PDA User Manual

Chapter 3: Getting To Know Your Ikôn
Storing Batteries
44 Ikôn Rugged PDA (Windows CE 5.0) User Manual
As Lithium Ion batteries age, their capacity decreases gradually, and they are generally con-
sidered 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 ex-
tremes will shorten the battery life.
Lithium Ion batteries do not require conditioning cycles and the Ikôn battery system (includ-
ing chargers) requires no user interaction to maintain peak performance.
To maximize the run time of your batteries, consider the following:
• The display backlight is a large drain on the battery. Try to keep its brightness as low
as possible.
• The Ikôn 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 unneces-
sary 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 battery installed in your unit.
• When the Ikôn 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.
3.5.1 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 batteries at tem-
peratures between 0°C and 20°C (32°F and 68°F).
• 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 empty battery is stored
for a long period of time such that the cell voltage drops below a lower limit.
• To minimize storage degradation, recharge stored batteries to 40 to 60% every 4 or 6
months to prevent over-discharge damage.
• A ‘never used’ Li-Ion battery that has been stored for 3 years may have limited or no
useful life remaining once put into service. Think of batteries as perishable goods.