The Tech-pert: Before You Buy an Android Tablet or Phone, Know This

I have a bone to pick with Android-powered smartphones. Tablets, too. It's a problem you don't hear about much in the mainstream press, but I'm here to tell you it's real.

Android battery life blows.

I say this based on experience with a variety of devices, including, most recently, the Virgin Mobile Motorola Triumph.

I love this smartphone. It's fast. It sports an extra-large screen. And, like other Virgin Mobile handsets, it's available without a contract. For as little as $35 per month, you can get unlimited data and a few hundred voice minutes.

But here's what happened after my first day of testing, which started with a fully charged battery: I went to bed with the battery gauge at around 50 percent. When I woke up, the Triumph was dead.

I tried turning off various features that are known battery-drainers, but I still couldn't get the phone to last more than 24 hours. This despite it having a pretty decent-size battery.

I've been down this road before. Phones like the Samsung Intercept, LG Optimus V, and Samsung Nexus S 4G exhibited similar behavior, as did the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet. Even with minimal use during the day, I'd wake up to a dead device the next morning.

That's inexcusable. And unacceptable. My iPhone 4 can easily go a couple days between charges, and it has a year-old battery. And my iPad holds juice like a camel holds water; it can sit untouched for a week and when I pick it up it still has power to spare.

This is not to say that Apple products are better than Android ones, merely that my experiences with the latter have been very disappointing--from a battery perspective, anyway.

Wondering if I was alone, I conducted an informal survey of Android-using Facebook friends. Almost every one of them said the same thing: their phone's battery life is dreadful. Only a couple Droid X owners had good things to say. Apparently that model is one of the rare exceptions.

Here's another one: the Nook Color e-reader, which runs a custom version of the Android operating system and, indeed, can be made to run Android proper. To my surprise and delight, it lasts for days and days, with no mysterious power drain when it's idling.

There's some really good Android hardware out there. And Android Market is coming along nicely. But until Google and/or device manufacturers figure out how to remedy this obnoxious problem, I'm planning to steer clear of most Android-powered products.

Should you do likewise? That's your call, of course, but if you do decide to adopt some Android gear, plan on packing extra batteries when you travel.

Your turn: Hit the comments and tell me if battery life has been an issue with your Android device!

Self-proclaimed cheapskate Rick Broida has been a technology writer for over 20 years. He has authored over a dozen books, including, most recently, "How to Do Everything: Palm Pre." Currently he writes the Cheapskate blog.