Well, another summer another series of blog posts on how to optimize your life. In this case, it's how to optimize it financially. With the iPhone 4 announcement i was left less than impressed with the update. I have no idea why and what exactly i was expecting. Alright, i know what it is, IT LOOKS the same and has the same dinky little screen(with higher res). To me that's not enough to generate a purchase, but what do i know. I will most likely find myself with it in my pocket in a months time anyways. Maybe...
I am compiling a "guide" on how to still survive with the ol' 3G a little longer. This is for all those 3G owners that are still finishing off their 3 year contracts, don't want to lose their grandfathered data plans that have gotten the axe here in Canada and AT&T in the US. Let's have a look at what we know the 3G will lack compared to the iPhone 4:
- Front Facing Camera (Can't have)
- Multitasking (Can have)
- Homescreen Wallpaper (Can have)
- Better Batter Life (Can have)
- Better Autofocus Camera with Flash (Can almost have)
- Shiny new refreshed exterior (Can have)
- Better display (Can't have)
- iBooks (Yet to see)
Battery Life:
So we've had our iPhone 3G for almost 2 years now. Most of us are lucky to get a nice day of usage without reaching for the charger. Some offset this by buying an external battery such as the Mophie Juice Pack Air and the Mohpie Juice Pack (l
ink). Those are great solutions, but there are great DYI alternatives too. I recently opted to change my iPhone batter. This is a $89 service done by Apple. It's for suckers right? Well, maybe. The process is a little hard for inexperience DiYers out there, so if you're willing to fork the cash for a Mophie Juice Pack, then might as well just have Apple replace your battery instead.
I purchased my battery from eBay(yea yea, i know) from a
supplier of iPhone repair parts. It seemed legit so i bit the bullet and got it delivered in 2 business days. Everything cost me ~$30. Not bad. In the package you get a number of tools to make your life easier in the disassembly process. As a guide i suggest following the
iFixIt guide you will need a little suction cup to make this a little easier when removing the front bezel. It came apart real easy and if you follow the instructions and don't freak, then you should be fine. The process took a little under an hour for myself.
Results:
Note all tests ran on 3G connection.
Old battery average results:
~8hrs till dead
~30 min talk
~1.5 hrs music
moderate browsing and app usage
GPS
1/4 screen brightness
15 min interval email refresh
Day 1:
Ran ~10 hours
~30 min talk
~1 hr music
lots of wifi
light 3G use
GPS
1/4 screen brightness
15 min interval email refresh Day 2: ~13 hours
~45 min talk time
~2hrs music
1/2 brightness
Push email
Lots of 3G and WIFI
GPS
Day 3:
~9 hours (12% left)
~1.5 hrs talk time
~1.5 hrs music
1/2 brightness
Push email
Moderate 3G and WIFI
GPS
Day 4 (middle of the blog post):
@4 hours (85%)
1/2 brightness
~30 min music
light email and data(3G + WIFI)
Push email
GPS
Conclusion:
The process of replacing wasn't bad at all and it feel good to be back at an almost acceptable battery life. I'd personally recommend this to anyone looking to extend their dying iPhone 3G battery life. Worth the $30. Stay tuned over the next few weeks while i tackle the other "Can have" upgrades.
Cheers,
