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Hi, I just got my diamond 3 days ago and it seems to be having some battery problems, even when on standby it drains very fast, how long should the diamond last on a single charge (on standby, talk time, with wifi, or bluetooth) is there a benchmark to compare with.
the battery is just 900mha, like Nokia N95, so it is a bit underpowered, I suggest you to activate all energy saving tips through the program "Advance Config" and if you don't use/need UMTS & GPRS just fix your phone to don't discover automatically GPRS (always through Advance Config) and to GSM band (setting > phone > band), these reduce battery consumption.
bye,
davide
thanks, I'll try that, but even when not in use, the battery drains 20% to 30% per hr. tried it 3 time, same result, doesn't even reach 4 hrs of standby time
really strange... in any case your battery should go better after some cycles, wait at least 2/3 weeks before care
It's because the battery (like so many other aspects of this phone) sucks.
I got the new extended battery but that's useless too. It comes with a new cover for the phone but the battery itself is just twice as fat, so you end up with a 'sleek' phone that has a hunchback sticking out of it very awkwardly.
yep, I don't like the new battery, it makes a different phone
I have followed most of the battery saving advice that the usual programs can set up for you. I would say my phone, if its *just* standby can go 24 hours with just losing one "pin" on the battery meter. That means no calls, no peeking at the screen, no sms or otherwise communication. Since its hard to do this I have just tried 24 hours. If left on true standby I would say the battery would last for days.
I have a car charger and plug the Diamond into it while driving and in the office it sits in a cradle, at least I do not have to look for it under a pile of documents when it rings. Plus it serves as a fancy clock too!
The battery bar goes rarely below 70% while not plugged in.
3G and WiFi are extremly power hungry so do not expect hours of entertainment while they are on.
Fat battery is a bad road to take, I remember old Axim X51v (also HTC) with a 2.2Ah battery, it was like a brick. It is better to have a couple of small batteries rather than one big one obviously unless you want to play games on a transatlantic flight or go hiking for a long weekend.
One thing to remember is that your runtime grows faster than the battery capacity which is caused by the fact that at a slower rate of discharge the battery has a higher capacity, so if the 1350mAh battery is not too big it may be a worthwhile choice, I would expect the runtime to go up by between 75-100%. I just wonder how much longer will it take to charge and also you can say goodbye to most of the protective cases.
CD
Buy a solar panel for mini usb and glue on the back of the diamond, then you will have infite standby time when left in the sun
leemrvnt said:
Hi, I just got my diamond 3 days ago and it seems to be having some battery problems, even when on standby it drains very fast, how long should the diamond last on a single charge (on standby, talk time, with wifi, or bluetooth) is there a benchmark to compare with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What rom do you have? maybe it needs updating?
I am using the Customised Comms manager and that's made a massive difference, basically 3G, Bluetooth and WiFi are off unless I need to use them.
I charged last night for the first time in 3 days, making calls and playing around in between
Utking said:
Buy a solar panel for mini usb and glue on the back of the diamond, then you will have infite standby time when left in the sun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that idea is awesome !!!
zetlaw said:
that idea is awesome !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
want one!!!
i get about 1.5 days outta my battery....
only running on 2g with light sensing on 20 or more sms a day with maybe an hour of phone calls all up.
i'll copy-paste my answer from an another thread:
using yr phone in a place where the reception is not good will drain yr battery faster.
i can add (there is a relation) that the level of radiation that any phone is emitting it is also higher when reception it is not strong enough. i've seen it demonstrated yesterday. entering in yr car double the level of radiation, in an elevator the radiation increases 10 folds! yr phone tries to connect and that's energy consuming and radiation emitting (electromagnetic).
i guess that you bought yr phone not too long ago. i know it sounds strange but after a few cycles yr battery's life is going to improve and i am not the only one to observe it.
don't stop the charging when the battery icon is full. i learned using a wall charger with LED (red for charging, green for charged) that after diamond's icon said 100% the charging continues for at least 30 minutes more (the led was not fully green but was blinking red-green).
from my experience u can use all power management option from shap's advanced configuration without loosing yr connectivity. i can not tell u what those option are but after using all i can tell that diamond's battery life improved.
with only 2G and some e-mailing downloading and checking this forum a few times my battery last for 1.5 days. of course their is also 1-1.5 hours of phone calls.
don't expect yr battery to last if you are using yr diamond as an entertainment center (movies and mp3) or as a battery only powered GPS navigator. i am using my GPS in my car always connected to my car charger.
