4 ms·

Battery life is the most overrated of all laptop specs. How often are you really without an electric outlet? Other than an airplane or the occasional wifi-capab

by Towle_ 17y ago

Battery life is the most overrated of all laptop specs. How often are you really without an electric outlet? Other than an airplane or the occasional wifi-capable coffee shop (one without outlets, that is), I can't think of anywhere I'd be likely to be using my laptop. It's really rarer that you might assume.

nazgulnarsil 17y ago
if the history of capitalism proves anything it's that people will pay far more for convenience than anyone ever suspects.
- Towle_ 17y ago
  If we can change "convenience" to "what they perceive to be convenience"...then sure, totally agreed.
  - cema 17y ago
    If it feels convenient it is convenient.
- mediaman 17y ago
  You are very correct with that -- consumers place a large premium on the optionality of convenience, even if they may rarely use that convenience. This even extends to people who buy e.g. large SUVs, because they like to know that on the rare occasion where they need such large storage capacities, they have it.
gommm 17y ago
I often work at home and love to move around between different places. Not having to carry the power adapter is a real plus for me. Plus, anyway I've got a mac and the magafe connector that keeps falling out mean that even next to a power outlet I still need battery life.
- Towle_ 17y ago
  I see the first part I suppose, but the second...really? The solution to that problem isn't better battery life, it's a better power cord.
  - gommm 17y ago
    The second part is a bit tongue in cheek :-) But yeah, I wish Apple didn't make those power cords...
  - qjz 17y ago
    Do you have kids? I can't tell you how many times I've come across a drained laptop in my house sitting right next to a disconnected power supply. That happens with any brand of laptop, but after switching my kids to Macbooks, that MagSafe connector is worth an extra $100 to me, because I don't have to worry about a destroyed power supply cable, broken motherboard connector or smashed laptop when someone inevitably trips on the power cable.
    - gommm 17y ago
      Ah, having kids does probably justify the MagSafe connector...
  - mhb 17y ago
    Or a second battery.
    - cema 17y ago
      A second battery is a solution to a different problem. In most laptops, you cannot just switch batteries without turning it off first, which is likely to disrupt work.
      - mhb 17y ago
        Unless you're filming a day-long movie in one take using your laptop, why does it matter if you disrupt your work for 5 minutes? During an all day work marathon, I reckon you could use that time profitably.
jsolson 17y ago
Ideally I'd start off my day by picking up nothing but my notebook and walking out the door. The ability to go and sit down anywhere and work is a huge feature, particularly if the thing can handle that kind of battery life at full screen brightness (sometimes I like to spend my entire morning or afternoon working in the park). I suppose the larger point is that people's work habits are different, and one man's superfeature may be another man's meh.
ugh 17y ago
Let's see: It's not impossible to find outlets on my university's campus but it's pretty hard. And if I find one it's inconveniently placed. I don't much like sitting on the floor in some of the busier areas. So that's one place were long battery life is an advantage. All of the regional and very few (but still some) of the high speed trains in Germany also don't have power outlets. Another place. Add in that hunting for outlets isn't that much fun - so yeah, I can imagine that there are quite a few people out there who would value long battery life.
jacquesm 17y ago
Interesting, in my experience these defining qualities for a laptop, in order: size, battery life, screen quality and keyboard quality. I couldn't care less about CPU speed or harddisk capacity. I think it is the main dilemma all laptop manufacturers are faced with, everybody uses the product in a completely different way, we all have our preferences, and they're all different. Laptops are a compromise between all those preferences, I'm sure there will be others (like me) that will really love laptops with longer battery life. And you can't really argue that longer is worse, shorter in a battery powered device is always worse, so longer must be better.
dagw 17y ago
Certainly at my old university there where maybe 6 outlets in lecture halls that could seat 160. And if you wanted to use of them you had to sit in on of the 10 seats close enough to make it convenient. So if you weren't first through the door chance where you wouldn't get to plug your laptop in. The same is basically true for most conferences I've ever been to. But really, for me it's more about the convenience than anything else. It's not so much that it's impossible to find a plug as the fact that it's annoying to have unplug your power supply when you get up, carry it with you and then find an outlet when you get to where you are going. Being able to go a whole day without having to even look for an outlet is to me a seemingly small, but fundamentally vital aspect of my laptop use. Most of the time I don't even bother bringing the power supply with me. Personally I'm never buying a laptop which claims less than a minimum of 5-6 hours battery life, no matter what any of the other specs might be.

by Towle_ 17y ago

nazgulnarsil 17y ago

if the history of capitalism proves anything it's that people will pay far more for convenience than anyone ever suspects.

