What is the real life battery life for the L440 and E440 thinkpads??

Do they really last 6+ hours while doing normal tasks? Or are these 12 hour tests done with the laptop on the desktop doing nothing?

 

Yes, notebook makers tend to set up the tests to maximize battery life, but they aren't particularly germane to how people actually use them.

 

I have the E440 with a 62W battery and get between 5 and 6 hours depending on type of usage. With a number of windows open, YouTube running on-going, while typing a Word doc, I am getting 5 hours of battery use and that is with full brightness set. Without YouTube running for the entire time, I get 6 hours or so. My E440 has a core i5 2.6ghz 4210m.

I also use a L440 (core i5) at work, and with both computers I need the brightness all the way up in order not to have eyestrain so I guess 5-6 hours of battery use is not bad. I haven't used the L440 that much on battery only, but my guess is that you will get a slight bump with battery life compared to that of E440 due to the L440's DDR3L SDRAM.

If you are deciding between which model to choose, I think the E440 (core i5) is much better bang for the buck than the L440 (core i5). What I do find better with the L440, however, is that the machine seems to have a bit sturdier build and the trackpad is definitely better. Nevertheless, I do not think that a couple of hundred dollars more for the L440 (core i5) over the E440 (core i5) is worth it.