I'd guess that there is nothing one can do with it. only workaround would be push servers a la iPhone, but the same problem has been forever with symbian phones etc. since 6630 IMs online have meant half the battery life compared to IM offline for me.
If I run IM app (Numbuzz, Slick and etc) on N95 or 5800XM, the battery will be gone in hours.
I don't think it's a bug in specific to N900, it's just how it is if running IM on any device, probably the protocol was designed for always connected desktop, can also be protocol specific. I don't think it's Nokia or the firmware to be blamed.
There might be some tricks can be applied to use power more efficiently, which would be up to the developer who made the software.
Before the thread drifts completely off-topic:
I'm persuaded that enabling the online availability uses a disproportionate amount of power. We might consider to file a bug. Anybody interested to connect some network logs and powertop information?
I think it's worth a bug, BUT I am not certain it's just the availability setting that has an impact on the battery. I think "location" is also having an effect, and more than I would expect. Sketching the scenarios:
No availability. No network updates, so should be longest battery life.
Availability set, but "My Location" set to "Do not Show". Only state changes are starting/stopping phone calls, so should only require keep-alives and very infrequent updates.
Availabililty set, "My Location" set to "City level". Since this level of location should be findable by tower triangulation (the "a" of a-gps), this should be nearly the same energy as the point above + "has location changed" computing + a weekly fetch of the a-gps cell tower to location mapping tables.
Availability on, "My Location" set to "District level". I would think cell triangulation would be detailed enough, so as point above + additional updates due bouncing locations due to changing tower attachments.
Available on, "My Location" set to "Street level". This would require GPS satellite fix, and thus it would consume a lot of power.
Those scenarios are leaving aside movement and inconsistent 3G signal strength.
I say above that the My Location setting seems to be having more effect than I expect because even when I am set to "City Level" on location it appears to be powering up the GPS hardware. I am just judging this by the GPS icon -- does anyone have a way of checking directly if the GPS hardware is powered?
yes, n900 lasts easily a day if you optimize your power consumption that means only some hours online time per day, not 24/7.
e: bit like new diesels go 1000km with one tankful. but not if you newer turn off the engine after you first time start it.
Doesn't make sense to me. The whole point of the N900 to me is to be always online. That is always reachable by IM and if I need to surf the net and not near a PC I can do so from my N900. If I have to decide when to be recheable and guess when my friends would be reachable then not sure why the device would be referred to as always online. More like don't stay always online.
I say above that the My Location setting seems to be having more effect than I expect because even when I am set to "City Level" on location it appears to be powering up the GPS hardware. I am just judging this by the GPS icon -- does anyone have a way of checking directly if the GPS hardware is powered?
After a bit more experimentation, it appears that the GPS is fired up even if "My Location" is set to "City Level". If this is indeed the case, a large of the diminished battery life can be explained by this.
Could those noticing battery drain due to availablilty try setting their "My Location" to "Do Not Share" and see if that helps? I'll be testing this with sharting my availability only to Skype...
If I run IM app (Numbuzz, Slick and etc) on N95 or 5800XM, the battery will be gone in hours.
I don't think it's a bug in specific to N900, it's just how it is if running IM on any device, probably the protocol was designed for always connected desktop, can also be protocol specific. I don't think it's Nokia or the firmware to be blamed.
There might be some tricks can be applied to use power more efficiently, which would be up to the developer who made the software.
If you run IM app Fring on the Nokia E71, the battery can still last for 1-2 days. It can be done, I don't know if its extra optimization within Fring or special optimizations in the E71. The battery issue is not the larger screen of the n900 or CPU load as you can run comparison tests without screen at idle to prove it
What are your settings for "My Location" in the Availability tab?
I don't think My Location matters, at least in my case as I always have that "Do Not Show"
If I don't run any IM, the battery can survive a day even with Nokia Messaging getting push email on 3G or Wifi.
If I run any IM, haven't tested inidvidually which IM is the biggest drainer, the battery will be down to half day.
From the author of MSN Haze and MSN Pecan, the implementation of the IM plug-in does make difference in battery usage.
If you run IM app Fring on the Nokia E71, the battery can still last for 1-2 days. It can be done, I don't know if its extra optimization within Fring or special optimizations in the E71. The battery issue is not the larger screen of the n900 or CPU load as you can run comparison tests without screen at idle to prove it
I think the E71/E72 are known for long lasting battery, they have bigger battery than n900, how long did you get if you don't run IM?
