User's Manual Part 1

WORKABOUT PRO Hand-Held Computer With Windows CE 5.0 User Manual 47
Chapter 3: Getting To Know Your WORKABOUT PRO
Monitoring The Battery And Maximizing Run Time
3.7 Monitoring The Battery And Maximizing Run Time
Note: When the main battery is at 50% capacity, a ‘low battery’ warning is dis-
played. When the battery is at approximately 10% capacity, a ‘very low
main battery’ notification appears.
As Lithium Ion batteries age, their capacity decreases gradually, and they are
generally considered depleted after approximately 2 years of use (less than 60% of
original capacity remaining). Keep in mind however that heavy usage or operating
the unit at temperature extremes will shorten the battery life.
Lithium Ion batteries do not require conditioning cycles and the WORKABOUT
PRO battery system (including chargers) requires no user interaction to maintain
peak performance.
To maximize the run time of your batteries, consider the following:
• The display backlight is the largest drain on the battery. Try to keep its
brightness as low as possible.
• The hand-held is ‘event’ driven—that is, when the unit is not in use, it
reverts to sleep mode (even when it appears to be running), saving battery
power. Events include a key press, touchscreen taps and scan triggers.
Power consumption is reduced if you avoid unnecessary events, and allow
the unit to sleep as much as possible.
• The battery is a ‘smart battery’ with built-in intelligence.
Tapping on the Power icon in the Control Panel displays a dialog box that
provides detailed information about the battery status of the main and
backup batteries installed in your unit.
• When the hand-held is switched off, it goes into a low-power, suspend state
but continues to draw a small amount of power from the battery. This
should not be an issue unless the unit is left in suspend state for more than a
week—for long-term storage, the battery should be removed from the unit.
3.7.1 Storing Batteries
Long term battery storage is not recommended. If storage is necessary:
• Always try to use a ‘first-in first-out’ approach to minimize storage time.
• Lithium Ion batteries age much faster at elevated temperatures. Store batter-
ies at temperatures between 0° C and 20° C.
• Always charge batteries to at least 40 to 60% before storing them. Batteries
can be damaged by an over-discharge phenomenon that occurs when an