CMP738A Batter Life - Any hope?

[ktalley]

(Obviously, the thread title should be "CMP738A BatterY Life - Any hope?"...)

I just picked up one of these tablets at CVS (broke the screen on my Pandigital Novel a couple of weeks ago), but I am completely puzzled at the battery life. I can fully charge this thing, put it in standby mode, and then come back 3-4 hours later to find that it has shut itself off and has no battery left. I have NOT flashed any custom firmwares (yet), such as Shad's v4.3 -- do any of the custom images help this issue? I've also read on various forums about "Cell Standby" service being the culprit, but has anyone successfully shut this service down and noticed improvement (I've seen conflicting posts)?

Lastly, I wonder if the McNair Li-Polymer battery from my Pandigital novel (which had GREAT battery stats/usage) could be used in this thing -- I haven't taken the cover off of the Craig, so I'm not sure what kind of battery(ies) are in this thing (and how much room I have to work with).

Anyway, thanks to anyone who might can help with the battery issue. Otherwise, I actually really like the tablet (for $99) -- but if this can't be resolved, then it's going back to the store.

Thanks!

 

[Hardryve]

I found this on another site:

I took mine apart to see about putting higher capacity batteries in it. Here a few pics of the inside. Just take out the two screws on the edge with the connectors and it comes apart.

C360_2011-03-11 15-26-22 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

C360_2011-03-11 15-26-34 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

C360_2011-03-11 15-30-23 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The batteries measure 1 1/2" x 3 3/8" x 3/8"

Just in case any of this helps,but yea the batterie life sucks because of cell standby,which should have never been added.I am using Shads custom 4.2 ECLAIR rom and it works great,my battery life is decent,but not great,i can play with it for about 6 hours and it was down 50%.

 

[ktalley]

Thanks, Hardryve...
I notice that Shad states that he added back Cell Standby at some point due to Wifi and network errors. So is Cell Standby running in your 4.2 version? If so, then you are still WAY better in battery life than I am (I'm serious -- this thing runs down in a few hours when it's not even ON -- perhaps I've just got a lemon...).

 

[Marty Devoid]

ktalley, I've installed the 4.3 build and did all the hacks to eliminate the Cell Standby and other things. I've also installed battery booster and efficiency apps, still my tab will drain 3 or 4 % charge overnight when shut off. The battery issues after the new versions are much better than out of the box. I'm getting very similar performance as Hardryve is getting.

 

[ktalley]

Very cool, indeed -- perhaps there is hope for this thing after all! Thanks for sharing the info, Marty...

 

[tipstir]

(Obviously, the thread title should be "CMP738A BatterY Life - Any hope?"...)

I just picked up one of these tablets at CVS (broke the screen on my Pandigital Novel a couple of weeks ago), but I am completely puzzled at the battery life. I can fully charge this thing, put it in standby mode, and then come back 3-4 hours later to find that it has shut itself off and has no battery left. I have NOT flashed any custom firmwares (yet), such as Shad's v4.3 -- do any of the custom images help this issue? I've also read on various forums about "Cell Standby" service being the culprit, but has anyone successfully shut this service down and noticed improvement (I've seen conflicting posts)?

Lastly, I wonder if the McNair Li-Polymer battery from my Pandigital novel (which had GREAT battery stats/usage) could be used in this thing -- I haven't taken the cover off of the Craig, so I'm not sure what kind of battery(ies) are in this thing (and how much room I have to work with).

Anyway, thanks to anyone who might can help with the battery issue. Otherwise, I actually really like the tablet (for $99) -- but if this can't be resolved, then it's going back to the store.

Thanks!

Battery and the Panel are the two issues I have with this tablet. Panel hardware is defective and can't be fixed. The only way to deal with it? Is to return it back to the store. The battery takes 4 hrs to charge. Then if you leave on the power switch to on and turn it off using the front facing button. The unit will drain the battery. If you turn off the power using the button on top switched to off. Then the battery will not drain so fast. It's odd tablet with two power buttons on it.

Only one battery pack inside it could house 2400mAh battery which would be longer life.

 

[ktalley]

Battery and the Panel are the two issues I have with this tablet. Panel hardware is defective and can't be fixed. The only way to deal with it? Is to return it back to the store. The battery takes 4 hrs to charge. Then if you leave on the power switch to on and turn it off using the front facing button. The unit will drain the battery. If you turn off the power using the button on top switched to off. Then the battery will not drain so fast. It's odd tablet with two power buttons on it.

Only one battery pack inside it could house 2400mAh battery which would be longer life.

Tipstir -- you mentioned in the other thread about finding an app to turn off Ringer -- do you mind sharing the name of this particular app? I searched Market, and found several candidates -- not sure which one is the right one. Thanks!