I'm thinking about buying something like that to solve the problem :
http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00333
Blazeitup123 said:
What rom do you have? maybe it needs updating?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Rom 1.37.707.1
Radio 1.00.25.03
I'm not yet sure what the problem was, but it has something to do with the sim card that I'm using, the sim stop receiving signal and I tried another sim. The battery life improved and now It last more than a day.
thanks,
battery life
leemrvnt said:
Hi, I just got my diamond 3 days ago and it seems to be having some battery problems, even when on standby it drains very fast, how long should the diamond last on a single charge (on standby, talk time, with wifi, or bluetooth) is there a benchmark to compare with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well what can I say about it..... I'm totally new on this forum but this site is greeeat!!!!! Anyway - I have Diamond about 3-4 days, I had the same problems as most of us: overheating, battery life, ActiveSync on every 5 mins.... I just couldn't stand thoughts that I spend £250 on such a crappy thing until I found this site
What I've done was: install HARDSPL, then changed Radio from 1.00.25.05 to 1.08.25.08 using CustomRUU and changed ROM 1.93 onto cooked ROM: [WM 6.1] NEW SWIFTBL WWE DIAMhttp://forum.xda-developers.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2460083OND ROM V7.5 (FULL & LITE VERSIONS) - CE OS 5.2.20755 (Build 20755 AKU 1.4.0) - FULL VERSION, then installed Regedit as well, done some additionall tweaks like Better Power Management (changing registry HKLM) - basicly - adding all tweaks that u can find on the internet and..........my Diamond is a real Diamond now I've spend 3 hours listening to my mp3's, then running wifi at home, playing etc.. and my battery life went from 100% to about 80% - all during all day using ...
elmumiomarek said:
Well what can I say about it..... I'm totally new on this forum but this site is greeeat!!!!! Anyway - I have Diamond about 3-4 days, I had the same problems as most of us: overheating, battery life, ActiveSync on every 5 mins.... I just couldn't stand thoughts that I spend £250 on such a crappy thing until I found this site
What I've done was: install HARDSPL, then changed Radio from 1.00.25.05 to 1.08.25.08 using CustomRUU and changed ROM 1.93 onto cooked ROM: [WM 6.1] NEW SWIFTBL WWE DIAMhttp://forum.xda-developers.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2460083OND ROM V7.5 (FULL & LITE VERSIONS) - CE OS 5.2.20755 (Build 20755 AKU 1.4.0) - FULL VERSION, then installed Regedit as well, done some additionall tweaks like Better Power Management (changing registry HKLM) - basicly - adding all tweaks that u can find on the internet and..........my Diamond is a real Diamond now I've spend 3 hours listening to my mp3's, then running wifi at home, playing etc.. and my battery life went from 100% to about 80% - all during all day using ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could u explain more, with the links to the progs u used? i'd really use this info
thx
I am getting about 48 hours (I probably talk less than 30 minutes in that time). Using default x04ht rom on diamond with radio 1.00.25.05 (just flashed to 1.08.25.20 and getting about the same). Charge every day isn't bad, but every 1.5 to 2 days for a device like this; no complaints.
Hi i have a diamond with the official Htc Extended Battery Pack .... and the thing give me only juice for 3/4 of a day ....with moderate use .... Is it my ROM and radio ??
ROM :1.93.0.0 (Official)
SPL(Original)
Radio:1.00.25.05 (Official)
As you can see i have not flashed the deivce .... but in order to improve my battery liife , I am willing to take that step.
I dont think it makes much of a difference. The Diamond has a powerful processor and the battery doesnt suite the phone except that it makes it thin. If you dont mind a little thickness, buy a larger battery.
I think thats the only way to go.
I think he is saying that he already has a 1350mAh Battery Extension attached, and with this battery he gets only 3/4 of a day.
That seems to short for me. Since 900mAh almost lasts 2 days....
Anyone else can give his opinion about BP270 1350mAh?
