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How the hell does everyone play games on their iPhone?

S

SLCentral

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 18, 2004
170
0
Princeton, NJ/Ithaca, NY
I agree, the iPhone is a fantastic gaming platform, and I've bought a few games myself. I just can never seem to play them, in fear of my battery dying. Even without gaming, I usually hit 20% at around 10PM. Being a college student, 10PM is early on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and my phone consistently dies around 1 or 2 AM.

I don't think this isn't normal, as almost the same situation happened with my old iPhone 1G. It's just frustrating. Does everyone here charge their phones constantly throughout the day, or just play games when it is plugged in? Or am I missing somethng here altogether?
 
Heard a couple mention this. Not sure to be honest. I think it's just how it is


Have you upgraded to 2.1?

It supposed to improve the battery life.

I think your best plugging it in when playing games, or turn your brightness down a bit on the phone if you can do that when playing a game. Might help



All the best x
 
SLCentral said:
I agree, the iPhone is a fantastic gaming platform, and I've bought a few games myself. I just can never seem to play them, in fear of my battery dying. Even without gaming, I usually hit 20% at around 10PM. Being a college student, 10PM is early on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and my phone consistently dies around 1 or 2 AM.

I don't think this isn't normal, as almost the same situation happened with my old iPhone 1G. It's just frustrating. Does everyone here charge their phones constantly throughout the day, or just play games when it is plugged in? Or am I missing somethng here altogether?
Click to expand...

I think it comes down to balancing your priorities with regards to power allocation. If you'd like to be able to play games and have battery life deep into the night, you might want to disable 3G, Bluetooth, and any other features that are of a lower priority for you. You might also want to find a way to top-off the charge at some point(s) in the day. Maybe plug it in while you're doing your homework, since you are probably sitting in one place for a while then.
 
80 - 90% of the games on the App Store are identical 'tilt the phone to steer the car' racing games anyway, so you're not missing much.
 
I wouldn't use the iPhone for DS-like gaming marathon sessions ... but for a couple 5 ~ 10 minute bursts a day, it lasts me all day easily.

and plus, consider the game. Solitaire will go for ages compared to Super Monkey ball with the volume cranked.
 
I don't play games all that much. But I do watch TV shows and movies and it just tanks the battery. Even on the new iPod Touch which has better battery life than the 1st Gen iPod Touch. I suppose it's because you have to have the screen on all the time?.? I suppose you could turn down the brightness or only play when you have time to charge.
 
You know, it's funny when someone brings up replaceable batteries, and so many people say "Well, I never needed an extra battery before".

I bet they didn't own smartphones with apps they wanted to use a lot, either.

This is one reason I like WM phones for Slingbox, etc. I keep several spare batteries charging at all times... heck, they're cheap.

With those, I can come home from work and just slap in a new battery for a night on the town.

So I sure wish there was an "Pro" iPhone model with an easily replaceable battery.
 
I sold my iPod touch because I couldn't figure out how to play a game on it and have fun.

yeah, it's not an iphone, but it's the same control system
 
I plug in when I play a game. I'm usually at home, after all.

Ok, sometimes the situation arrises to play away from a plug. Like when I'm waiting in line for a movie. In those cases, plan ahead. Charge in your car, charge at work, charge in the car again. You'll show up somewhere with a 90% charge, even if it's the end of the day.
 
dukebound85 said:
i charge my iphone every 2-3 days

but then again i dont play games lol
Click to expand...

Wow, I don't play games much either. I don't think I can make it through a day without it plugged in at least part of the day. This was not such a shock to me, as my BlackJack was the same way.

I instinctively try to plug it in no matter where i am to get at least a little more charge.
 
8GB iPhone EDGE FW: 2.1

I play games probably 20 minutes at work and surf the web for about the same amount of time on breaks. Other than that I use it to call 3 or 4 people for convos of at least 10 minutes each. I also use it to listen to around 2 albums (~120 minutes). After all that it's usually only down to 40%.

*Bluetooth stays off unless I'm on the phone.
 
SLCentral said:
I agree, the iPhone is a fantastic gaming platform, and I've bought a few games myself. I just can never seem to play them, in fear of my battery dying. Even without gaming, I usually hit 20% at around 10PM. Being a college student, 10PM is early on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and my phone consistently dies around 1 or 2 AM.

I don't think this isn't normal, as almost the same situation happened with my old iPhone 1G. It's just frustrating. Does everyone here charge their phones constantly throughout the day, or just play games when it is plugged in? Or am I missing somethng here altogether?
Click to expand...

1) turn on your 3G network only when needed = 2-3 hours more battery life
2) turn on your wifi only when needed = 2-3 hours more battery life
3) set up your push to Fetch every hour = 1 hour more battery life
4) dim down your screen = 1/2 hour more battery life
5) get a plugin battery ( like the one i have from kensington) and you get twice the battery life with " normal " usage
6) turn off your iphone and your battery will last months :D


Saludos
 
I use a few of the apps, but I'm not big into games. I do start my day at the gym and often watch a portion of a movie or TV while doing cardio, then I hit the weights and listen to music. I now keep a charger at work, and also have one in my car. I often will top off during the day, so I don't risk running out of juice later.
 
If you're a college student you should probably charge your phone at least once in the middle of the day to get a full nights worth of use anyway. I use my phone from morning until about 5 or so, charge it while I eat supper, and then I get a full nights worth of use out of it as well. I don't think it's fair to expect a smart phone (in constant use) to last you 12 hours or something like that.
 
I just charge mine every 2 or 3 days and it lasts fine. Make sure you have wifi, or 3g turned off when you're not using it. I also game a bit and listen to at least to albums a day of music.
 
4fingered said:
I just charge mine every 2 or 3 days and it lasts fine. Make sure you have wifi, or 3g turned off when you're not using it. I also game a bit and listen to at least to albums a day of music.
Click to expand...

two to three DAYS...??
would love to see the usage stats on that
 
TopToffee said:
two to three DAYS...??
would love to see the usage stats on that
Click to expand...

I think its pretty common to get 2-3 days if you go back and look at the battery usage thread.

Heres a screen shot of my usage and standby and this was before I updated to 2.1. I have bluetooth on, 3G on, locations on all the time.
 

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ribenaberrie said:
I think its pretty common to get 2-3 days if you go back and look at the battery usage thread.

Heres a screen shot of my usage and standby and this was before I updated to 2.1. I have bluetooth on, 3G on, locations on all the time.
Click to expand...

Classic Optus reception :D
 
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