While it’s not been uncommon for newer operating systems to have a bigger impact on notebook battery life, the situation is different with Windows Vista. The main culprit is Vista’s pretty Aero Glass interface, which when turned off, gives you similar or actually better battery performance than Windows XP. As a result, notebook manufacturers like HP and Lenovo are scratching their heads to find a good solution since notebooks are now becoming mainstream, i.e. notebooks account for more than half of all retail PCs sales. Consumers are also demanding improvements in notebook battery life because it has become arguably the most important factor in their buying decision, now that the average notebook performance has reached a level where it’s more than enough for normal consumer use. Clearly, the concern has filtered even to mobile CPU manufacturers like Intel and AMD, which will feature enery-saving technologies in their upcoming platforms. Said Bahr Mahony, director of product marketing for Advanced Micro Devices’ mobile product division, “Vista is consuming more power than Windows XP, but we have been very focused on introducing more power-efficient technologies”. Till then, existing notebook users who want maximum battery life from their Windows Vista system can select the “Power Saving” profile in Vista’s power management option - this automatically turns-off the Aero interface.
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