Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
Originally Posted By: ireckon
I think if you use a smart phone as a phone only, the battery life is respectable, right? (I have no personal experience with the current generation of smart phones.) In contrast, a "dumb phone" has no option of using smart features.


A smart phone will consume more power under normal phone use than a feature phone, because it has to drive a much larger display and backlight. I expect that it uses more power when sleeping (due to background processes and a less power-efficient CPU) than feature phones do on standby. That doesn't mean you're wrong, it means that a good smart phone has to have a larger battery to get respectable battery life as a phone only, which many do.


Maybe that's true for some smart phones that aren't so smart. My girlfriend's LG Optimus turns off the screen when she puts the phone to her ear. Her battery seems to be about the same or better than a dumb phone when she just uses it to talk.

http://www.metropcs.com/metro/detail/LG+Optimus+M%2B/LGMS695

By the way the offerings at Metro PCS are quite appealing. I'm thinking about trying them out. The non-contract is appealing.
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