I think it matters whether you are using push email or not. Or, even just checking mail automatically on a regular basis. Signal is also an issue. If you don't check mail and have a strong signal, you'll get good battery life. If you're like me and check 2 accounts and work in a basement, better have the charger at your desk
lite user here
my battery lasts about 5 days here
liamhere said:
my battery lasts about 5 days here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2G or 3G?
Push?
Inet?
Thanks
No Email or 3g
The battery life of 3/4 of a day is with no 3G and no Mail checking .... range is always 3-4 bars .... ....Any help ??
liamhere said:
my battery lasts about 5 days here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mine only lasts 3/4 of a day as well!!! how do u get urs to last for 5 days???
Hey,
I have the same problem here... I have an extended battery too, and it only last me for about 3/4 of a day as well, which was better then the original battery which only lasted of 1/2 a day... The only thing that I'm using the phone for is a couple of text messages, and like 1hr of talk time a day... I'm also having problem getting GPS to lock with this extended battery. I did some search and some people said that it's the phone, that we might have a defective phone... Because I tried everything, every radio, battery fix, tweek... But if anyone can help, I will donate as a thank you.
With radio rom 1.09.25.23
and Rom v. 2.03.401.2
my 900mAh battery ,provide me about 2,5-3 days without charging with moderate use
liamhere said:
my battery lasts about 5 days here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...also here!
4-5 5 days with 3g use.
Quick question on the same theme..
How do I turn off the 3g?
flraer said:
Quick question on the same theme..
How do I turn off the 3g?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get about 2 days with rather moderate usage, find that if i turn off 3G by default i get more, i also find that my call quality is better here on GSM. I'm running Dutty's v4 ROM & 1.08.25.20 Radio.
To turn off 3G
start menu/settings/connections/comm manager
then change 3G to off.
Good luck!
Steve
After flashing the new 2.03 ROM I noticed, that my battery drained really quickly (compared to older ROMs).
After running Advanced Config, I noticed, that all the power saving features are disabled. Before enabling them the phone used to go from 100% charge in the evening to ~80% in the morning (without any usage, of course).
After applying the power saving features it only loses ~5% during the night.
With moderate usage I get about 3-4 days without charging. Without these settings I used to get only get ~2 days...
ROM version 2.03
Radio 1.00.25.08
2 different devices
I think we face two situations ! The duration of over 2 days and those lasting less than a day! Why?
In my case for example as any in the home do not fall below 100 mA. When Kaiser was consuming only 14 mA
Rom 1.93.831.1
Radio 1.00.25.08
And my battery survive only 12 hours.
i tried a lot of radio version but no luck...do i have the right ROM????
Moderate
I think we should define what "moderate usage" means lol
Mine last 2 days
I don't think 1 hour a day of talk is moderate.
I have found that it seems that some softwares are very power hungry. For exemple klaxon from this forum works perfect but when I use g-clock from this forum too for the same usage, it doesn't work because my battery is empty the next morning lol. Coreplayer is suprisingly low power hungry but allreader+ ask a lot from the battery.
I don't use push mail but 3g and I only enable wifi when needed. I have seen here some softwares that keep gps alive too and this must be power consimming too.
hi all, i am tired of my kaiser battery life and gps fix, i live in Viña del mar chile, a work mate have a SE Xpheria and saw my Kaiser and ask for how long the battery stand, an i response "with luck 2 days" and his say "my gone for almost 8", somes times my GPS even dont lock or take like 5 min, he said its lock in few seconds...
i dont use my kaiser to much, like 2 o 3 hrs of edge conextion, no calls of all, no video playing, no sound or music, etc, and the screen very dimm, even when i dont use EDGE i put kaiser on Fly mode!!!, i am using WinMO 6.1 on an official lastest HTC Spanish based ROM (OWN Cooked) with the original ROM radio 1.65.17.56
i wanna try changing the radio but i dont know what is the better (they are somany!!!!)
