Light Versus Moderate Versus Heavy Use

When I read reviews, good and bad ones, of mobile devices, one think I like to concentrate on is the battery life.  And with battery lives, it's very subjective.   There is no universal standard for this.  It is probably easier to do this on the iPhone and other iOS devices but not so with other mobile platforms that have more than one handset.  I'm talking about Android, Windows Phone, and whatever other platforms that are still left competing in the mobile market.

So, I find it a bit irritating when reviewers talk about their moderate or heavy use.  I know that I've discussed this in passing on other posts regarding batteries and battery technologies, however, I feel these reviews are a disservice to the end-users of there is no concrete description by the reviews on what these subjective definitions of battery uses are.

What has started me on this has been the reviews for Galaxy Prime and, before this, the battery issues that some iPhone 4S users have reported.  So, I'm gonna lay down some ground work on what light, moderate, and heavy mobile uses are and you let me know what you think.

Light.  That mean you hardly use your device at all.  You take a couple of calls at a minute or two and, perhaps, you check your voicemail.  Then you get a couple of texts or e-mails and you answer them throughout the day. You'll also check the weather and stock prices through the day.  Maybe dabble with Google+ instead of stocks.  Also, you scan your Google Reader on the latest mobile news.  That's your day.  And on days you do go out, you check-in on Foursquare.  That's light.  Maybe there is some gaming going on but no more than five to ten minutes.  You also use your device to listen to about two hours of music.  Catch up New Girl on Hulu Plus.

With this kind of use, you'll have no problem knowing your iPhone or Galaxy S II will take you through the day with plenty of juice left on that battery indicator.

Moderate.  You do all of the above in light except do you it more often  A lot more often. You take pics and maybe two minutes or so of video.  You also school Alec Baldiwn in Words with Friends and about thirty minutes of gaming.  You also chat for about a thirty minutes by voice.  And you also IM a bit or send message on Groupme or Whatsapp here and there.  Maybe a friend will e-mail you a Youtube video and you watch it or you watch a drama episode on Netflix.  Or instead of watching a video, you FaceTime or video Skype about 10 minutes.  Of if you're like me, you also take your mobile device with you on a run as you play some music or podcast with you as you use the GPS to track you.

By the end of the work day, you should could end up with anywhere from 25-30% left on your device.

Heavy.  You're a moderate user except you do a lot of gaming and watch a bunch of video.  You somehow found time to watch a two hour movie on Netflix while still managed to get in an hour of gaming.  You still chat for about 30 minutes (who talks for more than that anymore on the phone?) and you also do a lot of writing and some productive work on your device.  You also use a lot of social apps updating your peeps on what you're up to or thinking.  

By end of lunch, you're probably down to about 40% or less and you're getting nervous if that'll last you through an hour's run with GPS on and music playing.  

I would say I'm a light user on most weekdays and a moderate user on weekends.  Note that I've not mentioned if the uses above is on a 3G or Wi-Fi network.  I'm assuming about 50-50 on this.  And you can forget about LTE – you'll need to take whatever numbers above and reduce your battery usability by 2-3 times because from my weekend of researching about battery life on the Galaxy Nexus and other LTE devices, that is just how bad they are right now.

So, I've laid some groundwork on what each category of mobile activity to measure the battery life.  Right now, there seems to be some consensus that the iPhone's battery life lasts longer than Android.  Maybe.  To me, it might be just a tad better compared to some of the high-end 3G Android phones.  And we can forget about comparing the 3G Androids and iPhones to the LTE devices when it comes to battery life.  There is just no comparison.

If anything, these reviews on mobile devices need to be more clear about what their uses are when they are trying to convey to us what their subjective views are on the battery life.

Sometimes Apple/Jobs Just Goof'd

When the iMac first came out, it had a tray CD-ROM.  Then the moved onto a slot based while its competitors continue to use tray CD-ROM but they can burn CDs which the iMac could not.

At the time, I remember thinking it was just another move by Apple to offer incremental upgrades.  It turned out, as you will read in the book, that was not the case.

Sometimes, Apple, as forward looking as they are, can still screw up.

Back to today and the iPhone. Not having 4" screens.  No NFC chip.  Keeping Siri only on the iPhone 4S.  I don't know.  Maybe it could be a calculated move.  However, I am not discounting the possibility that Steve Jobs just does not see the 4" screen as right for the iPhone just as he doesn't see a 7" iPad as something viable.

Expecting NFC?  Well, Apple has a few patents but we may still not see it.  I go to Starbucks a lot and I'm able to make payments with my iPhone.  No need for an NFC app.

So, what are reasons for some omissions of features for the iOS devices?  Who really knows.  Maybe there will be another book about Steve that explains all this or we'll have to wait for one about Tim Cook or Jony Ives.  I do know this.  Apple is very much fallible.  The only thing is that they are heck of a lot more often right than not.

And this is imperfection, a human characteristic, is what makes Apple as a company and story so compelling.

Subscription Comes To iOS Gaming; Totally Expect Other Computing/Mobile Platforms To Follow Suit

This is one of those things that came out of the left field.  Far, far left field.  Apple is allowing a gaming developer that many Mac gamers should be familiar with, Big Fish Games, to utilize the subscription model that Apple developed for magazines and periodicals and let users subscribe to play games on a monthly basis.

Terrific deal?  You'll have to be the judge of that.  However, it is just another mobile innovation that we like to see.  Don't be surprised if this feature is adopted for other uses as well and not just gaming.

