are there other useful tips on how to improve battery life besides SE's suggestions (turn off 3G, GPS, don't use 3rd party apps, carry the charger all the time, etc)?

[Uliwooly]

Sixth Issue: Is nice that Sony Ericsson has some suggestions to improve battery life but I don't think they are useful

""( The first two are no brainer

To decrease the brightness of the screen:

To turn off Bluetooth™:

Other useful tips to maximise battery performance:

    * Only use location services when needed.

(that's great if Issue number 3 is fixed)

    * Turn off push email and synchronise your mailboxes manually.

(Again  this wont drained as much battery as Timescape, lets face it, hardly  anyone use timescape and if you happen to use it, TS will drain your  battery quite fast unless you dont get updates often which defeats the  purpose of Timescape)

    * Minimise the use of third-party applications.

(Third party apps could outperform some SE apps but the again is good to double check the app before installing them)

    * Charge your phone often. The battery lasts longer if you charge it frequently.

(Its a hazle to must carry the charger at all times because battery life sucks)

     * If you are in an area with no coverage, your phone repeatedly scans  for available networks. This consumes power. If you can't move to an  area with better coverage, turn off your phone temporarily or use Flight  mode.

(another  no brainer that will drain more battery but again it defeats the  purpose of a mobile phone which is to stay connected specially if its  part of their campaing)

    * Turn off 3G, Bluetooth™ wireless technology and the Wi-Fi™ connection when you do not need these functions.

(I  understand Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but turning 3G off? its a smarphone,  checking emails, MMS, watching videos, streaming music is all part of  the smarphone experience and again specially if is part of X10's  campaing)

     * Don't cover the phone antenna when you are engaged in a call or when  transferring data. The antenna is located at the back of phone

(It'll be helpful if we know the exact location of the antena, since the antena does not cover the whole back)

    * Browse the web with Wi-Fi™ rather than mobile data networks, and turn off Wi-Fi™ when not in use.

(this is true in a secure hotspot)

    * Close running applications when not in use.

(again a no brainer, even if is not for battery life reasons, if you keep 8 apps open the X10 gets really slow and glitchyhttp://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/support/phones/detailed/tipstomaximizebatteryperformance/xperiax10?c...)

We need a phone that has 3G, GPS, w/o having to carry the charger all the time, perhaps more apps from Sony Ericsson besides Creatouch

[Uliwooly]

I know, btw is anyone in the US? if you are go to your local Sony Style store this weekend and say "Team Android" you can thank me later. 

[#3]

What would you get? I'm nowhere near the States....

[Uliwooly]

A cool T-shirt.

[#5]

Cool...er... T-shirt? Is it really worth a trip?

[#6]

First off, an apology - yes my orginal reply (the one that suggested that your reply was a little "intellectually-challenged") was, in part, unhelpful and - with hindsight - unwarranted. I regret that, and for that alone I'm sorry. On the other hand, I do get kinda tired of hearing from folks that they expect to have all apps and all features running all the time and wonder why they get short battery life. I'd wrongly assumed that you were one of these folks - and was trying to give a "Power Saving 101" lecture. With respect, there was also no need for the name-calling you promptly indulged in - especially when the rest of my posting was an attempt to show some examples of ways you can save power and not really impact your use of the phone in the manner it was intended. But what's past is past, and I'm too old to hold a grudge over a "mutual misunderstanding" - as darkmax says, it's better to reserve our fire and ire for SonyE when they either don't do the 2.2 upgrade or when/if the 2.1 update slips again. I hope you agree. Pax?

Okay, that out of the way - let's be positive. GPS - I'd be fascinated to hear what apps you need all of the time that need GPS fixes (no sarcasm intended - I'm genuinely interested). I'm also a little concerned that you seem to have problems with the GPS widget. I use it myself and it's been pretty reliable - both turning on and off. Have you tried an app other than Google Maps? I use CoPilot (which is a paid app) and the Tricorder app (free!) and both - on occasion - seem to fix quicker than Google Maps. That said, I got a recent update to Google Maps that seems to have helped that no end - maybe a trip to the MarketPlace (over WiFi if possible) might be wise. Cold fixes are now in about a minute - which is pretty respectable. That said, I had SirfStar II chipset on my old Nokia and that was a little tempremental to say the least, so maybe I'm easier to please. While we're talking about Google Maps - am I the only person for which Google Maps tends to "wander about" when you're sitting still? I've had my reported position change by as much as a quarter of a mile, when I've been sitting still (e.g. in a fast food joint).

Totally agree with you on the turning off 3G (hopefully that WAS clear from that post of mine) - I can't believe that SE are actually recommending it. What next - "to get maximum battery life, leave your phone switched off"? They are being a bit silly aren't they...? And while I'm on the subject, I was also totally agreeing with you that dimming the screen past the point you can read it was also a pretty lame suggestion. obviously that was the marketing department in charge of that document...