Regards!
the radio won't really affect it......sounds like you need a new battery
well ill change the radio to 1.70.xxxx and gps fix really fast, i am testing battery life now
any advice about good baterry life/gps fix radio??? dont care about phone quality i dont use it xD
I'm using 1.71.09.01 eMo, and I'm very satisfied with the performance of the radio in all aspects.
k-semler said:
I'm using 1.71.09.01 eMo, and I'm very satisfied with the performance of the radio in all aspects.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx for reply, how is going the battery life? regards!
wolframio74 said:
thx for reply, how is going the battery life? regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After taking my phone off of charge around 0200 daily, I typically have around 60-80% left of battery life at 1645. This is with 10-12 calls a day, and email pulling down every 45 miniutes on 4 accounts, (gmail, hotmail, roadrunner, softhome), and an exchange partnership established with Mail2Web updating every 30 miniutes. I actively surf the internet for about 30 miniutes a day using my phone, and play 6-8 games of solitaire.
Anyone who's seen me in Rom threads probably knows that I usually ask the question about battery life, its like one of my obsessions... I want a phone that does a lot, but gets the most battery life too, probably not a winning combination, but it all helps!
I read on one thread that someone was using a radio version 1.10 and found it gave them better battery life then the new 1.13 with no loss of signal / gps.
Anyone got any thoughts?
1.13 radio
i just upgraded the radio in my hd to the new 1.13 from 1.09 and feel that the battery is a little better than before. i also currently running kwbr topix 1.0.1 wm6.1 rom. today will be the first full with that combo. i'll get back to you tomorrom on how the consumption is.
Have been using 1.13 since release and found no issues at all.
I am using Duttys 2.9 ROM and am getting 2.5 - 3 days of reasonably heavy use. Before i was getting 2 max before
Battery life sucks for me.....
2-3 days of battery life with heavy use.... i cannot even imagine getting that on my phone.
I dunno whats wrong with my phone .
I just updated to the new rom and radio from htc website.
Also, have disabled, wifi, data connections, active sync... all the stuff that take the juice out.
Also i am in NA, so also disabled 3g.
My setting are set manually for backlight and it is at the third point from the left.
I also have screen turn-off in 1min as well as switch off in 4 min.
In terms of program, i have pocket shield and incall touch lock program.
No after charging the battery to full.
This is wat i get,
Talk time- 30-45 min.
Music - 120 min. (S2P2 player)
Wifi - 10 min.
Now after almost 30 hrs.
battery is showing jst one bar.
==================================
Am sure what usage i mentioned above is definitely cannot be termed as heavy.
Let me know, if someone can help me to improve my battery life.
shah1237 said:
2-3 days of battery life with heavy use.... i cannot even imagine getting that on my phone.
I dunno whats wrong with my phone .
I just updated to the new rom and radio from htc website.
Also, have disabled, wifi, data connections, active sync... all the stuff that take the juice out.
Also i am in NA, so also disabled 3g.
My setting are set manually for backlight and it is at the third point from the left.
I also have screen turn-off in 1min as well as switch off in 4 min.
In terms of program, i have pocket shield and incall touch lock program.
No after charging the battery to full.
This is wat i get,
Talk time- 30-45 min.
Music - 120 min. (S2P2 player)
Wifi - 10 min.
Now after almost 30 hrs.
battery is showing jst one bar.
==================================
Am sure what usage i mentioned above is definitely cannot be termed as heavy.
Let me know, if someone can help me to improve my battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try another rom or hardreset your phone
David Balfour said:
Have been using 1.13 since release and found no issues at all.
I am using Duttys 2.9 ROM and am getting 2.5 - 3 days of reasonably heavy use. Before i was getting 2 max before
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you class as heavy use?
Atze001 said:
Try another rom or hardreset your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd do this too, its best to start with a rom, see battery life first without installing anything, then add bits one by one and you can usually eliminate the culprit!
Re: Barety life
What?
I have HTC Touch HD half year and batery never last more then 30 hrs with oficial ROM and clever use!
With my wifi on all the time... i never cross 24hrs
nicelad_uk said:
What do you class as heavy use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use the music player for about 2 hour's a day and use the phone for about 1-2 hours and i am nearly always on the net with it as well.
edit: @drgopoos, WiFi eats battery like you wouldn't believe so no wonder you dont get more than 24hrs. I once had WiFi on and plugged the phone in to sync with my PC and the battery still went down. What happens if you dont use WiFi. Surely you dont need it 24/7?