Towle_ 17y ago
If we can change "convenience" to "what they perceive to be convenience"...then sure, totally agreed.
- cema 17y ago
  If it feels convenient it is convenient.
mediaman 17y ago
You are very correct with that -- consumers place a large premium on the optionality of convenience, even if they may rarely use that convenience. This even extends to people who buy e.g. large SUVs, because they like to know that on the rare occasion where they need such large storage capacities, they have it.

gommm 17y ago

I often work at home and love to move around between different places. Not having to carry the power adapter is a real plus for me. Plus, anyway I've got a mac and the magafe connector that keeps falling out mean that even next to a power outlet I still need battery life.

Towle_ 17y ago
I see the first part I suppose, but the second...really? The solution to that problem isn't better battery life, it's a better power cord.
- gommm 17y ago
  The second part is a bit tongue in cheek :-) But yeah, I wish Apple didn't make those power cords...
- qjz 17y ago
  Do you have kids? I can't tell you how many times I've come across a drained laptop in my house sitting right next to a disconnected power supply. That happens with any brand of laptop, but after switching my kids to Macbooks, that MagSafe connector is worth an extra $100 to me, because I don't have to worry about a destroyed power supply cable, broken motherboard connector or smashed laptop when someone inevitably trips on the power cable.
  - gommm 17y ago
    Ah, having kids does probably justify the MagSafe connector...
- mhb 17y ago
  Or a second battery.
  - cema 17y ago
    A second battery is a solution to a different problem. In most laptops, you cannot just switch batteries without turning it off first, which is likely to disrupt work.
    - mhb 17y ago
      Unless you're filming a day-long movie in one take using your laptop, why does it matter if you disrupt your work for 5 minutes? During an all day work marathon, I reckon you could use that time profitably.

jsolson 17y ago

Ideally I'd start off my day by picking up nothing but my notebook and walking out the door. The ability to go and sit down anywhere and work is a huge feature, particularly if the thing can handle that kind of battery life at full screen brightness (sometimes I like to spend my entire morning or afternoon working in the park). I suppose the larger point is that people's work habits are different, and one man's superfeature may be another man's meh.

ugh 17y ago

Let's see: It's not impossible to find outlets on my university's campus but it's pretty hard. And if I find one it's inconveniently placed. I don't much like sitting on the floor in some of the busier areas. So that's one place were long battery life is an advantage. All of the regional and very few (but still some) of the high speed trains in Germany also don't have power outlets. Another place. Add in that hunting for outlets isn't that much fun - so yeah, I can imagine that there are quite a few people out there who would value long battery life.

jacquesm 17y ago

Interesting, in my experience these defining qualities for a laptop, in order: size, battery life, screen quality and keyboard quality. I couldn't care less about CPU speed or harddisk capacity. I think it is the main dilemma all laptop manufacturers are faced with, everybody uses the product in a completely different way, we all have our preferences, and they're all different. Laptops are a compromise between all those preferences, I'm sure there will be others (like me) that will really love laptops with longer battery life. And you can't really argue that longer is worse, shorter in a battery powered device is always worse, so longer must be better.

dagw 17y ago

Certainly at my old university there where maybe 6 outlets in lecture halls that could seat 160. And if you wanted to use of them you had to sit in on of the 10 seats close enough to make it convenient. So if you weren't first through the door chance where you wouldn't get to plug your laptop in. The same is basically true for most conferences I've ever been to. But really, for me it's more about the convenience than anything else. It's not so much that it's impossible to find a plug as the fact that it's annoying to have unplug your power supply when you get up, carry it with you and then find an outlet when you get to where you are going. Being able to go a whole day without having to even look for an outlet is to me a seemingly small, but fundamentally vital aspect of my laptop use. Most of the time I don't even bother bringing the power supply with me. Personally I'm never buying a laptop which claims less than a minimum of 5-6 hours battery life, no matter what any of the other specs might be.