Web browsing is a tablets bread and butter and a key factor is how long you have got until you have to go looking for a wall socket. As part of our tests on the Motorola XOOM, we ran a battery test using the same method as when we tested the Galaxy S II.
Since a test like that takes hours on end, we have automated the web browsing with a simple script, which reloaded pages from our website hosted on a server in the local network. Both tablets were connected over Wi-Fi and had their screens set at 50% brightness. We also kept an eye on both tablets to make sure everything was going smoothly.
The tests were more taxing than real-life usage the script loaded a new page every 10 seconds. While most people spend more time on each page, they don’t start at 100% battery and browse till they run it dry either. hat we are trying to do here is come up with relative numbers will the Motorola XOOM or the iPad 2 give you more browse time? Note: we used the native web browsers on both tablets.
Tablet web browsing battery life test:
- Apple iPad 2 – 9:27
- Motorola XOOM – 7:35