I too am in the same boat, can't really stretch much past half a day with a bit of music, websurfing and the occasional email. No WiFi, only 3G. I've loaded a few apps (TomTom, CorePlayer and PHM Regedit) and don't have Exchange or anything active. Running Dutty V3.6 XT and radio 1.14.25.24.
Watch your power settings! My sat-nav program turned off the "turn off device after xxx mins" option in there. I could hardly reach 24 hours with one charge since the device never really turned off. This was really annoying e.g. when a reminder popped up at night, or when the phone was out of my reach.
After I realized that and set my option properly (screen 30 secs/power off after 1 min) my device lasts at least 2 days with normal use and even 3-4 days at light use.
I use radio 1.14.25.24 on Duttys 3.4 XT
David Balfour said:
am getting 2.5 - 3 days of reasonably heavy use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A-ha. I am getting 2 weeks with extremely heavy use.
Brightness is set to 100%, Wi-Fi and BT are always on. And I talk 24 hours a day also.
mine always have some strange consumption of power when I leave it through the night
before I go to bed it would be around 50% but when I wake up (5 hours later without running any programs of course) it drop to Battery very low
I'm using Radio 1.14, when I was on 1.13 I'm not experience that problem
I got the feeling that the newer radios use more battery. I've just downgraded to version 1.09.25.14, which I think was the original one that came with the phone. I will let you know my experience with that.
Dmitry N said:
A-ha. I am getting 2 weeks with extremely heavy use.
Brightness is set to 100%, Wi-Fi and BT are always on. And I talk 24 hours a day also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do I detect a hint of sarcism LOL.
David Balfour said:
=I am using Duttys 2.9 ROM and am getting 2.5 - 3 days of reasonably heavy use. Before i was getting 2 max before
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even with stock rom I would get no where near this, and I doubt anyone else would. I've used all Throys roms and yes it may be possible to get battery usage to maybe 2 - 2.5 days when left on standby but with heavy use!!! Extremely doubtful.......what do you classify as heavy use? Leaving it alone on standby locked in the cellar so no one can touch it!!
god, i'm happy when i make it through the day, meaning 12-16h without recharging, little to no music, hour or 2 msn, some net, normal call/sms, few weather updates....best i got was about 36h on Lost In Asia v5, generally Titanium seems to drain less then Manila :/
i could see getting 3 days if i buy 2 more batteries....or never unplug it from my laptop/socket :/
Dmitry N said:
A-ha. I am getting 2 weeks with extremely heavy use.
Brightness is set to 100%, Wi-Fi and BT are always on. And I talk 24 hours a day also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
only two weeks ??? Your battery is probably broke !
Lil feedback with Lost in asia V5 and radio 1.14.25.24
around 36 h with heavy use
around 48 h with normal use
But i noticed that 4 things eat a lot my battey:
-when i check my mail and when the connection is bad ...
-when my HD is connected to my pc by usb
-when i'am in subway because sometimes it's edge,sometimes HSDPA etc...
- Wifi of course !
By the way, manila eat more battery than titanium...
shah1237 said:
2-3 days of battery life with heavy use.... i cannot even imagine getting that on my phone.
I dunno whats wrong with my phone .
I just updated to the new rom and radio from htc website.
Also, have disabled, wifi, data connections, active sync... all the stuff that take the juice out.
Also i am in NA, so also disabled 3g.
My setting are set manually for backlight and it is at the third point from the left.
I also have screen turn-off in 1min as well as switch off in 4 min.
In terms of program, i have pocket shield and incall touch lock program.
No after charging the battery to full.
This is wat i get,
Talk time- 30-45 min.
Music - 120 min. (S2P2 player)
Wifi - 10 min.
Now after almost 30 hrs.
battery is showing jst one bar.
==================================
Am sure what usage i mentioned above is definitely cannot be termed as heavy.
Let me know, if someone can help me to improve my battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
never had these benefits...
perhaps you have a battery plus, or a special hd
I have suffered with battery life as well... Can never get past a day to be honest & I have tried almost every ROM from here including WM6.1 & 6.5. I use my phone mostly for music, little bit of gaming and web surfing. It is connected to net all the time though, because I have unlimited data plan. I normally leave home at 8:30 in the morning & till then the phone stays plugged in with the charger over night.
