Sony switches notebook battery life testing standards
updated 04:05 pm EDT, Tue September 9, 2008
Sony new battery testing
In an effort to more accurately and realistically advertise the battery life of its notebook comptuers, Sony will soon be switching to a different standard of measuring said battery life, a recent report reveals. Under the new standard, called Jeita A, Sony will only publish how long the notebook lasts while playing back a movie file, and not, as previously, the average of idle time and the movie playback test that made up the Jeita test.
The company goes on to explain its new method of testing on its website, which still involves dimming the display to 28 percent of brightness. While the new testing method will not result in pinpoint-accurate of users' computers as there are just too many variables, they will be closer to their real-world experience. Instead of the old 11-hour battery life claims, for example, the public can now expect to see estimates that are about half of that number, at least from Sony.
No matter which standard is used, however, it still allows the educated consumer to compare apples to apples, provided the method each product is tested by is clearly advertised and understood. Users who wish to test their notebook's battery life in the same method can read up more information on the Jeita testing standard and download the control movie. While this means shoppers will now get a more realistic and less disappointing representation of their newly purchased Sony notebook's operational longevity, unless other manufacturers make the same switch, the inconsistent and wildly optmistic numbers between makers will remain.
