Palm Pre’s battery life has been a concern for many. Reports say that Palm Pre is using the same 1150 mAh battery as Centro, which disappointed some power users who had hoped for something bigger.
If you are a long standing reader of Palm webOS Blog, you may remember my article on Palm Pre’s processor and the detailed description of its power consumption technology. Palm Pre boasts OMAP 3430 processor from Texas Instruments which employs proprietary SmartReflexTM power and performance software.
We have said then that in terms of hours, an OMAP 3 platform-based system can operate all day without recharging as it performs Web browsing, multimedia and other intensive tasks. In standby mode, an OMAP 3 processor can last a week or more before needing recharging.
Of course, the above information was all theory and there was no information on the actual Palm Pre battery life, since OMAP 3 based device could still pack some extra features and hardware that would drain power much faster. Still, one of the advantages of the OMAP 3 chips is that it packs most of the required hardware together in one small chip reducing power consumption.
You have no doubt seen pictures of the Sprint employee posing for the camera with our beloved Pre. Something interesting caught my eye when I was going through his twitter updates. That same employee claims that:
“Palm Pre battery is very solid. Full day no problem with lots to spare”
This somewhat confirms our early review of the OMAP 3 power consumption. The fact that Pre’s battery is going strong at the end of the day is encouraging. I admit that we have no idea how the phone was used during that day, however, I presume that he did not try any of the techniques that we employ with our current smartphones to save battery juice on the first day of using Pre. And while he may have been doing some light use of the phone, would you let it go to sleep even for a second on the day you finally get it?
[Originally posted at palmwebosblog.com]
