So I spend a LOT of time on airplanes. A LOT. I picked up a new Vaio a few months ago, in many ways because of its battery life claims, supposedly 4-5 hours. After using it, I found I couldn't really push it past 3 very often, and more like 2:40 was the typical peak. I went on a little quest to maximize the juice, and have chronicled the results on my blog. You can go and read the whole article, entitled 10 Tips on Maximizing Laptop Battery Performance or if you just want 'the list' here are the highlights (although they don't necessarily make sense on their own, but that's what you get for trying to skip the read).
- Brightness: how low can you go?
- Don’t use any external devices.
- Single-task, not multi-task.
- Keep it cool.
- Shut down unused services.
- Do Hibernate, Do Not Suspend.
- Tweak advanced settings.
- Choose Wisely.
- Watch That Hard Drive.
- Like a Boy Scout, Be Prepared.
By following my own advice, I typically get around 3:30 on my laptop these days. Hope it helps you too!
