Help choosing new phone with good battery life?

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tardtasticx

3075 posts

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#109378 18-Sep-2012 23:37

Currently:
iPhone 4S, had it for about 10 months now, love it to bits, only problem is the battery life. It barely lasts me a day at uni where I'll be listening to offline music, taking a few photos or tethering my iPad where I don't have wifi. I'm about to list it on Trademe, along with its accessories.

What I want:
Something that can hopefully last me a whole day in terms of battery, I use twitter and facebook quite a lot, occasional web browsing, email on push etc.
I'm open to different platforms, toying with the idea of waiting for iPhone 5, but then again I'm not sure if its going to be available relatively soon and for how much. I have used android before, but it was quite some time ago on a 2.1 device.

I've looked at the Motorola Razr MAXX, looks like a very nice phone, except I'm not sure if they sell the varient over here with the 3000MaH battery which lasts like 21hours talk time or something insane like that.

What would you guys recommend? I'd prefer something with a decent size screen perhaps, not too large like the note but not too small either, iphone size was fine.

- Sam

nakedmolerat

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#687938 18-Sep-2012 23:57

http://einfo.co.nz/shop/motorola-razr-maxx-p-26103.html

nakedmolerat

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#687940 19-Sep-2012 00:04

Or if you can wait, get Razr Maxx HD which have 4.1.1 and minimal android skin on top (read: quick update from google)

http://m.engadget.com/2012/09/05/motorola-droid-razr-hd-maxx-hands-on-bigger-battery-beautiful/

tardtasticx

3075 posts

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#687942 19-Sep-2012 00:18

Do you think that one will come to NZ any time soon?
It doesnt seem that much different from this MAXX, slightly more powerful CPU and better screen (?)

And thanks for finding that link for me btw, I've had phones from them before so quite happy to buy from them again.

gzt

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#687988 19-Sep-2012 07:57

3G burns through any battery life. The more data, the more drain. If you are up for a new phone, go for it, but even with another phone you might like to consider an external battery or clip-on battery to take to uni as well.

robjg63

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#687990 19-Sep-2012 08:09

Wife has the Galaxy S3 - she doesnt make a huge number of phone calls - but has the wifi/GPS on all the time and charges it a couple of times a week. She uses the internet/mail etc a lot. Seems to have a robust battery life.
She is on Telecom - so effectively the 3G is on all the time I guess.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

tardtasticx

3075 posts

Uber Geek

#688070 19-Sep-2012 11:01

How long would a true geeks GS3 last? I know we seem to use a lot more data than most which seems to kill battery pretty quickly. Lol.

DrStrangelove

368 posts

Ultimate Geek

#700381 12-Oct-2012 19:16

http://www.mugen-power-batteries.com/

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leo0787sx

407 posts

Ultimate Geek

#703146 18-Oct-2012 19:22

I am using an iphone 5, always connected to 3G and wifi is always turned on, make a few calls and texts but also use it for work calls. Get google emails, facebook and linkedin notifications so I use it a fair bit and it lasts me a good couple of days.

NZtechfreak

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#703153 18-Oct-2012 19:35

If you want Razr Maxx territory battery life options are scarce.

Shame that the Note is too large for you, as the Note 2 battery life is seriously epic.

Beyond that the Huawei D1 Quad XL is worth thinking about - 2600mA battery for a 4.5inch IPS display. Limited availability at present, pretty much only available from Chinese sources (I have one on order), but expect wider release soon (Mobicity being one place very likely to get them ahead of others). Considering it was only $644NZD shipped for top notch hardware with a very decent battery could be a good one for a number of potential buyers wanting something with a bit more substantial battery life.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

profrink

257 posts

Ultimate Geek

#703161 18-Oct-2012 20:02

Check out GSM Arenas battery reviews, you can see which handsets are sitting at the top of the battery life table.

http://blog.gsmarena.com/category/battery-tests/

The top end Moto's are the way to go if you want major battery life.

lxsw20

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#703171 18-Oct-2012 20:16

Personally I got an S3 from my Telecom rep for the week and found my 4s had a longer battery life.

NZtechfreak

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#703172 18-Oct-2012 20:16

profrink: Check out GSM Arenas battery reviews, you can see which handsets are sitting at the top of the battery life table.

http://blog.gsmarena.com/category/battery-tests/

The top end Moto's are the way to go if you want major battery life.

Unfortunately for large number of other reasons the Moto's aren't very good. I would love their battery life, but won't compromise on the several fronts the Moto's fall down in to get it.

The Note 2 is straight up the best device, while still retaining very good battery life, but the OP may not be able to handle the size by the sounds of it.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org