Likewise, totally agree on the stupidity of having non-core apps that you can't remove - it bugs me rotten. I'm planning to root my X10 (which isn't nearly as scary/difficult as doing that to an iPhone) just so I can zap about a third of the installed apps - because either they're not as good as others I can get, or I'm never likely to use them. From what I hear elsewhere not only does doing that make the phone run a little better, (reclaims memory and storage), but you can also claw back some valuable amps.

Last bit. Is it possible that you've got a poor battery? Just a thought, especially if you're getting a lot lower battery life than other US-based owners (guys/gals - feel free to chip in here - how long a life do YOU get). I'm probably going to really annoy you by saying this, but battery life on the Europe spec models seems to be generally better than the US ones, and if this is the case then I've got to wonder why. Actually now I mention it, a lot of the problems being reported - poor battery life; quiet in-call volumes; near-silent ringers - seem to be overwhelmingly be with US-spec phones. So I've also got to wonder if - and I merely suggest this - whether there's something fundamentally different about the US-spec firmware? In which case, then I would hope that the 2.1 upgrade (when/if that arrives) could solve this.

Again, on a personal level, I can easily hear my phone go off when it's upstairs and I'm downstairs (and vice-versa), and in-call volumes are "okay" - I've heard (or should that be "not heard") worse. I have more of an issue with echo.

Since I started with an apology, here's another - sorry to others that some of this post was off-topic. :smileyblush:

[#7]

No you need not Dark, To even suggest buying an Iphone is plain crazy! My g/f has an Iphone4 after her last phone got nicked and oh god I wish she hadn't. Call reception and cut'offs often and plenty of other issues or things that an X10 does far better. All an (idiot)phone has going for it is a fantastic App market, but if they were just willing to share!  lol!

Whoever said the battery improves through regular charging is correct. Because I work in an office, a lot of the time I'm near a PC, so I have a convenient charging point for half the day so I've never had battery issues. Even when I'm out and about, I've only had to worry about low battery twice, and that was when I was using Google Maps Navigation for extended periods coupled with the fact I'd not toned down the frequency of updates.

Just install Taskiller, charge frequently and don't have rediculously frequent updates on news and Timescape and you're sorted for battery. SIMPLES!

[#8]

I had my share of "fun" with the so-called Apple "smart"phone. If that is smart there are no dumbphones around. I agree the App Store is a great idea, but it was never theirs to begin with. They just made it very popular.

Yes, phone batteries do last longer as you charge. Apparently this has something to do with stabilization of the metal polymer content, of which I'm no expert in.

I charge my phone evey night while tethered to my PC, so I don't waste time and extra electricity. I have a habit of turning features off when I'm not using them, so that helps too with the charge duration.

And yes, I do use Advanced Task Killer. I would also recommend Startup Auditor to get rid of those pesky startup apps that consume your RAM, startup time, and battery power.

[#9]

"Cap'n! My tricorder is indicating that your body is showing an abnormaly!"

"You would be too, if you'd just look out of this window and into Janet's room...."

There's a lot of off-topic stuffs here and there. Nothing unusual. I'm one of the main culprits! Hee hee!

[#10]

Same here - I actually paid money for Startup Auditor - 99cents I can afford. Combination is pretty good - although SA doesn't seem to be able to kill Moxier Mail (I'll get off of my rump and ask the developer about that).

Kind of ironic isn't it that ATK is desirable for Android - maybe here's an example where the multitasking that 'droid does (and iOS doesn't) is a disadvantage.

Actually the bit about battery tech (way above my head) is pretty relevant - someone told me that you should never deep discharge LiON batteries (like the X10 uses) because it can inflict minor damage, certainly to the extent of not being able to achieve full capacity afterwards. Anyone who's up on battery tech care to confirm/deny that?

FarmerGiles wrote: Just install Taskiller, charge frequently and don't have rediculously  frequent updates on news and Timescape and you're sorted for battery.  SIMPLES!

Hmm, that last bit gives you away as UK based! (Actually I'm enough of a saddo to have Alexsandr as my text-message-received tone - see www.comparethemeerkat.com/downloads - didn't half cause some strange looks from other folks when it went off in the checkout queue at Lidl's on Monday. Tee-hee!).

[#11]

I do occassionally still get Moxier popping up here and there, but it is no longer an issue. In fact as of yesterday, I have semi-permanently stop Timescape from loading and running. It was only then that I realize Timescape eat RAM for all meals!

I readabout the battery thing a couple of years back... I think it was in 2002-3. It was in an article publish by some nutty department researching battery tech and usage.... Yup! You definitely read that correctly.