Charging the 650

[jeff1234]

Hi Everyone. I am new to the site - have only had my Treo 650 a week or so. I had one question from the manual that surprised me. The manual suggests to charge the phone as frequently as you can, as the "Li-Ion battery in your smartphone has a much longer useful life when it is topped off frequently, versus charging it after it is fully drained".

I was always under the impression that this is bad practice. And that in order to avoid giving your battery a "memory" you should charge it once it is fully drained, to use it up as much as you can. I have always followed this approach and always had good luck.

I have never seen Palm's suggestion documented anywhere, as it is in there manual. I was curious what you guys thought / have experienced.

Thanks much!

Jeff

[plunker]

I believe the manuals are created by palm and the service providers, since these manuals are on the palm site. The battery does not develop a memory like the older batteries (nicon or something like that)

That being said every once in awhile I will discharge my battery to see how long it will last with my normal use.

[kevinmichaels]

Hello Jeff,

This is Kevin from Palm. plunker is correct. I'm far from an expert on batteries, but NiCad batteries are known to suffer from what's called the "memory effect". If the battery is repeatedly only partially discharged before recharging, it "forgets" that it has the capacity to further discharge all the way down.
Li-Ion batteries are popular because they generate the same amount of power, weigh significantly less and do not suffer from the memory effect.


Sincerely
Kevin

[jeff1234]

Makes sense about the NiCad vs. Li-Ion. Good point.

However, maybe its my wild imagination, but .... my previous phone used a Li-Ion battery and my wife's phone did too. From day one she would charge her phone every night. I would wait until my battery was worn down, but not dead. This went on for a year or so. Now, her phone can't hold a charge longer then a day. And my phone (which had dual LCDs and her's does not and mine had more functionality) could last 4 days easily.

Maybe she just had a bad battery, I don't know. I was just surprised to see Palm make the statement that charging the battery frequently would actually extend the useful life. I could understand something like "you are okay to charge it frequently as it will not develop a memory."

Maybe just semantics. I am still not sure how often I will charge it. Daily or when it reaches 30% or so.


Thanks for taking the time to respond!!

[Shady]

Makes sense about the NiCad vs. Li-Ion. Good point.

However, maybe its my wild imagination, but .... my previous phone used a Li-Ion battery and my wife's phone did too. From day one she would charge her phone every night. I would wait until my battery was worn down, but not dead. This went on for a year or so. Now, her phone can't hold a charge longer then a day. And my phone (which had dual LCDs and her's does not and mine had more functionality) could last 4 days easily.

Maybe she just had a bad battery, I don't know. I was just surprised to see Palm make the statement that charging the battery frequently would actually extend the useful life. I could understand something like "you are okay to charge it frequently as it will not develop a memory."

Maybe just semantics. I am still not sure how often I will charge it. Daily or when it reaches 30% or so.


Thanks for taking the time to respond!!

Li-Ion, LiPolimer, or any Li battery will last longer if topped off frequently.
Unlike the old Ni based batteries that needed to be cycled hi to low.

Basically keep the Treo plugged in at home, in car, at office, etc. It will keep your battery new.

[Harvey]

Your wife probably uses her phone more than you do.
These batteries will last longer if kept at full charge.
They do have a limited number of charge cycles though.
I know most of todays Lithium Ion notebook batteries have an average lifespan of 500 charges and they recommend keeping them charged as to not use up this number.

[jeff1234]

Shady - Thanks for the advice, I will charge it every night.

Harvey - Good thought, but I would say that I use my phone nearly twice as much as she does. I do appreciate your advice and will keep it at full charge. Again, I am definitely no expert here! Just to make sure I understand ...

- the 500 charges refers to the number of charge cycles?
- a charge cycle is what - charging a battery from empty to full?
- using a charge cycle can be avoided by charging from 70% full instead of 5% full?

THANKS!