battery when you get the computer. In addition, they have a limited “cycle life” of about 500
charges. It is therefore quite possible you will need to replace the original battery at some point.
The Battery Gauge
When you run the computer on battery power, the battery gauge displays the amount of charge
left. It’s best to recharge the battery when the gauge reaches the last bar.
If you charge the battery while the computer is turned on, the battery gauge will display charge
progress. When the entire icon is visible, the battery is fully charged.
Battery Operation - What You Can Expect
The amount of time you can operate the computer on battery power will vary considerably
depending on your work habits, your software, and your use of the power management features.
The WinBookXP has a power management scheme that, if used effectively, will greatly increase
the amount of operating time you can expect from one charge.
In general, any program that makes extensive use of the disk drives will use more power. Even
Windows can be a power-drain if you use too many programs at the same time, so it is better to
only run programs you are actively using.
Another influential factor is the hardware configuration of the model you purchased. Power
consumption will depend on which LCD screen and CPU you have, and whether you have the
optional audio card and fax modem installed. A monochrome screen uses the least power, while
color screens use substantially more. Likewise, the faster your CPU, the more power it will use
at full speed. Adding either fax or audio options also adds to the overall load.
From all of this you can see that it’s something of a problem to arrive at a useful figure for how
long one battery charge will last, but we’ll do it anyway. If you’re an average user, you’ll
probably have the power management default settings active, be using the hard disk 50% of the
time, and be using the display 80% of the time. These figures are typical for word processing
work.
Battery Charge Temperature Limits
Temperature affects battery cycle life, self-discharge rate, operating and charge time. Below
10°C, the colder the battery, the longer it will take to charge, and the lower its charge capacity
will be. The operating period for one charge is also greatly reduced in cold temperatures. Above
35°C, the battery will not charge fully at all. Using the battery in extreme temperatures will
reduce its cycle life by as much as 50%. For the most efficient operation and longest life, you
should try to use battery power at temperatures between 20°C and 30°C.
If that is the case, you can probably expect one charge to give you four to five hours of battery
life for a monochrome model, three to four and a half hours for dual-scan color, and two to three
and a half for an active matrix color (TFT) screen. From this you can see, by the way, that the
LCD types is the most influential factor. Note that if you use a lot of power, the average time a
battery charge may be lower than the figures listed. If you are careful to conserve power, you can
expect one charge to last longer.
To Next Page
Loading...