SARASOTA, Fl.—Verizon Wireless’ testing of its high-speed CDMA2000 1x EV-DO service has reportedly been draining the batteries of some customers’ phones.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that users were finding the batteries in their EV-DO handsets were being drained more quickly than normal even when fully charged—sometimes as quickly as an hour or two.
“A lot of times I can’t finish a call. I go dead all the time just ’cause there’s no juice left,” Verizon Wireless subscriber Larry Ritt told the newspaper.
Verizon Wireless representatives could not be immediately reached for comment, but the Herald-Tribune indicated that the carrier had switched its EV-DO tests to night hours to lessen the potential impact. Verizon Wireless spokesman Chuck Hamby told the Herald-Tribune that the issue hadn’t occurred in other Florida market launches; EV-DO service should go live in Sarasota later this month.
In posts on the Internet, some cell phone enthusiasts recommend disabling EV-DO service on handsets in order to extend battery life.