 

[ktalley]

Well, I'm about to give up on this tablet -- simply due to the battery issues. I bought this Craig because I cracked the screen on my Pandigital Novel a few weeks ago, but yesterday I called Bed Bath & Beyond (where I bought it), told them what happened, and they said "BRING IT BACK AND WE'LL REPLACE IT!!!!" (are you kidding me???!!!!). So I now have a brand new Pandigital Novel (with GREAT battery life), and although it may never officially see 2.2 (Froyo), at least it's usable (unlike this Craig, where I powered it down last night with 50% battery remaining at the time -- not suspended, but completely powered down -- and this morning, when I needed it, it wouldn't even power on due to dead battery). And that's a shame, really -- I actually like the smaller size of the Craig (can slip into a big pocket if necessary), and I like the USB Host mode and HDMI out (of which the Pandigital has neither).

 

[tipstir]

Tipstir -- you mentioned in the other thread about finding an app to turn off Ringer -- do you mind sharing the name of this particular app? I searched Market, and found several candidates -- not sure which one is the right one. Thanks!

SuperBox, you get it off Market.
But this tablet still the battery is terrible I had it charged for days.. Then yesterday I turn it on later on it dead like a door knob and the Coby 7015 is still charged keeps going but not the Craig.

 

[tipstir]

Well, I'm about to give up on this tablet -- simply due to the battery issues. I bought this Craig because I cracked the screen on my Pandigital Novel a few weeks ago, but yesterday I called Bed Bath & Beyond (where I bought it), told them what happened, and they said "BRING IT BACK AND WE'LL REPLACE IT!!!!" (are you kidding me???!!!!). So I now have a brand new Pandigital Novel (with GREAT battery life), and although it may never officially see 2.2 (Froyo), at least it's usable (unlike this Craig, where I powered it down last night with 50% battery remaining at the time -- not suspended, but completely powered down -- and this morning, when I needed it, it wouldn't even power on due to dead battery). And that's a shame, really -- I actually like the smaller size of the Craig (can slip into a big pocket if necessary), and I like the USB Host mode and HDMI out (of which the Pandigital has neither).

Coby 7015 doesn't have these issues and the battery is excellent and it's not as bulky as the Craig. As for the Craig I feel like I should take that downloaded firmware install it and return this one back to CVS for my money and another CVS $25 dollar gift card. And get the Coby 7024.
Bath Bed and Beyond are pretty good they give you more than 5 years to return your purchase. Kohl's is the same but they ask too much questions. I had your model and got it from both stores. When I had cost me $350 for two gel selves, one leather like case and two Pandigital 7" white. I couldn't even play music videos on it.

Craig with it's panel issue, weak battery and hardware issues. Is it worth keeping.. Nope..

 

[techyted]

I am not having terrible battery life with mine.
Out of the box withstock Rom, it was fully charged inunder two hours.
Since then I've run it bone dry several times and I dont think its evertaken fourhours tofully charge back up.
Iam wondering if I got a marchine that is a later "batch" or something?
My screen isnt that bad and my battery seems better.


Manufacture date on mine is Dec. 2010

 

[ktalley]

I am not having terrible battery life with mine.
Out of the box withstock Rom, it was fully charged inunder two hours.
Since then I've run it bone dry several times and I dont think its evertaken fourhours tofully charge back up.
Iam wondering if I got a marchine that is a later "batch" or something?
My screen isnt that bad and my battery seems better.


Manufacture date on mine is Dec. 2010

Mine has same manuf. date. Battery life seems to be okay ONCE it actually charges completely (3-4 hours on mine) and if you are simply using it over a certain period of time (I've used mine for several hours and it was still in the 40-45% left range). It's what happens when you (A) suspend it, or (B) power it down completely. Sometimes it seems to hold charge just fine. Then you try to turn it on and nothing (dead). That's what stinks -- you never know what you will get. Since the 2.2 firmware is supposedly gonna be posted this week, I might give it a try just for kicks (before returning it), but I'm 99% certain that mine is headed back to CVS (eventually).

Regardless, thanks for your input -- I appreciate it!

 

[tipstir]

We all seem to that that date manufacture before the Chinese new year! Taking it back to CVS is a pain since you have to go to cashier to return it. Mine is dead again. Another 4 hrs to charge again.

 

[techyted]

Well, maybe I just haven't played with mine long enough to see the problem as clearly.

Was this battery problem with a specific ROM... like 4.2, 4.3 or the Froyo ROM?

I had only used mine with the stock rom, until today (flashing it as we speak to 4.3)

I will run that for a couple of days and see if I see the same problem.

Actually, I wouldn't depend on this Craig as my "main" Android tablet, but it is fun to play with...as long as there is a backup available.

 

[techyted]

tipstir - I've been reading the posts you've done on the craig and I appreciate the objective opinion. I think you've given it a really thorough test. Craig should hire you as a consultant on how to fix the next models!

(p.s. I have saved my CVS receipt and unless there is a "miracle" 2.2 ROM soon, mine will probably go back in a few weeks. That's the nice thing about buying local from a retailer instead of ordering from a website in China! Returns maybe a little hassle, but still better than dealing with international shipping costs)