Motorola v551 - Bluetooth turned on / Battery Life

I've got a new Motorola v551 with the Bluetooh option turned "on"
since I am integrating the phone with Bluetooth technology in my car.
Seems that the phone will only stay charged for 7 or 8 hours before
the battery completely discharges itself. Is this normal behavior
when Bluetooh is turned on? Is there a way for the phone to
automatically turn the Bluetooth "off" when it isn't needed? (i.e.
When the phone is away from the car).

I can't believe that it causes *that much* strain on the battery.

---

› See More: Motorola v551 - Bluetooth turned on / Battery Life

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In <[email protected]> on 19 Nov 2004 11:53:51
-0800, [email protected] (Robert Spike) wrote:

>I've got a new Motorola v551 with the Bluetooh option turned "on"
>since I am integrating the phone with Bluetooth technology in my car.
>Seems that the phone will only stay charged for 7 or 8 hours before
>the battery completely discharges itself. Is this normal behavior
>when Bluetooh is turned on? Is there a way for the phone to
>automatically turn the Bluetooth "off" when it isn't needed? (i.e.
>When the phone is away from the car).
>
>I can't believe that it causes *that much* strain on the battery.

My experience is similar -- Bluetooth power management in the V551 is poor.
It's one of the reasons I'm returning the phone and sticking with my Sony
Ericsson Z600, where I can leave Bluetooth on all the time with only a small
reduction in battery life.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

I have Bluetooth on 100% and talk about an hour a day from car using
Bluetooth. Have no battery life issues, stays on full battery symbol all
the time.

BTW, stay away from the cases Cingular sells. Noted that the case is too
tight and pushes on buttons on side and that was keeping the backlight on
100%. That will hurt battery life.

Surprised you like the Z600. It is about the biggest, ugliest cheap feeling
phone I've ever seen from SonyEricsson. Super thin plastic pieces that fall
off. CSTN display is horrible. That "click" everytime you open and close it,
drives me nuts. Glad they stopped making them.
Steve

--
Steve
"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [POSTED TO alt.cellular.motorola - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
>
> In <[email protected]> on 19 Nov 2004
> 11:53:51
> -0800, [email protected] (Robert Spike) wrote:
>
>>I've got a new Motorola v551 with the Bluetooh option turned "on"
>>since I am integrating the phone with Bluetooth technology in my car.
>>Seems that the phone will only stay charged for 7 or 8 hours before
>>the battery completely discharges itself. Is this normal behavior
>>when Bluetooh is turned on? Is there a way for the phone to
>>automatically turn the Bluetooth "off" when it isn't needed? (i.e.
>>When the phone is away from the car).
>>
>>I can't believe that it causes *that much* strain on the battery.
>
> My experience is similar -- Bluetooth power management in the V551 is
> poor.
> It's one of the reasons I'm returning the phone and sticking with my Sony
> Ericsson Z600, where I can leave Bluetooth on all the time with only a
> small
> reduction in battery life.
>
> --
> Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
> John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.motorola - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Sat, 20 Nov 2004
02:19:00 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I have Bluetooth on 100% and talk about an hour a day from car using
>Bluetooth. Have no battery life issues, stays on full battery symbol all
>the time.

Then you must have a magic battery. Seriously.

>BTW, stay away from the cases Cingular sells. Noted that the case is too
>tight and pushes on buttons on side and that was keeping the backlight on
>100%. That will hurt battery life.

Just about any case will do that -- the buttons are poorly designed, way too
easy to depress.

>Surprised you like the Z600. It is about the biggest, ugliest cheap feeling
>phone I've ever seen from SonyEricsson. Super thin plastic pieces that fall
>off. CSTN display is horrible. That "click" everytime you open and close it,
>drives me nuts. Glad they stopped making them.

My take:

* A bit large, but not by much
* Attractive
* Rugged, with a solid feel
* Very nice display
* Excellent Bluetooth
* Excellent power management
* Excellent GPRS
* Very well engineered

If it had EDGE, and a bit better camera, it would be near perfect.
Even so, it's a better phone than the V551.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

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In <[email protected]> on Sat, 20 Nov 2004
13:22:56 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:

>if you look high and low at the sony ericsson sites globally, you will never
>see the term "TFT" in the official specs of the Z600. It's never mentioned.
>They can't make that claim. It's 65k colors, yes which leads you to believe
>its TFT but it's not.

