[ghoticov]

I have an 8700c and I am a little confused. I have done a search and can't find the answer.

When my BB's screen turns off, is it essentially putting it to sleep?

The reason I ask is the first day I got my BB, I had to charge the battery after only a days use. I still had about 20% but didn't think it would make it through the night.

I have the backlight on 30% (like someone said to do) and the screen turns off after 30 seconds.

I noticed that alot of the holsters have a "sleeper magnet". Does that do the same thing that happens to mine in 30 seconds (if not used)? Is mine "going to sleep" also when the screen turns off? And if it does, I assume it conserves battery life?

Probably dumb questions but I want to figure out ways to extend my battery life.

Thanks!

Marc

[d_fisher]

Go to the screen where you change the backlight %. Change the Backlight time out to as high as 2 minutes. When the screen goes dark the BlackBerry is not in asleep. The monitor has been simply turned off to save power, just like your PC monitor does. Scroll the wheel or press a button to turn it back on. The sleeper magnet goes a little bit further and puts the whole device in a lower power consumption mode.

If you have bluetooth enabled that will decrease your battery life. Also if you installed any software that is constantly chattering to the web your battery life will be reduced. I am not sure what the average battery life is on an 8700 as I dont use one. If memory serves me correctly, your getting about average battery life. You may want to think about getting an extended life battery too.

[ghoticov]

Originally Posted by d_fisher

Go to the screen where you change the backlight %. Change the Backlight time out to as high as 2 minutes. When the screen goes dark the BlackBerry is not in asleep. The monitor has been simply turned off to save power, just like your PC monitor does. Scroll the wheel or press a button to turn it back on. The sleeper magnet goes a little bit further and puts the whole device in a lower power consumption mode.

If you have bluetooth enabled that will decrease your battery life. Also if you installed any software that is constantly chattering to the web your battery life will be reduced. I am not sure what the average battery life is on an 8700 as I dont use one. If memory serves me correctly, your getting about average battery life. You may want to think about getting an extended life battery too.

Thank you, that answers my question! I was assuming that because my screen turned off (I changed it to turn off at 30 sec) that my device was "asleep". I will search for info on the extended life battery..I would like to atleast get a couple of days before having to charge.

It may be a good idea to get the holster with the sleeper magnet. So many decisions......

[silverxbaby]

Using auto on/off to switch my 8700 off between 2300 and 0630 I can get up to 7 days out of one charge. If anything battery life has improved with use.

[ghoticov]

Originally Posted by silverxbaby

Using auto on/off to switch my 8700 off between 2300 and 0630 I can get up to 7 days out of one charge. If anything battery life has improved with use.

Do you have the extended battery?

[cooperpwc]

Originally Posted by ghoticov

I have the backlight on 30% (like someone said to do) and the screen turns off after 30 seconds.
Marc

I'm amazed that anyone finds this level of lighting satisfactory. At the 100% setting with the autobacklight feature activated, the 8700 is not therefore always at 100% brightness. It will actually only go there in bright sunlight.
With the autobacklight on, I recommend the 100% setting. Why save your battery and hurt your eyes?

[EricaJ1074]

I keep my backlight set at 44% during the day and 4% at night.

[ghoticov]

Originally Posted by cooperpwc

I'm amazed that anyone finds this level of lighting satisfactory. At the 100% setting with the autobacklight feature activated, the 8700 is not therefore always at 100% brightness. It will actually only go there in bright sunlight.
With the autobacklight on, I recommend the 100% setting. Why save your battery and hurt your eyes?

I am trying to save battery life, that's the ONLY reason I have it set at 30%.

I may get the extended battery, looks like it may be worth the extra $50.

[cooperpwc]

Originally Posted by EricaJ1074

I keep my backlight set at 44% during the day and 4% at night.

You seem like a nice person so I'm not going to tell you what I really think of setting the light level to 4% at night. At least not in as caustic a manner as I might otherwise be inclined to. But isn't replacing the battery cheaper than replacing your eyes? Isn't it also a more practical possibility?

[wibbly]

- I don't think low light levels ruins your eyesight - it just makes things difficult to read and may give you a headache.

- Signal strength can make a big difference to battery life, not that you can do anything about it. A GSM device will transmit at up to 100x the power to maintain a link if the signal is weak...

[EricaJ1074]

Originally Posted by cooperpwc

You seem like a nice person so I'm not going to tell you what I really think of setting the light level to 4% at night. At least not in as caustic a manner as I might otherwise be inclined to. But isn't replacing the battery cheaper than replacing your eyes? Isn't it also a more practical possibility?

I also have an extended battery too.

[cooperpwc]

Originally Posted by EricaJ1074

I also have an extended battery too.

Okay. I was perhaps flaming you but certainly not dissing you. They're your eyes...

[cooperpwc]

Originally Posted by wibbly

- I don't think low light levels ruins your eyesight - it just makes things difficult to read and may give you a headache.

wibbly, I really question this. My understanding is that reading in low light puts a tremendous strain on your eyes. Must be possible to find something on topic on the Internet...

[Liv]

I just have mine set to 100 percent and auto on. I prefer to be able to see my screen

[EricaJ1074]

I didn't take offense to it. My eyes are just sensitive to bright lights and some colors (I can't stand to look at yellow or red for too long while at the computer). I just tried to turn up the backlight to 100 and it hurt too much so I put it back down to 60 and it's fine.

[Winston S.]

I have my backlight set to 10 and I don't seem to be having trouble with it.

[wibbly]

Originally Posted by cooperpwc

wibbly, I really question this. My understanding is that reading in low light puts a tremendous strain on your eyes. Must be possible to find something on topic on the Internet...

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/health...?storyid=20044

[cooperpwc]

Originally Posted by wibbly

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/health...?storyid=20044

I acknowledge your link. And it stands unless and until I find something better... One of the great myths is that you can trust what you read on the Internet.

[wibbly]

Originally Posted by cooperpwc

One of the great myths is that you can trust what you read on the Internet.

[ghoticov]

Originally Posted by cooperpwc

I acknowledge your link. And it stands unless and until I find something better... One of the great myths is that you can trust what you read on the Internet.

Wait, I thought that if it was on the internet it HAD to be true!