CNet is covering user reports of decreased battery life when running Vista. I’ve noticed the same thing.
I’ve been experiencing horrendous battery life problems with my Toshiba M400. Put simply: The M400 is almost useless when I’m on the go. The battery may last a couple hours at best. I was getting close to four hours with XP. My battery is getting a bit old at one year of age, so I expect it won’t perform like it used to, but I noticed a huge drop once I switched from XP to the Vista RTM. I could buy a new battery, but I’m reluctant to put any more money into the M400 because of what I’ve been experiencing so far. It’s time to look elsewhere.
I understand others are having problems with their laptops too. It’s not just Tablets and it’s not just the M400. And Rob Bushway is right, the battery life under Vista is “certainly not…mobile friendly.”
Interstingly though, this past week I finally switched over to using a Samsung Q1 (running Vista without Aero) at MEDC because at least its battery would last through the morning and keep on ticking. I could almost get a whole day when using an extended battery. It was quite refreshing after using the M400. Although don’t get started on the Q1’s sluggish boot time…