I reckon it's possible for studios to release sets of video in a similar fashion.  Take SyFy.  They can release an app just for science fiction fans to indulge themselves with content from the network and other materials.

After all, multimedia does mean multimedia.  And for any developer or studio out there looking for additional revenues, well, this could be it.  Google, Microsoft, or even Facebook could be doing something similar.

And it doesn't have to be just for handsets like the iPhone.  This subscription model for gaming can be extended to tablets (iPad) and onto the PC as well.  Facebook could be a great platform for just such a service to be launched.  Movies, TV shows, games, ebooks, etc. are just the beginning.

It is something for you?  Personally, I tend to buy games and only games that I like with replay value.  However, to entice users to sign up, BFG can offer added value for some games like new levels.  Angry Bird would be a perfect game just for something like this.

Source:  Bloomberg via Cult of Mac

Friday Movie Clip: Mission Impossible 4 (Spoiler Alert: The iPhone Is In the Movie!)

No longer a Tom Cruise fan?  I don't know one way or another.  I just like a good movie with actions, explosions, and any attempt to develop a story.

MI4 seems to have all of them.  Oh, yeah, the iPhone also has a small part in the trailer.

What do you think?  In the poster, TC actually looked like Lestat again with the longish hair.

Source:  Digg.

Battery Tip: Turn On Airplane Mode And Use only WiFi

I’m an a Battery life on the 4S is on par with the iPhone 4 as far as usage goes.  But because the iPhone 4S is just begging to be used in ways that the 4 isn't, dictation, Siri, Notification Center, etc, the battery life can seem to be shorter as a result.

So, I've been going a little more extreme with respect to trying to be more conservative and squeeze every last second of power I can get out of the 4S.  

I’m an a WiFi environment most of the time – home, office, Starbucks.  So, I have the luxury to do what I am going to suggest to help you extend the battery life on the iPhone:

Turn on Airplane mode and then turn on WiFi if needed.  I’ve also turned off location and alerts when I’m at work.  I still let e-mails and messaging go through.

There it’s that simple.  And using Siri and dictation will eat up battery but since I got the 4S, I’ve been Siri daily and dictating my notes, messages, and e-mails.  If you don’t, you’ll also see better battery life as well.

I know some people go as far as to turn off WiFi.  I’m not that far gone.  I suppose that if you're just reading, like I've been doing a lot late on the iPhone, WiFi isn't going to be needed just to do that.

4S Battery issues?  And at the time of this writing, I understand that Apple is seeking out users who have experience battery issues with their 4S.  Personally, I haven’t see the level of battery drain that some others have. (The Guardian)

iPhone Launches In Massive Second Wave

Apple is set to unleash the iPhone 4S another wave of countries even as some iPhone shortages persist.  22 countries and city-states in all.

	Pop (M)
Austria	8.40
Belgium	10.80
CzechRepublic	10.50
Denmark	5.60
Estonia	1.30
Finland	5.40
Hungary	10.00
Ireland	6.20
Italy	60.70
Latvia	2.20
Liechtenstein
Lithuania	3.20
Luxembourg	0.50
Mexico	112.20
Netherlands	16.70
Norway	5.00
Singapore	5.20
Slovakia	5.40
Slovenia	2.00
Spain	46.00
Sweden	9.40
Switzerland	7.90
	334.60

I've left Leichtenstein blank because they've got on 36K people in the whole country.  That's smaller than the city I live in.

As you can see, this is a massive 334 million people who will be eligible for the iPhone this weekend.  I don't anticipate another 4 million moved in these countries alone like Apple was able to do in its first weekend of the iPhone 4S sale.

Still, combined with all the other territories that already have the iPhone on sale, we could potentially see that figure repeated yet again.  In two weeks since it's gone on sale, I wonder if Apple will have sold 10 million by the end of Sunday.

Well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves.  As popular as iPhone 4S is, one key drive for its sale is still not ready in many of these countries:  Siri. So far, Siri is only available in English, German, and French with limited use outside of the US for now, even Canada.

Source:  Apple.

Siri: Week Two, Any Change In Your Mobile Routine?

It's been two weeks since the iPhone 4S went on sale.  By now, I'm guess about 6 to 8 million iPhone 4S's have been moved off the shelves and into user hands all over the world.  I reckon we'll see 10 million by the weekend as the 4S goes on sale in more than half a dozen countries.

So, I think I'm in good company when I ask you.  Has Siri changed how you do things with your mobile device?  Now, if you're new to the whole smartphone scene and the 4S is your first mobile device, I can safely say that you're blown away.

For the rest of us, Siri could be the reason why we upgraded.  And I can tell you this.  I'm blown away just by what it can do as well and it's only in beta.

What can it do?  Well, it cuts down on a whole lot of tapping away on the screen.  You speak to Siri, make a request. Task done.  Making calls, sending messages or e-mails, or schedule an alarm or appt.  But that's the easy part, isn't it.

It's the search for answers.  And if your questions are directed, you can get most answers from Siri directly.  No more opening the browser and typing in your search.  No more opening up Google app or going to search. It really bypasses the whole routine.

Maybe this is why I've been reading more than a few posts about the threat that Siri is to Google and search as we know it in general.  Imagine what happens in a few years.  Never mind that.  Just think what'll happen once Apple brings Siri to OS X on the Mac! This alone could change the whole PC dynamics even further.

As you can from above, there is still a few things that Siri cannot do by command.  I don't know if this is a beta thing or not.  I am pretty certain that most tasks like this will come to us soon.

You'll be be getting a couple more posts on what I think Siri can potentially do once its out of beta and when migrates over to the desktop.