Nook Battery and 3G

[nickyntiff]

Will the Nook Color come out in 3G? When the Nook battery loses its ability to hold a charge, will Barnes and Nobles send me a refurbished Nook?

[tirofiban]

You do realize that all color tablets on  the market with 3G require a 2-year cellular data plan with a total data cost of $600 (before taxes) over the 2-years just for the data. Do you really want a Nookcolor tied to a 2-year cellular data plan?

Also, you should get about color 100 to 200 charges on the Nookcolor. I charge mine like once a week, so the battery should be good for 2 to 4 years for most people. By then, there will be something better and cheaper.

[riffrafff]

If you purchased an extended warranty from B&N, and your battery dies, then yes, I believe you will get a refurbed unit.  If the battery dies within the standard warranty period, I suppose you could receive either new or refurbished.  Not sure what their policy is.

[Wild_images]

There was a thread on here about changing the battery yourself.  It can be done they say.

however.......

I question the 100 to 200 charges numbers.    GIven that a full charge only last 8 to 10 hours on my NC, the battery would be dead in a year if I charge it two or three times a week.  If that happens, I am not going to be happy, and I would bet a lot of people would feel the same.

[sandie52]

I get a lot longer than 8-10 hours on a charge and that's with about an hour a day with the wifi on and a couple hours reading. If you generally keep the wifi off you'll get a better battery life between charges.

[phoneboy]

I would guess 2-3 yrs with normal use for batt life.

As with most the non replacable batt tech that has come out over the yrs, A batt will most likely be availiable by the time NC batts start to die.

The majority of NC owners will probably move on to the quad core, 3D, with camera and transporter App in 2-3 yrs.

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

The way I understand it, the average number of charges refers to charges from below a certain percentage (I've seen from as low as 15% to 50% as being counted as a full charge).  That's why it's a good ides to plug it in and top off the battery when the device isn't being used.

There are people here who know a lot more about this than I do, though.  Hopefully one of them will chime in.

[phoneboy]

I'm not an expert but I do know that most batts will last longer if you keep them charged up.

What I got from dif info I have read is avoid going below 15- 20% low and 90- 98% high.

From MY experience this seems like a good way to do it.

My GF lets her devices go dead and then charges over nite regularly. After just a few months of that abuse she is having to recharge 2 and 3 times a day on her cell phones. I'm still at once a day on my cell, she has had 2 dif phones to my 1.

YMMV

As Always  JMHO

[donc13]

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nickyntiff wrote:

Will the Nook Color come out in 3G? When the Nook battery loses its ability to hold a charge, will Barnes and Nobles send me a refurbished Nook?

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It may, and if it does, and follows the footsteps of the classic Nook, it will only be usable for shopping and downloading books.   Not for general use.    To add general use 3G (or 4G) to the NC would cost you $30 to $60 per MONTH depending on what data plan you bought.

Right now, if your battery stops holding a charge, your NC is under warranty and yes, B&N will send you a refurbished NC to replace it under warranty.

Once it's out of warranty....I have no idea what B&N's plans are if customers want to replace the battery in the NC.   However, I can tell you, I've yet to own a device where after market batteries weren't available once the original units are out of warranty...I don't expect the NC to be any different.   It's quite easy to replace the battery in the NC>

[donc13]

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Wild_images wrote:

There was a thread on here about changing the battery yourself.  It can be done they say.

however.......

I question the 100 to 200 charges numbers.    GIven that a full charge only last 8 to 10 hours on my NC, the battery would be dead in a year if I charge it two or three times a week.  If that happens, I am not going to be happy, and I would bet a lot of people would feel the same.

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Typical number of charge cycles on a Li-Ion battery are in the 350 to 500 range.

And usually it doesn't matter if it's a full charge, or just a partial charge...they all count.

[nickyntiff]

So it is possible to replace a NC battery? I don't think the BN accessories sells a separate replacement battery.

[riffrafff]

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nickyntiff wrote:

So it is possible to replace a NC battery? I don't think the BN accessories sells a separate replacement battery.

