Cell Phone Question

duffsterLP · 12-26-2005, 03:53 PM

I have a question about cell phones.
My parents are having an argument over whether leaving a cell phone on drains the battery life much more than if you turned the cell phone off.
It would seem logical that keeping the cell phone on would drain the battery life much more, but, from my knowledge, leaving the cell phone on doesn't seem to drain it much.
My mother went to Verizon, and they explained that it doesn't really matter if you leave it on, but my father, being an engineer, is still convinced that leaving the cell phone on drains the battery.

Does anybody know the answer?

WorldIndustries · 12-26-2005, 04:06 PM

I'm thinking it obviously drains atleast a little more than when it's turned off. It has to monitor signals, so when someone calls, it'll ring... Also has to monitor battery levels so it'll give a warning when the battery gets low. Many other small things like that. However, maybe the juice that those functions need is a verrrrrrry small percentage, so nobody notices the difference.

Flanker · 12-26-2005, 04:29 PM

Yea, its still gotta recieve signals, so obviously it uses more than when its off, but like said, it might be so little as to not make any difference.

Nubius · 12-26-2005, 04:38 PM

...................this is why they have charges that you use at the end of the day.

Your mom and dad sure are arguing about something completely useless.

How are you going to get a phone call if you turn your cellphone off? I plug my cellphone into my charger every night before bed, plus I leave it on when I put it on the charger....so if that's what they mean, then it's constantly getting charged and not using anything up until you pull it off the cord.

gimli of gloin · 12-26-2005, 05:46 PM

It really depends on how much battery u are draining while its on...i would think that turning on a "cell phone" would drain more battery than leaving it on for 5 min because it has to start up all its functions and such...meh...depends on time on and off aswell...so if it was the whole day..then its obvious that leaving it on will drain more battery.

Beyeohazard · 12-26-2005, 06:33 PM

I don't have a cell phone, and never will. If someone needs to get in touch with me, thay can just wait until I get home. They cause car accidents, ear cancer (that's a joke...lol) and are a pain to hear all day. Nothing gets me aggravated quicker than seeing some moron at the traffic light talking on his cell phone and *****ing about how bad people are driving...lol

c0rr0sive · 12-26-2005, 06:51 PM

Hey old people are bad drivers.... Give them a cell phone and all **** brakes loose.... Atleast with my mom thats how it is.

WorldIndustries · 12-26-2005, 07:16 PM

Troo dat! I'm never getting a cellphone.

toxicity_27 · 12-26-2005, 08:49 PM

I drive with my cellphone all the time. I'm not a bad driver in any sense, no accidents, tickets, etc. I leave my phone on all day, it has crappy battery life anyway. Regarding Nubius' post about it not using any battery power while it's plugged in doesn't relate to my phone. My phone will charge up, stop charging and will use the battery when the battery is full. If I want to have a full battery after it gets done charging and I wake up, I have to plug it in again so it can charge for about 10-20 more minutes.

Jayce · 12-26-2005, 10:26 PM

My cell phone never shuts off.

And yes, a cell phone being turned on does use up battery power, but your father being an engineer is a little off by saying it "drains" it. It by no means drains it. Now, if your phone has a camera and mp3 player and you sit there listening to it all day long or snapping pictures, then it'll be drained, yes. But by just sitting there, phone being idle, it doesn't drain it. It uses up a small amount of power to continuously send out a becan signal to the nearest tower, so that way when you do receive a call your phone is ready for it.

That's why if you look up reviews on cell phones, most places with more accurate information, such as phonescoop.com, they have two battery times listed. They have "talk time" and "standby time." The talk time is assuming your phone is connected to a call and you are talking the entire time, and standby time is the phone sitting idle. I think my phone has a talk time of like 3 hours, and a standby time of about 5 days.

As far as driving when talking, put it on speakerphone and clip the cell phone to your visor. Works like a charm. If you don't have speakerphone, hands free works wonders.

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