Extended Battery Real Live Use

I have used the extended battery for the Everun since the beginning of february 2008, so around a month of real use.

The Good...
When you put the Everun in "Power Saving" mode (Speed) and Wifi/BT off, the Expwin reports around 11 hours 42 minutes of working time, which is incredibly! Not the 12-13 hours advertised, but we all know that specs from manufactories are a little over the top.
So you can do a lot of eBook reading or working with documents.














When you switch on Wifi ("normal" mode) and the processor to "auto", the predicted using time drops to about 9 hours 43 mins, which is still a lot.
Still, you have to remember that when actually using the device, and the processor is going to work hard, the indicated usage time will decrease.



The Bad...
The device feels real heavy with the extended battery, up to an "uncomfortable" level. You really have to get used to the new weight. Still, I have no problems keeping the device in my hand for several hours. Holding the device in portrait mode is more comfortable than in landscape position.

The Ugly...
The battery looks...well, uh, ugly. About 5 millimeters stick out of the device. The Everun never has been a "sexy" looking device, but with the extended battery the "nice" look is definitely gone.

Conclusion
If you want more battery power that will get you through the day, you definitely gonna like this extended battery. No more worries about low power messages, which was the main reason for me to buy one. Ofcourse you have to live by the drawbacks: weight and (lack of) looks.

I, for sure, am not going back to the standard battery!

Just ordered the extended battery for the Everun!

Although not cheap (130 euro's incl. tax + 30 euro's shipping), I just ordered the Everun's extended battery. The standard battery gives you about 3-4 hours wifi on (and browsing about), and about 5 hours working time without wifi. That's a lot for a umpc. But what I don't like is that I still have to be carefull using the device 'on the move' and away from a charger.
So, the extended battery will give me at least 8 hours working time, enough to use it all day at work (next to my work notebook) without worrying about the battery.



Specs: Everun Large Battery, 4000 mAh LI-ION, 11-12 hours
Shop: www.mobilx.eu

As you can see on the picture, the Everun gets about 0,5 mm thicker. There's also a video on YouTube showing the increased thickness. That's the trade off for more power.

Desktop

Just a picture of my current desktop. Look at all those nice programs I use.



Mobipocket for eBook reading, still a very, very good solution.
GOM player for music and vids.
Skype. A mixed bag. I works, but that's all. Processor is running at 100%.
PaintSHop Pro 5 for light photo editing work.
Textpad, for note taking and html/javascript development.
Firefox and IE 7, I prefer FF but sometimes need IE.
Foxit Reader. Light and pretty quick. Better than Adobe Reader, that's so heavy.
Outlook 2003, for all e-mail. Works pretty good.
Teletype for car navigation.
eWallet, to store passwords and stuff safely.
...And of course a lot other programs...

It's Been To Long

I'm sorry that I've published nothing here for such a long time. Too busy, I know, that's everybody's excuse...

Yes, I still use the Everun on a daily base. The last weeks I have tested the Everun as car navigation tool. I had an old car holder, for an HP Jornada 710 (remember?), so I could put the Everun in a comfortable place in the car.
For navigation on my PDA's I use mainly Route66, sometimes TomTom, and for geocaching I use Teletype. Fortenately, the latter can also be installed on a normal PC, and thus now runs on my Everun. Hook the Everun via Bluetooth on a GPS receiver and on you go!



Teletype is not a good navigation application, not compared to R66, TomTom etc. But it works, and you can customize it a lot. And you've got a hell of a big screen there. The software runs in 2D and 3D, you can route from address to address or waypoint, and you get voice instructions where to go.



Unfortenately, on a pc -and thus the Everun- the buttons and menu's are very small. It's very had to control the software with you fingers. You need a styles for that, and using a styles in a moving car is very tricky, let alone dangerous.
Since I don't have a car charger, I have to trust the Everun's battery. In general, I travel for about 2,5 hours. When I also use the Everun as a musicplayer, the battery is almost flat at the end of the day. Using the Everun solely for navigation gives me about an hour left.



Anyway, I like using the Everun as car navigation. Another application of the Everun...

UMPC makes me aware

Today I thought about the Everun's use and how it affects the use of my notebook. It was a real shock to realize that much of the notebook's work is now done by my Everun, sitting on the couch watching TV with half 'n eye.
FIE (full internet experience) and e-mail makes much of my private workload. Work I can do easily with the Everun. So, my notebook is only used to type a lot of text (like this blog), gaming, programming and Office stuff (Word/Excel).
So, do not throw away you notebook when you've got an UMPC, but know that a lot of work can be done with the umpc. Have fun!