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They don't, but someone will, as the millions of NCs out there start losing their ability to hold a charge.  Replacement is obviously possible by the end-user, but not to be taken lightly if one is not familiar with messing with these sorts of gadgets, if the tear-down is any indication:

http://www.zdnet.com/photos/nookcolor-teardown/487636

ETA:   That said, should be no worse than replacing the battery in an iPoo or similar device.

[DrAstro]

Regarding battery etiquette from a physicists perspective:  In order to keep the battery firing on all cylinders, you need to exercise all of the charge in it.  That means, for optimal performance, you should discharge the battery until it dies around once a month.  This will assure that you keep every electron in your battery active. 

The problem with being afraid of overworking your battery is that if you don't use it, you really do lose it.  While it is good to keep things charged, if you don't occasionally force the battery to work the electrons will go dead prematurely.  So, my opinion is to discharge completely once a month.  That should maximize your battery life!  Its worked for me on my PSP, Iphone, and Macbook.  Hopefully it will work for you guys!

[Andy_T]

Do not attempt to access or replace the battery on your NOOK Color. If you suspect a problem with your battery, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-THE-BOOK (1-800-843-2665). Don't worry, your battery is covered by the 1-year manufacturer's warranty or the optional 2-year B&N Protection Plan.

[donc13]

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DrAstro wrote:

Regarding battery etiquette from a physicists perspective:  In order to keep the battery firing on all cylinders, you need to exercise all of the charge in it.  That means, for optimal performance, you should discharge the battery until it dies around once a month.  This will assure that you keep every electron in your battery active. 

The problem with being afraid of overworking your battery is that if you don't use it, you really do lose it.  While it is good to keep things charged, if you don't occasionally force the battery to work the electrons will go dead prematurely.  So, my opinion is to discharge completely once a month.  That should maximize your battery life!  Its worked for me on my PSP, Iphone, and Macbook.  Hopefully it will work for you guys!

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Nope.....not with Li Ion batteries.   

from here:  http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

Li-ion does not need to be fully charged, as is the case with lead acid, nor is it desirable to do so. In fact, it is better not to fully charge, because high voltages stresses the battery. Choosing a lower voltage threshold, or eliminating the saturation charge altogether, prolongs battery life but this reduces the runtime. Since the consumer market promotes maximum runtime, these chargers go for maximum capacity rather than extended service life.

and this

Li-ion should never be discharged too low, and there are several safeguards to prevent this from happening. The equipment cuts off when the battery discharges to about 3.0V/cell, stopping the current flow. If the discharge continues to about 2.70V/cell or lower, the battery’s protection circuit puts the battery into a sleep mode. This renders the pack unserviceable and a recharge with most chargers is not possible. To prevent a battery from falling asleep, apply a partial charge before a long storage period.

[donc13]

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Andy_T wrote:

Do not attempt to access or replace the battery on your NOOK Color. If you suspect a problem with your battery, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-THE-BOOK (1-800-843-2665). Don't worry, your battery is covered by the 1-year manufacturer's warranty or the optional 2-year B&N Protection Plan.

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Damn...an administrator showed up!    Wow.

Yes, that is B&N's policy and yes, it should be followed by those who's Nooks are under warranty.   No question there.

But for those who (after November of this year) have NC's that will go out of warranty, then a  reasonable and easy method of the user replacing the battery....either via B&N having a battery replacement service avaialble...or by users being able to do it themselves.     And in fact, the ability of users to replace the NC battery exists TODAY.    Problem being, at this particular point in time....repalcement batteries are not available from anyone...including B&N.

But I can guarantee you that battery suppliers will have replacement batteries available in that same timeframe.   I've yet to own an electronics device with a supposedly "not user replaceable" battery....where a user replacement battery was readily available once the original units were out of warranty.

It's absurd to have to buy a $250 device because its $25 battery no longer holds a charge.   That should be a consumer decision....do I want a new device, or am I happy with what I've got and just want a new battery.

Just saying....

[DrAstro]

Interesting.  I now recall reading about this when I got my macbook, because it was different than my old laptop.  If I remember right, the recommendation was to still discharge every 1 or 2 months, but not for the reason I said...its for calibration purposes to keep your battery ratings accurate. 

[DrAstro]

I guess thats what you get being a physicist and not an engineer