Google blames short Android battery life on background apps
updated 08:45 pm EDT, Wed May 19, 2010
Users have to manually watch for power hogs
Google co-founder Larry Page, speaking at the company's I/O developer conference, suggested that there is "something wrong" if an Android handset cannot get through a full day without recharging the battery. The executive was responding to a question regarding the company's plans to address battery life issues on the mobile platform.
"I have noticed there are a few people who have phones where there is software running in the background that just sort of exhausts the battery quickly," Page said. If you are not getting a day, there is something wrong."
CEO Eric Schmidt suggested that the transmit/receive unit is typically the primary source of battery drain. He reminded audience members to figure out a way to minimize using the communication components, as many applications "are not particularly smart" about optimizing the power consumption.
The recommendations highlight a potential difference in Android's multitasking system compared to alternatives such iPhone 4.0. Although both systems attempt to limit the power consumption while a task is active in the background, Apple suggests that its upcoming mobile OS will implement multitasking in a way that avoids excessive drain on the battery. The Google execs have blamed third-party developers, leaving users to manually find which apps are hogging resources. [via TechRadar]
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You can bet Apple is patenting their process. As time goes on we start "hearing" about Android problems with developers, and apps. and people DOING what they want... whereas Steve Jobs keeps telling us they are going after the USER experience and dropping apps or potential apps that abuse this. Live and Learn Eric. To you it's about market share, to Apple it's about making a great experience and making money for its investors. You lose.