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If you own a G1, chances are that the sub-par battery of your Android Phone are among your top complaints. Many would say “sub-par” is being generous. Hold your criticizing horses there just a second because T-Mobile might be planning to bail you out.
There has been no formal announcement from T-Mobile on the topic but it has been “reported” that within 1-month T-Mobile G1 owners will receive a letter, email or other correspondence offering a free extended battery that could potentially be a 2400 mAh battery with new back cover offering more than DOUBLE the current battery life. Wowzers. Combine that with periodic software improvements that should improve battery life and you’re looking at a significant upgrade.
If the rumor is true, G1 owners shouldn’t expect T-Mobile to just ship a new battery to their doorstep. its more likely they’ll need to follow up with a phone call requesting the extended battery. Our biggest question is regarding the “if the rumor is true” part, which also happens to be the biggest question.
The source of the rumor comes from Michael Martin at GoogleAndBlog but this very source article merely indicates the extended life battery as being reported elsewhere. Where elsewhere? We have no clue – no other source is mentioned outside of an unnamed T-Mobile Representative who was reported as saying:
“After everything they did, and the amount of time put into this (extended battery) project, I doubt they would scrap it now.”
There doesn’t appear to be too much evidence supporting this development but we wouldn’t be blown away if it ended up being true. What we want to know is where did this rumor originate and who is the T-Mobile rep that stated the above?
There are a lot of former G1 owners who returned their device because of poor battery life and probably even more who didn’t get the first Android handset because of the battery shortcomings. Do you fall into either of those categories? How would a free extended battery that more than doubled your battery life change things, if at all?
As always, stay tuned for developments in this rumor and others! Oh, and Michael Martin… hit us up in the comments with details if you have any more!
[Via GoogleAndBlog]
Would be nice, like to see what happens.
Well, they did replace the battery for many Shadow owners a while back.
I had a Shadow previously and it was announced on the All Shadow.com site about it. I just called T-Mobile, and asked if they had plans to replace the Shadow battery. Sure enough, they booked me and shipped me a new one. I even kept the old one, charged for that *emergency* situation.
You know, its funny… I used to be quite upset when my Dash would need to be recharged within 36 hours.
My G1 lasts about 36 hours with basic use, and often only about 12 with heavy use… but I don’t mind. Its never left me stranded yet, and occasionally plugging it in at work or in the car hasn’t been a big deal at all. It also helps that “0%” on the battery scale seems to mean there’s at least 30-45 minutes left, as opposed to every other gadget I have where it means “shutting down in 10 seconds”
Hopefully this applies to UK buyers too!
Just some rumors so far. I called T-Mobile Customer Service and was told I could “buy” a new battery. But there is no “Known Issue” which seems to be the decider on whether they actually admit a problem or not.
I definitely hope they DO have a plan to fix this. The G1 does use the battery very quickly IF you have all of the features turned on. Once Cupcake is released, if the rumored video recording feature works, then Qik will probably get a client together pretty quickly which means my battery would be toast.
@ Rob,
As a fellow Android Phan I want to make sure this “rumor” had more true substance than those wonderfully vague G2 rumors.
Again this came directly from a T-Mobile PDA Tech Support Representative over the phone upon which he stated there no official statement from T-Mobile on this as of yet, but he knew that plans were in the works.
There is nothing new to this since I posted, but my sense is after the holidays more details will be exposed that I will then post immediately at Google And Blog.
Hopefully January 2009 will provide the Android trifecta of a new battery, CupCake improvements, & FLASH.
,Michael Martin
http://www.googleandblog.com/
I would PAY for a larger battery and new cover to accommodate it.
Now FREE, that would just be AWESOME!
An extended battery would be GREAT…but at the cost of a new back cover? this phone already fits perfectly in my: pocket, car console next to hand brake, belt pouch, etc.. Past experiences with extended batteries with new covers prove to be an ugly factor of about +5 to phone.. While the G1 isn’t the sexiest phone out there, it is a solid build by HTC (love the ugly Mogul)..
Is there anyway to have an extended battery that is the same physical size as the current 1150mAh?
If this is true, this would be great. I love my G1 Phone. The only significant problem is battery life. A larger capacity battery would be great….and I am cool with it adding a couple of mm of bulk to the back of the phone.
Well, I would NOT pay for a larger battery–it needs to be free. Why should paying customers be guinea pigs/beta testers? They should have got it right the first time! Let this be a lesson to them not to rush a product to market. A friend and his wife both bought G1s and all I hear is how much he hates the phone, especially the horrible battery life–his battery is frequently flat. I can’t disagree. I hope the rumor proves true and T-Mobile bites the bullet.
I just spoke to G1 support and they knew nothing about a battery replacement. They told me to call HTC warranty department and the guy told me that the new batteries would be in by the end of next week. Also, the battery will fit into the G1 and not require a new cover. From what I was told the exchange of batteries will not cost anything. I personally needed a new back cover because my camera screen is cracked. They put me through to the warranty department and they will send me a new cover for free. I hope this helps solve the mystery.
Its been so long, so has this battery arrived?
The battery of the G1 is awful!! Love the phone, but it is always out of juice.
I just bought a G1 yesterday and I have noticed the poor battery life already. After a full night of charging I used my phone for 2 hours and already had half battery power. I dont know if I want to buy the replacement battery and add the bulk to the phone though….ill prolly just tough it out for now.