead » iPhone

Kudos to iPhone 3GS on Battery Life Disclosure

Patrick Moorhead — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:02:29 +0000

The new iPhone 3GS is capturing the attention of press, bloggers, and most importantly, consumers. While I get my work jollies from my BlackBerry Bold and portable PMP fun from my iPod Touch, I also must give the iPhone 3GS credit in one dimension that’s not getting a lot of attention: consumer battery life information. I have thought for a while that cellphones and smartphones are marketed with better battery life information than notebook computers, despite the price premium notebooks command, and the iPhone 3GS demonstrates this once again.

Main iPhone Information Page

When consumers navigate to the main iPhone page, about ¾ of the page down you see a link that says, “iPhone 3GS or Iphone 3G: Compare”.

Compare iPhones Page

Click this and you go to a comparison page of the iPhone 3G versus iPhone 3GS. About ¾ down the page, you see a battery life comparison:

	iPhone 3GS	iPhone 3G
Talk time:	Up to 5 hours on 3G;	Up to 5 hours on 3G;
	up to 12 hours on 2G	up to 10 hours on 2G
Standby time:	Up to 300 hours	Up to 300 hours
Internet use:	Up to 5 hours on 3G;	Up to 5 hours on 3G;
	up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi	up to 6 hours on Wi-Fi
Audio playback:	Up to 30 hours	Up to 24 hours
Video playback:	Up to 10 hours	Up to 7 hours

These seems like intuitive figures to provide a consumer, yet Apple is already operating in rarefied air in providing this much consumer information. But wait, what about the details on what was tested, you ask? Apple iPhone delivers, again. When you click on the disclaimer (3) you are brought down to a line that says, “3) All battery claims depend on network configuration and many other factors; actual results will vary. For more details of iPhone performance tests for talk time, standby time, Internet use over 3G, Internet use over Wi-Fi, video playback, and audio playback, see www.apple.com/iphone/battery.html.”

Full Battery Life Performance Testing Disclosure Page

Click on the link in the disclaimer above and you are brought to a page that contains more battery life procedure testing than I have ever seen before. These 1,173 words of technical bliss scream detail. Sure, someone could chose to pick at the way the testing was done, but you cannot complain about the detailed disclosure. The page meticulously goes through the tests performed, the hardware used, and how it was done.

Who Cares?

We have made it very public and clear that AMD is striving to guide the PC industry to deliver better notebook PC battery life information for consumers. Nigel and I have articulated the challenges and provided suggestions to this. We expect some in the industry to adopt these, but some will sit on the sidelines. To those who choose to sit I ask, how do you feel about better battery life information being disclosed on a $99 iPhone than a $799 notebook PC? Industry, we can do better than the cell phone industry.

Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.

How Valuable Are Smartphone Battery Life Figures?

Patrick Moorhead — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:26:00 +0000

(As seen on Notebooks.com and Digital Nomads)

I do a lot of hands-on research on smartphones. I do this for two reasons. First, I believe they are fast becoming one of the prevalent cloud clients, and second, they are fast becoming a popular device to consume video. AMD obviously is involved in building the cloud with the AMD Opteron^TM Processors but also conversion to make a video smartphone-friendly can take a tremendous amount of compute power, and ATI Radeon^TM HD 4800 series graphics and AMD Phenom ^TM II X4 processors do those conversions quite well.

One smartphone element that needs some more discussion is the value of battery life figures that one finds at the point of purchase or research. Whether it’s the iPhone, Blackberry Bold, Blackberry Storm, or Nokia N96, there initially appears to be variability between claims, tests, and personal usage. Let’s take a look at each phone and see if that’s the case.

iPhone

Apple’s web site lists the following for the 3G iPhone:

Talk time: up to 5 hours on 3G, 10 hours on 2G
Standby time: up to 300 hours
Internet use: up to 5 hours on 3G, 6 hours on WiFi
Video playback: Up to 7 hours
Audio playback: Up to 24 hours

The birdseed print states that the testing was done with pre-production handsets back in June, 2008. I also found the methodology interesting in that different features were sometimes toggled on/off during the tests: WiFi association, WiFi “ask to join networks”, call forwarding, and auto-brightness.

Anandtech did their own testing and reported the following battery life for the 3G iPhone:

Talk time: 4 hours 44 mins (284 mins) on 3G; 6 hours 4 mins (364 mins) on EDGE
Web browsing: 3 hours 17 mins (197 minutes) on 3G; 6 hours, 40 mins (400 minutes) on WiFi; 4 hours and 3 mins (243 minutes) on EDGE

Anandtech’s number confirmed and disputed some of the numbers listed by Apple, but then again they may not have tested exactly the same way. I am impressed by Apple’s depth and transparency of information as you will soon see why…

Blackberry Bold

RIM’s web site lists the following for the Bold:

Talk time: 4 hours, 30 mins
Standby time: 324 hours (13.5 days)

I found it interesting that there were no disclaimers evident anywhere on the web site and there were no battery life scores for internet, video or audio.

