Quotrek is Draining my Battery...

[kjegerer]

Are there any plans to have a Auto/On, Auto/Off feature added to quotrek?

[wireless guru]

Currently we do not have plans for an Auto/On, Auto/Off feature to be added to QuoTrek. That is something we will consider for the next release of QuoTrek.

What device are you using with QuoTrek? A BlackBerry, Windows Mobile or Palm?

[kjegerer]

Blackberry 8700c.

[PPC User]

A client/server app that keeps the data connection active is going to drain any device more quickly than websurfing and email which transmits nothing between information requests.

I play live poker games via my PPC with other players from around the world, but within 90 minutes, I have little battery left. This is because the device constantly has to update itself with the server. Much like QT.

I can surf the web for 8 hours and still have 20% of battery left though.

And I am on a 3G connection that can pull more data per minute than a 2G connection, and actually save some battery power.

My 2G devices such as the Treo drain REALLY fast on client/server apps. I have an IRC client on the Treo than I can use for 1 hour before killing a freshly charged battery, yet I can talk on it for 5 hours on the same charge.

Unfortunately, almost no devices were designed for all-day, persistent 2G and 3G connections. I think they designed them for 15 minutes of actual data transfer daily.

1-2 hours of consistent data is not what the designers had in mind. And while some devices have more battery capacity than others, client/server is going to drain it, not matter what device.

QT is not draining your battery, your 2G radio is draining your battery.

Unfortunately, this is not going to change until someone figures out how to make higher capacity batteries.

Do what I do. Carry a "AA" auxillary charger with you.

Maybe 5% of Smartphone users use persistent client/server apps, and there is a price for being in the minority.

For us, that price is battery life.

[mike_scott]

My battery drainage experience

On an HP 6315 PPC with T-Mobile service I can operate an entire market day with one standard battery and one extra-life battery. When I want to be up and running all day I carry the spare. I am not sure if I could get through the entire day with two standard batteries but three for sure.

I operated during a two-week European vacation last summer using this product and two batteries and was up every market day.

The only frustration I have with a Pocket PC is that the phone buttons can not be disabled, so putting it in your pocket too easily activates the phone. I don't use the PPC as a phone, just for data and trading.

[PPC User]

That sounds like about what I get on the PPC-6700.

Afer 1.5 hours, QT has drained my battery 50%. This gives me 3 hours on a standard battery. I would need a little over two standard batteries to get through a 6 1/2 trading day. Not counting after hours futures.

I don't think anyone is going to get the market from open to close on a single battery yet.

I carry a "AA" charger with me. The batteries will recharge me 5 times, so on a couple of double A's charging up while I am having lunch or when the thing is hanging off of my belt, I can get two full regular hour sessions of market data without needing a wall outlet of any kind.

I eagerly await the high-capacity batteries that are suposedly in the works.

The newer crop of powerful phones are currently limited primarily by their power requirements.

The PPC-6700 is the best device I have ever used (and I have used almost all of the smartphones ... PALM, Symbian, and PPC).

The largest gripe I have is the anemic capacity of the battery, with no readily available aftermarket hi-capacity batteries.

The device lasts me 8 hours of moderate usage, tops. I cannot get through a typical 16 hour day without one complete recharge.

I either carry the mobile charger, or a cheap clamshell phone with me for when the battery runs out.