The iPhone has (like many 3G smartphones) always had poor battery life when using connectivity for email sync etc. As new firmwares have become available, this life has improved generally, so that I have only had to recharge twice a day sometimes. However with the release of the 3.1 firmware, my battery life took a tumble so that I was in fact charging four times a day. This has been documented elsewhere on the Internet, and as a travelling man this had become almost impossible to keep going through the whole business day. Even with going to the 3.1.2 firmware, there was no improvement.

Then I accidentally left the WiFi on after leaving one office with WiFi and went to another office without WiFi. I did not really notice but suddenly my phone was back to and exceeded my previous battery life. WTF! Further tests with both my iPhones (yes I have two, one for each country) concluded further that this is a real affect and is not proven explainable although I have a theory that I would love checking. Technically turning WiFi should cause a REDUCTION in battery life.

The theory that I have is that Apple have boosted the transmission power on the iPhone 3G radio to allow it to better operate on the US ATT network which is notoriously poor in many US states. This causes the battery to drain further, and also explains why it was not ‘fixed’ in the 3.1.2 release – as it is not something they want to fix as it is solving a US issue that they are getting a lot of flack for. However, the moment you turn the WiFi on I believe that drops the 3G transmission power back to previous levels, which when WiFi is only beacon’ing (trying to find another WiFi network) means a reduced power draw and better battery life. The other evidence is that I note that the iPhones are noticeably warmer when only on 3G.

Not sure if this is really true, but all I know is that my phones now last a lot longer. Try it, it can only improve things.

After a successful evening for the Faversham Carnival, there was even more drama when the St Marys Charity School float managed to knock a lampost down as it maneouvered at the end of the evening. The post fell against the Market Inn, causing traffic disruption for the end of the carnival and the nightime Tesco deliveries.

This article found via Twitter is really great. It is always true that people pick out things that reinforce their own views, but hey… this matches my experience as well as my views:

How Rewards Can Backfire and Reduce Motivation | PsyBlog.

Motivation has to be so much more than carrots and sticks… In fact, the best way to motivate people in my view is to find self motivated people and then hire… taking unmotivated people and making them motivated is really difficult.

When I t’was a lad, Glastonbury was a bit grungy, dirty, and all breaking bands… now it seems it is for crooners.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Andy Williams to play Glastonbury.

Every morning before it is light, the street lights go off… today I managed to catch it…

Social networking is a wonderful thing, but sometimes it becomes somewhat special… giving product intelligence to those who look hard enough. All we need now is to look at tools that combine facts from multiple Linkedin accounts to really gather good business and product intelligence.

Not that it was ever really in doubt, but after we have seen the amazing performance of the Tegra-powered ZuneHD it is nice to see confirmation that Windows Mobile 7 will indeed by powered by this amazing processor.

via LinkedIn profile confirms Tegra on Windows Mobile 7.

Jeez, not so cute and cuddly any more…

Three transplant patients in the US are believed to have died from a virus that originated in a pet hamster.

via BBC NEWS | Health | Hamster virus kills three people.

I see some sights on the way into work, sometimes it is not the near naked thong roller blader… I think these Elephants are great.

It seems it is not just Apple pushing Smartphones, HTC is doing it although it does seem very selective about the markets in which it does… this is one from Amsterdam.

It seems Twitter and social networking has also become a major sales feature.

Squirrel is surprise star of holiday photo – Telegraph.