I looked long and hard and found some testing reviews by Boy Genius and Asian One that listed what I would describe as good “compilation battery remarks”, but couldn’t find as detailed a review as Anandtech had for the iPhone.

BoyGenius commented that their testing had included:

300-500 emails a day,
one hour of web surfing over 3G,
Wi-Fi usually turned on, Bluetooth turned off,
JiveTalk connected, and around one hour of phone calling (although they admitted that they didn’t normally use the BlackBerry as a phone), and that their test phone’s battery lasted from 9AM until 4:30AM (or 7 ½ hours).

The talk time figure is around what I get, but I would like to see more granularity by usage model with more details around specific usages around internet use and video playback.

Blackberry Storm

RIM’s web site lists the following for the Storm:

Talk time: 6 hours
Standby time: 356 hours (15 days)

As with the Bold, I also found it interesting on the Storm that there were no disclaimers evident anywhere and again there were no battery life scores for internet, video or audio.

CNet reported the following test results for the Storm:

Talk time: 7 hours
Music: 14 hours, 45 mins

As with the Bold, the Storm’s talk time figure is around what I get, but I would like to see more granularity by usage model with more details around specific usages around internet use and video playback.

Nokia N96

Nokia’s web site lists the following for the Nokia N96:

Talk time: up to 150 / 220 minutes (WCDMA / GSM)
Stand-by time: up to 8 / 9 days (WCDMA / GSM)
Video playback: up to 5 hours (offline mode)
Music playback: up to 14 hours (offline mode)

There is an asterisk that disclaims that “Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology, used operator network configuration and usage.”

All About Symbian reported the following activities they could complete in 16.5 hours on the N96 on one charge:

YouTube Videos: approx 1 Hour playing using the S60 browser through 3.5G
General Web Surfing: approx 1 Hour using both WiFi and 3.5G
Mucking about with settings and navigating menus, etc.: approx 1 hour
Setup Profimail and synced my IMAP account, 3,200 Emails, approx 400MB using WiFi, 3.5G and GPRS
Downloaded the AAS Podcast, approx 20MB directly on the N96, and played the file using a stereo Bluetooth headset

End users may even find this test methodology the most valuable in that it shows a “day in a life” given a particular charge. This data is impossible to compare against Nokia’s corporate website, but it was nice that Nokia would, like Apple, provide video and music playback numbers. I would like to see Nokia commit to an internet battery life figure.

Conclusions

So what can we take away from this mash-up of smartphone battery life figures? First, there are some significant variances from vendor to vendor in the terminology and the information depth and transparency provided. Secondly, when a third-party review was conducted, it could sometimes be compared to the manufacturer’s specs, sometimes not. In some cases, the third-party review supported the claim, sometimes not. But that could be attributed to a difference in methodology. Net-net, not a whole lot of consistency exists with audio, video and internet battery life scoring.

My single biggest positive takeaway was the consistency with almost everyone on the usage and application of “talk time” and “standby time.” While not as cool as “internet battery” life, if you believe that talking is the primary use for your smartphone, this is good for the consumer.

What do you think about smartphone battery life marks? How is their accuracy and value?

Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.

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One Week with the New BlackBerry Storm

Patrick Moorhead — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:03:00 +0000

New and exciting smartphones are coming out every few months from the major players and November was no different. Smartphones include products like the 3G iPhone, the BlackBerry Bold, and the G1 Android, which I blogged about last month. These little guys do a lot more than make phone calls as they are slowly becoming mainstream portable devices to access cloud services as well as light computing and entertainment. The latest smartphone to launch is the BlackBerry Storm through Verizon, and I wanted to share with you my first impressions during a weeklong trip to see my parents in Florida.

I have been using BlackBerries for years and currently carry the Bold, so I knew that the combination of touch-screen with haptic feedback would be an interesting adventure…. and it certainly was. My point of comparison for this analysis is the BlackBerry Bold, the G1 Android, and my wife’s iPhone. (R to L: Bold, G1, Storm, and iPhone with cover)

The Plusses

Digital camera: I took very high quality pictures at 3.2MP with 2048×1536 max resolution. The built-in flash is bright, unlike those “toy” flashes you get with other phones. One other cool feature is that the photos get “geo-tagged” meaning the GPS coordinates are captured, allowing users to sort and file pictures by location in a program like Picasa. I would like to see photo capture time sped up as some pictures took 3 seconds from “click to save”.