The transflective display on the Z600 is actually an advanced type of TFD
(Thin Film Diode) called MD-TFD (Mobile Digital-Thin Film Diode).

<http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=59>:

Color LCDs come in many types. STN, TFT, and TFD are several common
technologies used. STN features low power consumption and low cost,
at the expense of image quality. TFT features excellent image quality
and response time, but is expensive and consumes more power. TFD
combines the best of both.

See also
<http://www.mobile-phone-directory.or...ilm_Diode.html>
and <http://www.epson.co.jp/e/newsroom/te...0112single.pdf>

MD-TFD technology gives the Z600 a very good display with low power
consumption, part of the reason the Z600 has better battery life than handsets
with TFT displays.

>But not to the high resolution of the V400 or V551
>which are 176x220 TFT displays.

The V551 screen is very slightly brighter than the Z600, but the Z600 has
truer colors, especially in difficult lighting.

The V551 has higher resolution (176x220 versus 128x160), but the Z600 has a
larger display, and in practice the difference in sharpness isn't noticeable.

Text on the V551 display is much smaller, so more fits on a given screen, but
as a result is much harder to read than the Z600, particularly in difficult
lighting.

The V551 display drains the battery much faster than the Z600 display, part of
the reason the V551 has much less battery life in use than the Z600. (Poor
Bluetooth and EDGE power management are other factors.)

Overall, although the differences are small, I prefer the display on the Z600
to the display on the V551. (I have both phones, so this is based on actual
experience.)

>And it only has a CIF camera which is a
>surprise.

The camera on the Z600 is unquestionably mediocre and not as good as the
camera in the V551. But I personally don't care about (or even want) a camera
in my phone -- some places prohibit phones with cameras, and when I want to
take pictures I use a real digital camera (Olympus D-40Z) that blows away any
camera phone.

(What I'd really like is a handset designed to work with real digital cameras,
and vice versa, so I could easily use the phone to send pictures taken with
the real digital camera. Sony, with both products, is really missing the boat
here IMHO.)

>They seem to correct alot of deficiences in the Z500 but for some reason, it
>is not available yet. Too bad Bluetooth was left out.

For me at least the lack of Bluetooth (and even IR) is a fatal flaw. WHATEVER
WERE THEY THINKING?!

>Oh and the Z600 is discontinued in many parts of Asia and Europe.

Proof? It's still shown as a current product on the Sony Ericsson website.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 02:19:00 +0000, Steve wrote:

> I have Bluetooth on 100% and talk about an hour a day from car using
> Bluetooth. Have no battery life issues, stays on full battery symbol all
> the time.
>
> BTW, stay away from the cases Cingular sells. Noted that the case is too
> tight and pushes on buttons on side and that was keeping the backlight on
> 100%. That will hurt battery life.
>
> Surprised you like the Z600. It is about the biggest, ugliest cheap feeling
> phone I've ever seen from SonyEricsson. Super thin plastic pieces that fall
> off. CSTN display is horrible. That "click" everytime you open and close it,
> drives me nuts. Glad they stopped making them.

Sure you're not confusing the Z600 with something else.

The Z600 has a good 65,000 colour active-matrix TFT screen, and NOT a
passive CSTN screen. As for 'Super thin plastic pieces that fall off', the
Z600 I used seemed pretty solid to me. And AFAIK it's not been
discontinued.

The Z600 is a clamshell version of the T630.

--
Michael Turner
Email (ROT13)
[email protected]

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 05:18:06 +0000, John Navas wrote:

> [POSTED TO alt.cellular.motorola - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
>
> In <[email protected]> on Sat, 20 Nov 2004
> 02:19:00 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:

<snipped>

>>Surprised you like the Z600. It is about the biggest, ugliest cheap feeling
>>phone I've ever seen from SonyEricsson. Super thin plastic pieces that fall
>>off. CSTN display is horrible. That "click" everytime you open and close it,
>>drives me nuts. Glad they stopped making them.
>
> My take:
>
> * A bit large, but not by much
> * Attractive
> * Rugged, with a solid feel
> * Very nice display
> * Excellent Bluetooth
> * Excellent power management
> * Excellent GPRS
> * Very well engineered
>
> If it had EDGE, and a bit better camera, it would be near perfect.
> Even so, it's a better phone than the V551.

Yup that sounds like the Z600.

