As part of my Gearing Up For College series, I have been asked to put the new Sony Vaio S – Series laptop through the paces to see just how long a 15 hour battery really can last. I have already provided a review of the features and functions of this laptop but this article is dedicated solely to battery life performance.

Since I was expecting this laptop to be an integrated part of my life for a 15 hour period, I needed to come up with an approach to make sure the Sony Vaio complimented not only my lifestyle but also the lifestyle of my entire family for the day (which includes my wife and our three little ones — all under the age of 4).

My wife recently “reminded” me that she had to forgo being part of the Dave Matthews Band Caravan this year (due to family obligations), so I thought maybe implementing her passion for DMB into this test may prove wise (for me and our marriage). The only other criteria that I wanted to meet in my battery testing was having the computer fully booted and operational for the 15 hour period and performing a task during that whole time frame.

Keeping those criteria in mind, I came up with the idea to upload all of our Dave Matthews Band CD’s onto iTunes, hit the play/shuffle button, and see just how long the Sony’s 15 hour laptop battery would last in a day in the life of the Schantz family. Now of course, I turned off all the bells and whistles (wifi, screen brightness, etc..) and I flipped the performance switch to stamina to preserve battery life.

With 295 Dave Matthews Band songs loaded and ready, the following represents our day with the Sony laptop and the 15 hour battery.

Time: 6:30am
Song: Grace Is Gone
Album: Busted Stuff
Battery Life: 100%
Event: I begin every morning with getting the paper off of the front porch. Today started like every other day with the exception of having some pretty cool Dave Matthew’s tunes accompanying me.

Time: 7:48am
Song: Don’t Drink The Water
Album: Live At Mile High Music Festival
Battery Life: 91%
Event: Took the family to the Champaign County balloon festival. This marks our second year to attend the event. Yes, we have to get everyone moving a little earlier, but at this age it is a perfect outing for our little ones. We enjoyed meeting a new family (the Crisp’s) and we would like to extend a thank you to them for equipping our boys with binoculars to help aid in their balloon sightings.

Time: 8:53am
Song: Don’t Drink The Water
Album: Live At Folsom Field
Battery Life: 84%
Event: Balloons were a success but now it is time to feed the family. We decide on the “breakfast of champions” at one of the most kid friendly places we know — McDonalds.

Time: 9:46am
Song: Gravedigger
Album: Some Devil – Acoustic
Battery Life: 78%
Event: Enjoying some weeding in our overgrown garden. The kids “helped” us plant seeds this year and now we have everything from pumpkins, tomatoes, beans, peppers, and cucumbers planted in an area that is probably suited for a third of what we have growing. I will just keep watering and see what happens! 😉

Time: 10:36am
Song: Lie In Our Graves
Album: Live At The Gorge (Disc 2)
Battery Life: 73%
Event: Helping the kids clear out their bamboo clubhouse and making a couple of tunnels through the foliage..

Time: 11:43am
Song: Crush
Album: Live Trax Vol. 13 @ Busch Stadium
Battery Life: 67%
Event: Emptying the dishwasher is a not so glamorous part of the day but it is something that must be done none-the-less. Fortunately, I have Dave Matthews in the background to make quick work of the task.

Time: 12:57pm
Song: Jimi Thing
Album: Central Park Concert (Disc 3)
Battery Life: 60%
Event: Attending a family birthday/swim party this afternoon (Happy Birthday Lisa!). Kids are sure to enjoy all the great food and fun with their cousins.

Time: 2:48pm
Song: Trouble
Album: Some Devil
Battery Life: 50%
Event: ok… This Sony battery is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. I must say that after all the swimming with the kids, this bed sure does look like a great place for this tired daddy to take a nap. No rest for the weary… just keep moving..just keep moving…

Time: 3:59pm
Song: Christmas Song
Album: Remember Two Things (Live)
Battery Life: 42%
Event: The kids are taking a nap and I think this chair will be my home for the next hour. Thank you Dave and Sony for lulling my eyes to sleep.

Time: 5:30pm
Song: One Sweet World
Album: Live Trax Vol. 13 6.07.08 @ Busch Stadium
Battery Life: 33%
Event: Nap time is over and now I get to enjoy my most favorite snack ever — cottage cheese with ground black pepper! MMMM….

Time: 6:47pm
Song: Eh-Hee
Album: Live at Piedmont Park
Battery Life: 26%
Event: We took the kids to the Clarence J. Brown reservoir so that they could ride their bikes on the dam and enjoy watching the boats and the wildlife (we saw otters for the first time playing by the water’s edge).

Time: 7:54pm
Song: Granny
Album: Central Park Concert (Live)
Battery Life: 22%
Event: It is now bath time for the kids. They have had a long day and I think this Sony laptop battery is going to successfully outlast them.

Time: 8:51pm
Song: True Reflections
Album: Listener Supported (Disc 2)
Battery Life: 9%
Event: Every now and again we treat ourselves to carryout after the kids go to bed. This evening we chose Texas Road House. It marks a nice ending to our event filled day.

Time: 9:25pm
Song: What Would You Say
Album: Live at Piedmont Park
Battery Life: 3% (20 minutes remaining)
Event: Ok.. so it is official, the Sony 15 hour battery has successfully lived up to my expectations. We are surpassing the 15 hour mark and it still has just a little bit of time left (20 minutes per the laptop’s battery calculations). I think it is time to celebrate! I am going to go ahead and plug this laptop in to recharge the battery. In addition, I think I may put myself to bed to recharge my batteries for what tomorrow brings…

If you enjoyed the reviews of this laptop and think this is the right equipment to help get you through your college years, please visit Sony’s online store to check out all your options and be sure to take advantage of their cost-savings battery promotion.

If you would like to win one of these laptops for FREE, Microsoft is currently running a laptop give-a-way sweepstakes. The lucky winner gets a shiny new Sony S – Series laptop (including the 15 hour sheet battery option). Good luck!