Screen: This display is gorgeous at 480×360 pixels and is haptic-touch capable. This means you touch the screen and it “clicks.” The Storm also features auto-orientation, meaning that whichever way you hold it, you get the screen in a viewable orientation. I found my accuracy rate improved versus the iPhone on clicking icons and sending short messages. Videos, pictures, MS-Office files, and web sites looked great also.

Music player: I easily synched my iTunes playlists with the Storm and all my non-DRM’d songs played. The album art also transferred which was a nice “extra” I didn’t expect. The speaker volume was unexpectedly loud and could save consumers from paying extra for external speakers and is certainly convenient.

Web surfing column/page orientation: All smartphones should have the capability like the Storm to press one button to convert multi-column web sites into one column. NYTimes.com has 5 columns and to navigate on an iPhone, you have to multitouch all over the place. It’s cool, but I am not accurate with it on the web. With the Storm, you press one button (or automatic if bookmarked) you instantly get to the content in readable size and format. (Left is Page Mode, Right is Column Mode)

Upgradeable storage and replaceable battery: While something you would expect in modern electronic devices, iPhone doesn’t have it, Storm does. Theoretically, you could have unlimited storage by interchanging multiple 16GB microSD cards to store movies, videos, music and of course, documents. You don’t need to remove the battery like previous BlackBerry designs to get access to the memory, but unlike the Bold, you must remove the back cover. Don’t worry about running out of juice after getting off a 21 hour overseas flight. Charge up two or three of them and throw them in your bag.

Messaging and advanced notifications: It’s a BlackBerry so it’s arguably the best, ‘nuff said. Long message, short message, medium message, push, pull, whatever. You want a bird sound to chirp only after 6AM only when it’s in the holster and buzz once, you got it.

MS Office Doc Support: Built-in and free, you can download, save, view, and even edit the latest PowerPoint, Word, and Excel files. Excel wasn’t that useful given column width issues, but Word and especially Powerpoint was impressive.

Audio navigation: The Bold comes standard with the VZ Navigator, an application that will provide audio and video turn-by-turn instructions just like an auto navigation system. It also provides a 3D video interface that of course you aren’t supposed to look at while you are driving.

Video playback: RIM says that the Storm plays back the following formats: MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264, and WMV. That’s very broad, given the iPhone plays ONE format. I successfully played back video files for my Ipod (Gen 5), Nano, Flip video camera, and even low res XVID formats. Storm ships with video conversion software called Media Manager from Roxio. You can convert batch loads of video and takes advantage of four processor cores. I used an AMD Phenom TM X4 9950 quad core processor overclocked to 3.2Ghz (using AMD Fusion for Gaming utility) and was appreciating all four of those wonderful cores.¹

Solid: Unlike the G1 or Bold, the Storm is built like a tank. It just feels solid. Maybe it’s the weight, maybe it’s the brushed-aluminum backplate, I don’t know, but it could come in handy in times of self-defense. :>

The Minuses

No Wi-Fi: That’s not a typo. G1 has it, Bold has it, iPhone has it, heck my Archos has it, Storm does not. This was excruciating for me this week while I stayed in a house with no Verizon data support. I wanted to surf the web and I couldn’t.

Random lockups: A few times while using the video camera and also while task switching, the unit locked up. I lost two Thanksgiving videos, which was real, real bad. Knowing how rock-solid BlackBerries are, I would bet money this will get fixed and soon.

Random sluggishness: Every so often, the touch user interface would come to a crawl. Sometimes the auto-orientation was snappy, other times it was slow. Same thing occurred while navigating around web pages.

Slow web Java-script: Web surfing was fast on most sites until I hit java-lscript-aden sites, then the browser appeared to slow down. The default browser setting is “off” and if a site really needs Java-script to accomplish a major task, it asks you. My point of reference here is the iPhone and the Touch which has fast browsing with or without Java-script turned on.

Lack of applications: With the mountain of applications for Andoid and iPhone already available, even if you only like 5% of them, Storm is still way behind. If the application strategy is to hit the top applications, Storm needs a full-featured FaceBook and Twitter app. If RIM wants to attack the consumer market, seems like a few showcase apps would be in order as well. Remember the first time you saw Shazam, Pandora, Imeem, ShopSavvy, or G1’s full-screen Street View?

Too Early To Tell

Long e-mails: I can type full page emails with ease on the Bold and previously the Pearl, but I just don’t know yet on the Storm. I am slower on the Storm, but then again I needed training on the Pearl before could write long-winded corporate dissertations.

Battery life: I will leave this to the expert reviewers, but my “feeling” is that it’s around the same as the iPhone and longer than the Android while performing similar tasks. Anything that touches GPS was a MAJOR battery draw, so watch how you use it. One strange thing I encountered was the slow charge time while the phone was in operation. I needed to turn off the phone occasionally to charge.

