Now if only you had Irish Truphone numbers like Skype so I didn't have to pay Voda 13c for each incoming redirect.......Especially considering the screenshots in your PDFs are all +353 :-)
@JebBrilliant: We have such bad GSM coverage here that I redirect all incomings to Truphone and get fantastic quality calls nearly all the time. I have a new part-time office in the Rubicon Centre in Cork City and I setup a Wifi router just for Truphone. Will be showing the three others in the office how to use it tomorrow.
@Conoro I feel your pain. Some of the areas I visit have such bad GSM coverage in doors I switch over to WiFi instead of 3G to connect to Truphone. I even have one of those Truphone saved my work day stories.
Vo3G IS heavy on battery - for this reason I keep the 3G data option below the threshold in the Truphone settings. In this way it is relatively easy to select a 3G link when I need to make a VoIP call, or when I have no problem with power (like when plugged into the car or at home on charge). WiFi is thankfully much less demanding on power.
@robevans - no - WiFi uses considerably less power than 3G. If you think about it, the WiFi signal only has to propogate over at most tens of metres, 3G has to work over thousands.....
@whatleydude - next time you pop by the office I can give you a personal demo - we use a power monitoring utility which records exactly how much power the phone is using in real time - lets see how much juice your N95 is burning!
@sevendotzero - smart idea Jon - I shall feed that in - should be a simple enough change to make/add - I suspect that we could achieve really substantial savings for calls to 0844/0845/0870 numbers
For the benefit of those outside of UK - within UK calls to the 08xxx numbering range are designated as 'Non-Geographic' numbers - tariffs range from (supposedly) 'free' for calls to 0800, to around 10 ppm for calls to 0871. Mobile operators tend to drop them 'out of bundle' and charge high rates for calling them - typically 15 - 25 ppm
@steve71 - that is totally contray to our findings! Unless you are operating within metres of a 3G cell then Vo3G will consume more power than VoWiFi. Just out of interest what handset are you using?
@jamesbody vo3g/wifi i hardly use, i was meaning 3g and wifi in general. If i have my phone connected via 3g all day and idle the battery lasts much longer than if i do the same over wifi, but i suppose this is relevant for a voip client as it will be idle most of the time. ive noticed the same behaviour on an n80, e61 and n95-8gb though its not as novicable on the 61 because of its much better battery life in general.
GSM has a maximum output of 2 Watts. UMTS is around 125mW per channel. Most WiFi is limited to 100mWatts.
So, all things being equal - you should get more performance out of WiFi. It, naturally depends on the efficiency of the hardware and the software as well as the signal strength. Personally, I find WiFi drains my battery faster on the N95 8GB.
On the N95, you can change the TX power level down to 10mW or 4mW if you want to save even more power. To access this hidden feature...
Tools - Settings - Connection -Wireless LAN - Options - Advanced Settings.
Dropping the TX down to 4mW seems to extend battery life - but I haven't conducted any tests.
OK - as a teaser - a Nokia N95 operating on WiFi with the Truphone client on and registered consumes on average around 250mA of current. This rises to around 1800mA when on a call. By comparison, operation on 3G (H3G HSDPA) consumes around 750mA at rest, rising to around 1800mA when on call.
So - that equates to around three times more life out of your battery (very approximately) if you use WiFi over 3G data. Note - all measurements with Truphone client
44 comments so far
Runs to install on his N95-8GB
1 year, 7 months ago by conoro
I was about to but I've received a rather threatening email re my usage..
1 year, 7 months ago by whatleydude
My letter is probably going to come soon from Truphone and my 3G data provider. I loving Truphone over 3G.
1 year, 7 months ago by JebBrilliant
Mine was more about lack of usage..
1 year, 7 months ago by whatleydude
Installed on e61i and testing
1 year, 7 months ago by robevans
Mine is about a spike in usage. I have been using Truphone as an alternative to my GSM # and provider and it's Brilliant.
1 year, 7 months ago by JebBrilliant
Now if only you had Irish Truphone numbers like Skype so I didn't have to pay Voda 13c for each incoming redirect.......Especially considering the screenshots in your PDFs are all +353 :-)
1 year, 7 months ago by conoro
@JebBrilliant: We have such bad GSM coverage here that I redirect all incomings to Truphone and get fantastic quality calls nearly all the time. I have a new part-time office in the Rubicon Centre in Cork City and I setup a Wifi router just for Truphone. Will be showing the three others in the office how to use it tomorrow.
1 year, 7 months ago by conoro
@Conoro I feel your pain. Some of the areas I visit have such bad GSM coverage in doors I switch over to WiFi instead of 3G to connect to Truphone. I even have one of those Truphone saved my work day stories.
1 year, 7 months ago by JebBrilliant
Was about to try it, but only way to download is via sms link.. Why?
1 year, 7 months ago by bogart
@Bogart there should be an option in your control panel to transfer it to your computer then usb or BT it over to your phone.
1 year, 7 months ago by JebBrilliant
What handset are you using Jeb? with all that wifi it can't be a 95
1 year, 7 months ago by robevans
Actually I'm using at the moment an N95-4 which is the US 8gig.
1 year, 7 months ago by JebBrilliant
And the battery stands up ok to all the wifi?
