Geek.com published some time ago a review of a laptop using the same VIA processor that we have in the eo V7110. Here is what the author wrote about what is going on with battery life on VIA processors:
I should note here that the TongFang (this is the Laptop that they were reviewing) does not enter C3/C4 power states; that fact was revealed to me by a BIOS author at VIA Technologies. I'm told this is actually a common problem on computers using USB 2.0 devices because constant polling actually causes the processor to frequently enter a C0 state (the least amount of power savings) while "talking" with certain South Bridges. This relates back to the stories I've heard lately about Intel's new Core Duo processors having an unusually high amount of power drain due to a bad driver, as was originally reported by Tom's Hardware. Apparently this is something the industry has known for quite some time but has been quiet about. Since I wasn't using any USB devices on the TongFang during the power tests, I suspect the SD card reader was the culprit here, keeping the notebook out of C3/C4 levels of power savings, which are the greatest power saving modes.
Without C3/C4 power states available to it (due to the known USB-induced "bug"), the TongFang is not able to come close to revealing what the C7-M is capable of delivering in terms of battery life longevity. VIA claims to have seen battery life up to 8 hours with notebooks that fully exploit the C7-M's power-saving technology. VIA has told me that it's working on a BIOS fix, but at the time of this writing I had not yet received said fix.
This is exactly what we have found in our tests described at OrigamiPortal Forum.
TabletKiosk/AMTek will have to work hard on this issue and demand a fix from VIA as soon as possible. I love the eo V7110 but really its battery life is just a joke that will damage significantly the amount of sales of these units here in USA where the Q1 as began with some very good reports of more than 2 hours of battery life while browsing the web and doing normal activities. 1 hour and 25 minutes is one of the worse battery life that I have seen in a long time, I can't consider it even close to a poor battery life (2 hours in any laptop) and it's far away from my concept of "mobility". I consider the external design of the eo a lot more practical than what I see in the Q1, but a better battery life will be something that many customers will appreciate a lot more than external design.
The good news is that all this seems to me that can be fixed with a software patch via a BIOS update or just a driver update.
Another good news is that yesterday I sent TabletKiosk all this information pointing them to the thread at OrigamiPortal forum where we have posted all the information that we have been able to find and test. I hope that that will help them to find a fast solution for this issue.
so does that mean that if/when they find a fix we are looking at decent battery life with the standard battery and awesome life with the extended?
ReplyDeleteI still have to run some tests to say any prediction on it but so far it seems to me that we should get close to 2 hours or a little more with the normal battery. So far I do not see the reason why this can't be fixed. It has been fixed in the pass by Microsoft and Intel so I don't see why between AMTek and VIA would not create a fix for it. The fix will require a BIOS update for what I can see.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is 'When?' We waited this long for these UMPCs, this should of been fixed before it was released.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but there is nothing that we can do about it right now beside to help running the tests we are asking to run in OrigamiPortal thread. Negativity wont help at all, trust me.
ReplyDeleteI contacted a few minutes ago AMTek asking them for help too and forwarding them all the information that we have about it.
ReplyDeleteI really feel for you guys becoz I dont think you will see a driver update or patch anytime soon. I'm positive that the poor battery life is an issue TK & AMTEK have been aware of as it would be part of the standard quality control tests. (It's one of the easiest things to check). If they maintain that they did NOT check the battery life or power drain, I would be seriously concerned about the quality of this device.
ReplyDeleteI know you guys are early adopters etc but with the kind of life you are getting with the 'eo' (or 'OW!' as it should have been called) dont you think you'd be better off with a refund and a Q1?
Well, I would prefer to wait a little bit to see what TabletKiosk is going to do about it. The main reason is bacause the eo has like I have been saying has a better button/mouse/D-Pad design in my opinion. Keep in mind that the eo was advertised to have 2.2 hours of battery life and the reality is 1.5 hours. And there is not any possible way to get the 2.2 hours that they promised under any conditions.
ReplyDeleteI understand - but surely they should be made to account for the incorrect/misleading statement they have released about the 2.2 hrs life.
ReplyDeleteIn the UK, this would be in breach of the description of goods & services act and Trading Standards (a government body) would not look kindly on this sort of thing.
I'm not aware of the consumer laws in the USA but I'm sure you cant sell your product on the basis of false statements or at least statements that the vendor/re-seller/manufacturer has not taken care to fully verify and substantiate.....