Smartphone talk-times tested

posted by Ken N. / Sep 17, 2010, 6:18 PM

Tested, a consumer research group, did a formal test of some of the more popular smartphones out there to see if their manufacturers' claims were accurate. What they found was that, for the most part, the manufacturer's reported talk-time is a pretty honest figure.

The top performer in battery life was the Motorola DROID 2, at 465 minutes of talk-time. The DROID 2, however, also had the most inaccurately optimistic reported talk-time (575). The iPhone 4 had the next most disparate times, with 382 minutes of real time versus 420 reported.

The Samsung Captivate, HTC DROID Incredible, Palm Pre Plus, and iPhone 3GS all lasted about as long as their claims. The Samsung Captivate actually outperformed its estimate by 4 minutes. Yes, it's only 4 minutes, but we have to appreciate their modesty.

The phones were tested from the same location with music played throughout the calls (to simulate a conversation's battery drain), with Wi-Fi connected but Bluetooth disconnected.

source: Tested via Gizmodo

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7 Comments

1. cadetz unregistered

i hope they find ways to increase talk time in the future but good job on the captive! =D

posted on Oct 20, 2010, 1:48 AM 0

2. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

ummm.. question. why was WiFi an option turned ON for a voice call test? I guess im the only one that noticed that. That drains the battery so that will affect the testing.

posted on Sep 17, 2010, 9:13 PM 0

3. roscuthiii

Posts: 2383; Member since: Jul 18, 2010

As long as Wi-Fi was turned on for all phones tested it's not really a problem. They playing field was level.

posted on Sep 17, 2010, 9:39 PM 0

4. rafaelinux

Posts: 31; Member since: Jun 29, 2009

'Cos they deem normal WiFi to be active.

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 2:52 AM 0

5. ilia1986 unregistered

And it actually is. It's 2010. Not 1990.

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 11:44 AM 0

7. remixfa

maybe if your on ATT. Even on T mobile i rarely use my wifi.. LOL. I think i might turn it on 10 mins a week if that. So the tests then are innacurate.