Verizon Network: They were first in the U.S. with 3G EVDO service and I can actually get 2 bars at my house unlike AT&T or T-Mobile, but then again, their devices more than make up for that with Wi-Fi support. I read that AT&T’s service is faster, but I will leave that analysis up to the pro’s.

Summary

Net-net, I liked the Storm and am fairly confident (HOPING) that RIM will quickly address the initial issues with the platform. With one OTA update I experienced the G1 improve speed and stability a few weeks after launch, so I am optimistic. The iPhone also rolled out many improvements since launch. For those looking for large touch-screen, superior business-class messaging, consumer multimedia features, and stylish access the cloud, the Storm is worth a look. Also, if you are serious about watching your family videos on the Storm, I recommend getting a system powered by an AMD Phenom™ X4 processor to do the video conversion.

¹ AMD’s PRODUCT WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY OVERCLOCKING, EVEN WHEN OVERCLOCKING IS ENABLED VUA AMD SOFTWARE. THE AMD FUSION FOR GAMING UTILITY MAY DISABLE SECURITY / ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE, OR ADVERSELY AFFECT YOUR SYSTEM. REVIEW ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING.

Early Impressions of the T-Mobile G1 Android

Patrick Moorhead — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:12:00 +0000

It was Day 1 yesterday for the T-Mobile G1 Android phone and I wanted to share my early impressions of the device. 24 hours is NOT enough time to complete a full evaluation, as mobile devices like this are very personal and take months to fully explore and judge. But I think within 24 hours it is safe to say that you can do about 75% of an evaluation on its capabilities on that single day. My basis for comparison is the two phones I have used the most: the iPhone and the BlackBerry Pearl. While these phones aren’t exactly positioned the same, it is what I have used and you may have also.

G1 Android Plusses

Size: I carry a BlackBerry Pearl for business and while the Android G1 larger; it is still in that size range to be carried comfortably in a pocket or even a front shirt pocket. (From R to L, BlackBerry Pearl, Android G1, iPod touch)

Trackball: This rocks…completely. With one thumb, I could basically control every application. Using the trackball with Google StreetView was absolutely amazing.

Back button: To the right of the trackball, it enhances one thumb control. Other popular phones require two hands to do most anything.
QWERTY keyboard: Just slide the display out and you get a complete QWERTY keyboard, just like your computer except you use your two thumbs to type. I have above-average sized fingers and it worked well. I would have preferred higher-rise keys, but they work OK.

High-quality, touch-screen: If this is what you get into, you have it. It lacks auto-orientation like the iPhone/Touch, but pull out the keyboard and the orientation chances.

Vision of an open software ecosystem: While not very many apps existed on Day 1 in the Android Market, I think there will be based on the Android Open Source Project , and they will be very cool and useful. I was very impressed that I could directly download and install an application (Twitroid, Twitter for Android), something I cannot do on my iPhone/Touch.
3MP camera: The photos I took looked good and comparable to many digital cameras I have owned in the past. More mega-pixels, better headroom if you need to crop, cut or blow up.
GPS with Street View and Compass View: Unbelievable. Physically walk around and the G1 will show you what you will be seeing, in panoramic view. You turn around and its view turns around.
Replaceable battery: I get a little grumpy stuck at the Moscow airport at 2AM with no juice. ‘Nuff said.

G1 Android Minuses

No video player: Many $49 phones (with plan like my daughter’s) offer MP4 or AVI video. I don’t get it with a device priced from $179-$399. The manual talks about storing “video clips” on the microSD memory card, so I am expecting this in the future.
T-Mobile Austin 3G network: Seemed spotty, even near downtown. Could barely get EDGE in my house located in a highly populated neighborhood.
Wi-Fi range and speed: Compared to the iPhone/Touch, it seemed much, much slower and with lower range, but I didn’t do any scientific tests.
8GB memory limitation: Will be hard to keep multitudes of applications, pictures, music, and (hopefully) video on 8GB. Subsets of subsets of your media collection are a bummer.
14-day evaluation period: iPhone offers 30 days through AT&T. A new phone, particularly a new concept phone, should have at least as many days as the de-facto “cool” phone.

Too Early to Determine

Battery life: Much shorter than my BlackBerry Pearl, but then again it does a lot more.
Open software implications: A few of the applications I downloaded gave me some errors, but I expected it because I experienced the same with the first iPhone and also because the platform is more “open” than the alternatives.
Exchange Support: iPhone didn’t have it at launch and neither does Android G1. Can’t imagine that staying the same if Android G1 wants to ever get into medium and large businesses.

I like the Android G1 after 24 hours but as I said, the true test comes after weeks of real use. The exciting part is that I think like a fine wine, it will get better with time as the reported hoard of open source software shows up and the basics like Wi-Fi are improved, just as they were with the iPhone. Then I could love it. If you have tried out one of the Android G1s, I would love to hear from you and your experiences.