I'm supposed to be an I.T boff but I didn't know this until I started having problems with my new phone. I was charging it solely via USB port on my PC. Mainly for syncing, new content etc but it always took 4-6 hours to fully charge.

I read that charging via USB gives 500 mA if the device is compatible and recognised. Unrecognised gives 100 mA.

Anyway, I started charging via the mains after reading about it and low and behold, fully charged in 45-50 mins.

For an iPhone it increases charging efficiency by 30% and for my phone, LG Optimus 2X, about 70-80%!

Did anyone else know this or was I the only one in the dark?

I'm not sure but I am very dispapointed with the battery life of my Xperia X10. It has declined rapidly since new, and I am wondering whether there are uprated batteries available for these phones that at least last 72 hours or so, not just 24 to 36 if lucky....

ive noticed this too with my dell streak tablet phone takes an eternity via usb port and done in approx 40 mins through the mains

you'll also kill your psu or laptop battery regularly charging power hungry devices which usually need a 800ma+ charger.

Tomtom have recently released a high speed (2.1A - 3xUSB) charger for use in the car which might help people using their plugged in phone to navigate and still finding it discharging. :S

Charging via mains for nowadays plugs is usually is between 700-1000mA now (dependent on the plug) you'll see the specs on the plug itself. Much like you would for the old game boy adaptors etc. It charges 5v dc. So in theory doing it via mains will give you full charge in half the time (or less).

The reason why the laptop charges slower is because usb via laptop/pc normally pump around 300-500Ah, iirc they deemed this to be a safety standard back in the days, many devices (back then) cant handle above 500mA.

Some in car chargers can charge up to 1000mA, but be careful of those as they can pop your phone/device.

Jason - perhaps the x10 battery stats have lost its calibration (either physically or by software - basically it thinks its out of battery already when it may have 20% left, or battery needs to "re-fresh" itself). 2 ways of solving this:

1) Software - if you can perform a battery statistic reset that will get the phone to read the battery properly again.

2) Hardware - if you let the battery run very flat, then give a good full mains charge in a cool environment, once completed, unplug for a few mins then replug it in again so it will start charging again. This helps both the chemicals to realign itself and also 'tricks' the software you have lost more than you really have. Don't do this too often though as it can burn out the battery.

The best way to charge li-ion batt's is fast charging and unplug it once its full (otherwise it can go to trickle discharge).

Whatever re-chargeable battery you have the best way to preserve its life is to allow the battery to discharge completely then re-charge it slowly. Having 2 batteries for each item helps so you always have the device useable. Even with these new fangled battery construction ideas the old way still works best, Long and Slow.

Whatever re-chargeable battery you have the best way to preserve its life is to allow the battery to discharge completely then re-charge it slowly. Having 2 batteries for each item helps so you always have the device useable. Even with these new fangled battery construction ideas the old way still works best, Long and Slow.

Hmm.. I don't agree to that, sorry.

http://www.electronics-lab.com/articles/Li_Ion_reconstruct/

Basically for li-ions (or lipo):

~ Shallow discharges for increased life cycle.

~ Batteries have a 'sell by date', typically 3-5yrs for consumer cells, and for specialised cells it can be up to 10-12 yrs (i.e. look at Chevrolet Volt).

~ Fast but correct charging is ideal, iirc slow charge can induce runaway effect.. but I dont remember excatly why slow charge is bad..

hth

I'm not sure but I am very dispapointed with the battery life of my Xperia X10. It has declined rapidly since new, and I am wondering whether there are uprated batteries available for these phones that at least last 72 hours or so, not just 24 to 36 if lucky....

thatll be because youve got loads of crap installed on it... go into the settings and battery stats to see if theres something keeping the phone "awake" when the screen is off.