1 year, 7 months ago by robevans
I mostly use 3G and to put it nicely the battery sucks. It's terrible. I have to carry a spare battery (I use an N95-1 battery) or a Proporta.
1 year, 7 months ago by JebBrilliant
it's a shame, I've got two spare batteries..
1 year, 7 months ago by robevans
I have it!!! Great!!
1 year, 7 months ago by Cityrat59
If you've got the batteries then by all means at least give Truphone a shot. You won't have to worry about running out of juice.
1 year, 7 months ago by JebBrilliant
Testing on N81 8gb. SMS works anyway. Will try calls later.
1 year, 7 months ago by phoneboy
testing on N95 8gb, looks perfect, works perfect
1 year, 7 months ago by PatPhelan
Vo3G IS heavy on battery - for this reason I keep the 3G data option below the threshold in the Truphone settings. In this way it is relatively easy to select a 3G link when I need to make a VoIP call, or when I have no problem with power (like when plugged into the car or at home on charge). WiFi is thankfully much less demanding on power.
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
I don't mind the power consumption. I have been known to turn off Truphone if my battery is getting to low and I don't have access to power.
1 year, 7 months ago by JebBrilliant
@jamesbody, I allways thought it'd be the other way around, wi-fi uses more power than 3G, but then you learn something new every day!
1 year, 7 months ago by robevans
@robevans - no - WiFi uses considerably less power than 3G. If you think about it, the WiFi signal only has to propogate over at most tens of metres, 3G has to work over thousands.....
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
Got some science/stats to confirm that James? Never heard that before. That's awesome.
1 year, 7 months ago by whatleydude
How about Truphone Anywhere routing UK calls to 08 numbers that are charged at extortionate out of bundle rates by UK CPs.
1 year, 7 months ago by sevendotzero
@whatleydude - next time you pop by the office I can give you a personal demo - we use a power monitoring utility which records exactly how much power the phone is using in real time - lets see how much juice your N95 is burning!
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
@sevendotzero - smart idea Jon - I shall feed that in - should be a simple enough change to make/add - I suspect that we could achieve really substantial savings for calls to 0844/0845/0870 numbers
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
@jamesbody - You got no firm stats I can publish?
1 year, 7 months ago by whatleydude
For the benefit of those outside of UK - within UK calls to the 08xxx numbering range are designated as 'Non-Geographic' numbers - tariffs range from (supposedly) 'free' for calls to 0800, to around 10 ppm for calls to 0871. Mobile operators tend to drop them 'out of bundle' and charge high rates for calling them - typically 15 - 25 ppm
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
@whatleydude i was always of the understanding that wifi used more power than 3g and that is also what I have found from my usage over the last 2yrs.
1 year, 7 months ago by steves71
@steve71 - that is totally contray to our findings! Unless you are operating within metres of a 3G cell then Vo3G will consume more power than VoWiFi. Just out of interest what handset are you using?
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
@jamesbody Cheers. And 0800 numbers - another mobile rip-off.
1 year, 7 months ago by sevendotzero
@jamesbody - surely you must have scientific facts to back that up?
1 year, 7 months ago by whatleydude
@jamesbody vo3g/wifi i hardly use, i was meaning 3g and wifi in general. If i have my phone connected via 3g all day and idle the battery lasts much longer than if i do the same over wifi, but i suppose this is relevant for a voip client as it will be idle most of the time. ive noticed the same behaviour on an n80, e61 and n95-8gb though its not as novicable on the 61 because of its much better battery life in general.
1 year, 7 months ago by steves71
@whatleydude YES - and I suppose that you want me to publish them to the world?
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
Nokia has a power monitor app. Should be interesting to load it up and give it a go. I'm mobile otherwise I'd link you.
1 year, 7 months ago by zacharye
GSM has a maximum output of 2 Watts. UMTS is around 125mW per channel. Most WiFi is limited to 100mWatts.
So, all things being equal - you should get more performance out of WiFi. It, naturally depends on the efficiency of the hardware and the software as well as the signal strength. Personally, I find WiFi drains my battery faster on the N95 8GB.
On the N95, you can change the TX power level down to 10mW or 4mW if you want to save even more power. To access this hidden feature... Tools - Settings - Connection -Wireless LAN - Options - Advanced Settings.
Dropping the TX down to 4mW seems to extend battery life - but I haven't conducted any tests.
1 year, 7 months ago by vodaclone
Also - it is not just the radio that consumes power - keeping the main processor active will chew through power (and keep your handset toastie warm)
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
Yes! Publish them! Why keep this it secret?
1 year, 7 months ago by whatleydude
OK - as a teaser - a Nokia N95 operating on WiFi with the Truphone client on and registered consumes on average around 250mA of current. This rises to around 1800mA when on a call. By comparison, operation on 3G (H3G HSDPA) consumes around 750mA at rest, rising to around 1800mA when on call.
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
So - that equates to around three times more life out of your battery (very approximately) if you use WiFi over 3G data. Note - all measurements with Truphone client
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
If you want to measure your own power consumption - try the Nokia Energy Profiler - at http://doiop.com/ff390q
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody
Don't just take my word for it - check it out yourself!
1 year, 7 months ago by jamesbody