I'm sure 'Steve' was talking about the Z200, as that has a CSTN screen,
'plastic pieces that fall off', and clicks when you open it.

--
Michael Turner
Email (ROT13)
[email protected]

if you look high and low at the sony ericsson sites globally, you will never
see the term "TFT" in the official specs of the Z600. It's never mentioned.
They can't make that claim. It's 65k colors, yes which leads you to believe
its TFT but it's not. But not to the high resolution of the V400 or V551
which are 176x220 TFT displays. And it only has a CIF camera which is a
surprise.

They seem to correct alot of deficiences in the Z500 but for some reason, it
is not available yet. Too bad Bluetooth was left out.

Oh and the Z600 is discontinued in many parts of Asia and Europe.

--
Steve
"michael turner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 02:19:00 +0000, Steve wrote:
>
>> I have Bluetooth on 100% and talk about an hour a day from car using
>> Bluetooth. Have no battery life issues, stays on full battery symbol all
>> the time.
>>
>> BTW, stay away from the cases Cingular sells. Noted that the case is too
>> tight and pushes on buttons on side and that was keeping the backlight on
>> 100%. That will hurt battery life.
>>
>> Surprised you like the Z600. It is about the biggest, ugliest cheap
>> feeling
>> phone I've ever seen from SonyEricsson. Super thin plastic pieces that
>> fall
>> off. CSTN display is horrible. That "click" everytime you open and close
>> it,
>> drives me nuts. Glad they stopped making them.
>
> Sure you're not confusing the Z600 with something else.
>
> The Z600 has a good 65,000 colour active-matrix TFT screen, and NOT a
> passive CSTN screen. As for 'Super thin plastic pieces that fall off', the
> Z600 I used seemed pretty solid to me. And AFAIK it's not been
> discontinued.
>
> The Z600 is a clamshell version of the T630.
>
> --
> Michael Turner
> Email (ROT13)
> [email protected]

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.motorola - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Sat, 20 Nov 2004 07:52:16
+0000, michael turner <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 05:18:06 +0000, John Navas wrote:

>> My take [on the SE Z600]:
>>
>> * A bit large, but not by much
>> * Attractive
>> * Rugged, with a solid feel
>> * Very nice display
>> * Excellent Bluetooth
>> * Excellent power management
>> * Excellent GPRS
>> * Very well engineered
>>
>> If it had EDGE, and a bit better camera, it would be near perfect.
>> Even so, it's a better phone than the V551.
>
>Yup that sounds like the Z600.
>
>I'm sure 'Steve' was talking about the Z200, as that has a CSTN screen,
>'plastic pieces that fall off', and clicks when you open it.

The Z600 does click when you open it. I personally like the click, because
it's part of a positive lock that holds the phone fully open.

The real disappointment from Sony Ericsson, which at first blush looked to be
a worthy successor to the Z600, is the Z500 (a bit smaller, EDGE Class 10,
speakerphone, VGA camera, video), except NO BLUETOOTH -- whatever were they
thinking?!

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

How difficult is it to turn off the bluetooth when not using it?

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.motorola - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Sun, 21 Nov 2004 17:58:34
-0600, clutch_guy <[email protected]> wrote:

>How difficult is it to turn off the bluetooth when not using it?

I frequently use a Bluetooth headset, so turning Bluetooth on and off would be
a real hassle.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Actually I was asking in a selfish request. I haven't used bluetooth in the past and will probably use it for when I can’t or don’t want to use the speaker phone and for synching contacts to my computer which is only once in a while. So I might be able to turn it on and off when I need it.

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In <[email protected]> on Mon, 22 Nov 2004 10:51:12
-0600, clutch_guy <[email protected]> wrote:

>Actually I was asking in a selfish request. I haven't used bluetooth in
>the past and will probably use it for when I can’t or don’t want to use
>the speaker phone and for synching contacts to my computer which is only
>once in a while. So I might be able to turn it on and off when I need
>it.

You can turn Bluetooth on and off.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

It's very simple and only takes a second to turn on/off bluetooth.

You push the menu button, then choose tools/connections/bluetooth/setup in
setup you click on power off/on and that's it.

I haven't had the phone long enough to see how it affects battery life.




On 11/21/04 1:58 PM, in article
[email protected], "clutch_guy"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
> How difficult is it to turn off the bluetooth when not using it?
>
>
> --
> clutch_guy
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