On the way to work and back I listen to music with normal 3.5mm headphone & sometimes play xtract or watch movie. The journey time is around 40 mins each way. I actively surf internet for around 15mins during break, not every day though. My emails get automatically downloaded after every 2 hours from 4 different providers. AND THAT'S ABOUT IT.
By the time I get home at around 6 in the evening the battery level is generally at around 65% and I consider this as light use.
Is there any chance to improve it?! I don't wanna buy those huge batteries which shatters the sexyness of the device.
with Energy standart it lasted 5 hours
valerima said:
with Energy standart it lasted 5 hours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5 hours.. geez did you have everything on..
my NRG Rom lasted about 8plus hours with BT, 3G, and a lil Google maps action...
or maybe it's cuz i just got a new battery a few days ago, lol
5 & 8 hours???
Holy cow, my battery on vodafone uk standard rom lasts 3-4 days.
Daily usage is approx - 30 texts sent & the same recieved, 60 mins on the phone and a little bit of wifi updating weather, and maybe 20 mins a day browsing.
I have a couple of cooked rom's downloaded, but never seem to get the time to flash them.
battery life
I do have exchange server email continuisly checking + personal gmail...Suppose it is main reason why...
valerima said:
I do have exchange server email continuisly checking + personal gmail...Suppose it is main reason why...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, i completely forgot about e-mail. mine is set to auto download (push) between 8:30am and 5:30pm, after that i'll pick it up on the laptop at home.
Luckily i don't get that much e-mail on the handset as i have 2 different work e-mail addresses and only my colleagues and clients have my main e-mail address.
e.g.
[email protected] is my main account and [email protected] is my public e-mail address that is listed on the company website, given out to people that call up, etc. (the j stands for junk)
5 days
with the last energy rom, i think it was the 15th edition, coupled with the latest radio i had a 5 almost 6 day run on my battery with moderate use...
slimsuse said:
with the last energy rom, i think it was the 15th edition, coupled with the latest radio i had a 5 almost 6 day run on my battery with moderate use...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which radio are you using ?
jayizzbakk said:
which radio are you using ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the 4. shoot i forgot, but its the same as the at&t one, same numbers... lol
here it is!!! 4.46.25.24 - HTC
thats the one i am using now!!!
Battery use is not soley determined by ROM. Radio has a bigger part and the rilphone.dll should match your radio.
On friday I had 100% battery when I left home. When I geto back Sunday I had about 11% left with a good amount of use. I charged it back up, played with different radios to see which gave me best GPS performance. Had 50% charge when started testing and went down to 0 really fast.
valerima said:
with Energy standart it lasted 5 hours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you change the brightness setting? All energyROMS come with brightness set to max on battery.
Mine is at about 60% with one and a half days - mostly idle - email push this morning from 8 to now (4) and 30-40 minutes of phone calls, some weather checking (i am using manilla 2.5 so keep checking the weather - soooo pwetty!)
At0mAng said:
Battery use is not soley determined by ROM. Radio has a bigger part and the rilphone.dll should match your radio.
On friday I had 100% battery when I left home. When I geto back Sunday I had about 11% left with a good amount of use. I charged it back up, played with different radios to see which gave me best GPS performance. Had 50% charge when started testing and went down to 0 really fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very true, but to this day i have only seen rilphone.dll CAB file ( i think it was in miri's thread?)
the radio thread ive searched around and have not found any of those dll files to match =\
wat cani do to save battery liff for my phone?
guntcent said:
wat cani do to save battery liff for my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disable push mail (set it to intervals of 30 minutes or so)
Enable the Auto-Backlight (or decrease the backlight as low as you can)
Use the phone for 3 days or so, and then your phone will be at optimal battery
Disable 3G, if you want even more battery
And probably more things.
As for which ROM gets best battery life...that can't be answered. Everyone will have their own favorite. I really don't find a difference between the ROM's. Of course, Manila 2.5 ROM's will use more power, since they have those flashy weather animations, etc. But nothing very noticable.
I was using the HTC Test WM6.5 ROM for a while with Push email and a bit of WiFi and stuff, and was getting just over a day.
I decided to go back to the Official ROM because of that reason. I now get 2 and a half days out of it. If I turn off push email it lasts a lot longer, of course.
Although ROM has a few input to battery performance, predominantly it is based on what radio you have and what you use your ur phone for.