[elvisgates]

Ok guys, sorry for the delay. I saw a few questions about pictures. Here they are. As you can see, the bulge is really, almost non-existent. This is with a silicone case. Of course, ya can't use the silicone case and the nice leather holster that comes with the phone but it does give it great protection. I didnt take a picture of it but instead of having the entire back of the phone exposed (under the silicone,) I cut the battery door so only the top half of the back is exposed (the battery area.) Since doors are replaceable with these phones, if I ever want an upgrade, I'll just buy another door. Hope this answers the questions. I still have got to say, it is N-I-C-E being able to go two days without recharges with all the "stuff" I have going on with this phone. Again, this is a 2400mah Storm replacement battery that came with a Storm "bulge" door for $40. It will suffice until the Seidio battery comes out with its door that is custom made for the tour.

[xxDruMMer BoYxx]

Originally Posted by elvisgates

Ok guys, sorry for the delay. I saw a few questions about pictures. Here they are. As you can see, the bulge is really, almost non-existent. This is with a silicone case. Of course, ya can't use the silicone case and the nice leather holster that comes with the phone but it does give it great protection. I didnt take a picture of it but instead of having the entire back of the phone exposed (under the silicone,) I cut the battery door so only the top half of the back is exposed (the battery area.) Since doors are replaceable with these phones, if I ever want an upgrade, I'll just buy another door. Hope this answers the questions. I still have got to say, it is N-I-C-E being able to go two days without recharges with all the "stuff" I have going on with this phone. Again, this is a 2400mah Storm replacement battery that came with a Storm "bulge" door for $40. It will suffice until the Seidio battery comes out with its door that is custom made for the tour.

Nice...now that's customizing....lol...what about the batterry cover....how did u cut that? Just curious not saying I would wanna do it but yah that works.

[elvisgates]

The battery cover isnt very thick and my Dremel went through it cleanly. I just marked the sides of the door where the battery was, connected the dots with a line and cut away. The battery fits pretty tightly anyway but the silicone holder makes sure it isnt going anywhere. The micro sd card and the sim card are protected by the original door and the silicone. Like I said in my first post, it aint the -best- fix, but it IS a fix for "right now." And yes, I have the 2600mah from Seidio ordered.

[gmclella]

Alot of people are having success just making a few on device changes.

Switching from Global to 1XEV and changing GPS to E911 will greatly improve battery life. When I first got the tour the battery was sinking like the Titanic. I switched those two settings and battery life has been much improved. I left all other settings related to power unchanged. One benefit I have is the fact that I use a network extender at home, so I get full reception.
(Setup>)Options>Mobile Network>Network Technology>1XEV.
(Setup>)Options >advanced options > gps

Of course you'd have to switch the network back to Global if you are travelling and plan on using your phone.

[ffejie]

This is kind of ridiculous. I unplugged my phone at 9 AM. It's 3:30. The battery is at 65%. I have used the phone exactly once to make a 19 minute phone call. No emails sent. Emails received, yes, but that is on my BES/BIS and it's not exactly easy to measure without that.

Bluetooth off, GPS on.

No applications open. When I hit application switcher, I get Phone, Browser, Home, BBM, Gmail Enhanced Plugin, Messages

Service is good, never dropped a call in my house which is where I am now.

I can't understand how this battery life is acceptable.

[bdink1]

Originally Posted by rambo47

Seidio Online will be shipping a 2600mAh battery on 9/4. I'm considering one of these myself, provided it does not require one of those hump-back covers.

edit: looks like it will ship with a hump-back batter cover.

The 2600 battery will ad 3 to 4 mm (.17") to cover

[fredL]

I had no problems with my battery life, even with GPS on. Never came close to running out of juice. Until I switched to 'global access' - battery went dead in 6 hours.

I also added 2 language translation apps - I was wondering if anyone here knew how to be sure an app wasn't running? This is dumb, but if it's not on the screen, then it's not running - right?

[rangers1314]

Originally Posted by jimmysvt

Wirelessly posted

Have you tried the 1600mah battery? How does it hold up to the onslaught of your phone? Lol

Ok so the Tour is my first BB and I have to say, the battery life is beyond horrendous. Its getting to the point where I have to schedule a trip home during the day to make sure I can get this thing on the charger. That being said, ive been looking into battery upgrades and was wondering what peoples opinions are on whether or not getting this 1600mah battery would make a difference. How many more hours of life would this new battery give me? Thanks!

[terryzx]

Easy to carry an extra battery or have a charger with you in the car

[anecoo.com]

Originally Posted by akosnitzky

Wirelessly posted (Its All About the U!)

Good suggestions above. I simply bought an extra battery and external charger

Where did you buy a external charger?

I set up a topic of " If we need external charger for our blackberry"

it seems that you are one who need external charger.

