N Series Proporta Power Challenge: Day 1

After 24 hours it is becoming clear that this challenge is not going to be as easy as i first anticipated. The biggest hurdle on all of the challenge is time itself. The time it take for mobile devices (N95 & N810) to recharge and the time it takes for the Proporta to recharge are much longer than I anticipated. The length of recharge for the mobile devices is dramatically increased while still under normal load. I suspect that if I weren't continuing to use both devices normally that the single Proporta could handle the load. In this case I can clearly see one Proporta per device in active use is necessary for this kind of load.

Continue reading for the past 24 hour log.

• Monday March 10
• 0720 - (approximate) all devices disconnected from wall chargers and challenge beings
• 1517 - low battery warning 95*
  • Device used almost continuously as EDGE based modem via Bluetooth from 810** at or near full signal strength indoors in semi metal building 100+ ft from nearest window
  • Began charging 95* while maintaining same load.
• 1746 - 810 low battery warning
  • Began charging 810
  • 95 displays one bar short of full
• 2009 - Proporta depleted
  • 810 received no battery full message
  • 810 meter reads When idle: 5 days When in use: 4 hours (5d/4h)
• 2013 - Began charging Proporta via powered USB

Tuesday March 11

• 0126 - Proporta still charging
  • 95 displaying 2 bars
  • 810 displaying 2d/2h (days/hours)
  • Charging 95 & Proporta simultaneously
• 0652 - 810 battery depleted
  • 95 shows full bars, continues to charge, no full battery message
• 0657 - Begin charging Proporta & 810 simultaneously
  • Proporta still not fully charged
• 0825 - Proporta depleted
  • 810 displaying 4d/3h
• 0829 - Charging Proporta

During this trial it became necessary to break rule #2 (Will not charge mobile devices while recharging the Proporta. Will not charge mobile devices while recharging the Proporta) in order to keep the 95 operational since it is my only phone and it wakes me up in the morning.

What I have discovered thus far it may not even be possible to live on two Proporta Mobile Device Chargers due to the long recharge time of the unit connected via USB.

March 11 Evening test:

• Recharge time via Travel wall unit.
  • The wall unit is equipped with a single standard USB port. According to the Proporta specifications it is capable of charging any device, i.e. mobile phone, iPod directly.

March 12 Evening test

• Recharge time via Travel wall unit while charing a device

Wish me luck that I might endure this N Series Proporta Power Challenge.

*95 = Nokia N95-3 **810 = Nokia N810

Comments

[gore]

FYI, charging the Proporta via the USB port is several times slower than using a wall outlet.

I don't think your experiment reflects real world usage - the Proporta is designed to extend the life of your devices when you're *away* from power, not as an alternative to plugging in your phone directly. If you're sitting near power, why wouldn't you just charge the devices themselves? That will always be more efficient than charging the Proporta first.

You don't even need to carry the Nokia travel charger, since the USB cable + adapter that comes with the Proporta can be used to charge Nokia devices directly from USB (or a wall outlet). That will always be more efficient than charging the Proporta first and then dumping that back out to your N95/N810.

Basically, the Proporta can let you get through a day of heavy use, or save you if you forgot to charge your device the previous night and don't have a spot to charge. For that purpose, it's awesome - but it's not meant to be a replacement for plugging your devices into a direct power source. It's still assumed that you'll charge everything back up from wall power as soon as you get the chance.

[Matthew]

@gore I would have to agree and given the fact that it quite literally took all day to charge the Proporta while charging the N95-3, which not even reached half capacity. Tomorrow I will change up how this challenge will progress to be more reflective of real world and designed use.