[evermore707]

$7.50 for these 1600mAh. I have 2 and the work great. 1600 mAh For D-X1 BATTERY FOR BLACKBERRY 8900 9500 9630 For 8 bucks! - Blackberry Stuff - If it is Geek- Then it is Zen

One in my 8900 and the other in my 9630.

[betterdays]

I have to sympathise with ffejie. I made 8 phones calls yesterday and maybe received as many. A few emails too. From a 7am start my Bold was dead by 8pm.

I know there is much talk on here about extended batteries, but this should not be necessary unless heavy usage. Mine drains whether I'm using it much or not. I have checked all the things that might burn battery you kind people suggest.

I have had the Bold about 2 months. Yes, I have bought a spare battery but we should not have to be finding our own solutions.

The phone is hardly a "mobile" if I have to have it connected whenever near a plug or driving just so that it doesn't fail on me if I go out for a few hours!

Phew!!

PS.... I would still welcome any advice!

Originally Posted by ffejie

This is kind of ridiculous. I unplugged my phone at 9 AM. It's 3:30. The battery is at 65%. I have used the phone exactly once to make a 19 minute phone call. No emails sent. Emails received, yes, but that is on my BES/BIS and it's not exactly easy to measure without that.

Bluetooth off, GPS on.

No applications open. When I hit application switcher, I get Phone, Browser, Home, BBM, Gmail Enhanced Plugin, Messages

Service is good, never dropped a call in my house which is where I am now.

I can't understand how this battery life is acceptable.

[info[]box1]

Im reading all the posts about bad battery life with normal usage. Its strange cause I have a sprint stock battery for my Tour and it lasts like 2 days with normal usage. This tells me you guys should invest inexpensive stock battery. Something might be wrong with the batteries that you currently own. Just my thoughts, opinion etc...

Good luck

[RFHavens]

For anyone who is thinking of more battery life, this has been really working out well for me. Of course it is not an $8 solution but it does work well. With it installed along with the matching battery cover, it still fits and charges in the BB Charging Pod and it still fits into the clip-holster that comes with the Tour. It is not much thicker but the shape is actually more comfortable (in my hand at least). Weight-wise maybe an ounce more but that is just a guess.

One of the factors that plays into how long your battery will last before charging, also has to do with where you are in regards to network coverage. If you live and work in a 3G area and don't go into the extended network, your battery will last longer. I work in a remote area and have to use an amplifier from Wilson Electronics (there are others) at work just so I can get a reasonable data connection. At home coverage is better and varies from base 3G (EVDO) to mid 1X.

With all of that said. I tested with the following:

Screen 10% at 10 seconds
Bluetooth on
GPS on with location
WeatherBug Elite always on with updates every 15 minutes
Incoming emails from 50-100 a day (Mainly while at work)
3-10 calls a day with 15 minute average duration

Unplugged from charging pod at 5:15 am and plugged back in at 10:30 pm. Tested similar scenario for 3 days.

Resulted in 75-80% battery left when putting back on the charger each of those days.

Still to do, a run down test. Sometimes hard to do as I have to tether once in a while, which of course charges at the same time.

Hope this helps, Robert

[RoDan]

I loaded .53 yesterday, and used my Tour all day today like normal and I swear I'm getting better battery life so far. Of course, this could be because: 1) the OS is better/more efficient or 2) it reads battery charge level slightly different. Too early to tell at this point. But I am seeing better battery life so far, by this time of day i'd be around 60-70% charge and right now I'm at 80%.

[ffejie]

Originally Posted by RoDan

I loaded .53 yesterday, and used my Tour all day today like normal and I swear I'm getting better battery life so far. Of course, this could be because: 1) the OS is better/more efficient or 2) it reads battery charge level slightly different. Too early to tell at this point. But I am seeing better battery life so far, by this time of day i'd be around 60-70% charge and right now I'm at 80%.

The result is even more stark for me. I'm noticing 2x - 3x improvement. I've been off charger for 16 hours now and still have 60% battery. I would say 90% of the time by now I would be dead, radio off. This is a much needed update as far as I am concerned. Don't upgrade your battery or exchange your Tour until you try .53.

[Naganalf]

im sorry but what is .53?

[vetmotox]

Originally Posted by Naganalf

im sorry but what is .53?

The OS version.

It was an update that was released and pulled just as quick.

I got it and agree that it no less than doubled my battery life. I was killing my battery daily, before .53. The only change I made was updating and I am rarely below 50% when I charge for the night.

[mikenich]

I just installed the 2600mAH battery in my new Tour and it fits the RIM holster fine. This Tour is my initial entry into BB world, so I really can't offer much of an informed opinion on its capacity compared to the stock 14mAH battery supplied by RIM.

[RobNyc]

Originally Posted by mikenich

I just installed the 2600mAH battery in my new Tour and it fits the RIM holster fine. This Tour is my initial entry into BB world, so I really can't offer much of an informed opinion on its capacity compared to the stock 14mAH battery supplied by RIM.

You bought the 2600mAh from Seidio ?