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Two of the world`s biggest smartphone manufacturers are having to deal with battery-related woes this month, earning the ire of owners and struggling to push out updates that will solve the issues.

The first firm to come under fire was Apple, whose iPhone 4S handset has only been on the market for a few weeks. The iOS 5 software platform which launched with the 4S and was also rolled out for older iPhone models is said to cause a significant drop off in battery longevity for many users.

Apple attempted to tackle this problem with an update to iOS 5 but according to some sources this actually worsened the battery performance rather than making it better.

Apple had reportedly been rushing out another iOS 5 update due to land before the end of the month, but industry insiders have been quoted as saying that delays have hit this patch because the creators are not convinced that it has been put through testing that is thorough enough to ready it for official launch on an international scale.

Battery life is a concern for all smartphone users and the latest technology is unavoidably energy-draining. However, with iOS 5 making last year`s iPhone 4 more power hungry without altering its hardware it is easy to see why users are angry.

Thankfully there is more than one company in the firing line over battery problems. Nokia recently refreshed its smartphone line up by launching the Lumia 800 handset, a mobile that stands out as the first from the Finnish firm to use Microsoft`s Windows Phone operating system. However, since its release there have been several reports of unsatisfactory battery life on the Lumia 800, which has led to Nokia announcing its own round of updates.

Two software augmentations will be dished out by Nokia to help out Lumia 800 owners who are experiencing the issue. These will address the efficiency with which the smartphone uses power and will also ameliorate the way in which the phone is charged.

Nokia has said that the first update will roll out in December, followed by a subsequent release in January. It has even gone so far as to say that the power output of the internal battery of this handset will actually jump up to 1450mAh from its current level of 1300mAh.

Windows Phone is well known for its ability to use battery power more sparingly than some of the other smartphone operating systems on the market at the moment and so it does seem odd that Nokia Lumia 800 users are experiencing complications. Whether or not it is a software bug remains to be seen, but hopefully the updates will counteract the complaints and allow the Lumia 800 to handle its battery in the same way that the best BlackBerry Torch deals with energy efficiency. With dual core processors featuring in high end Android phones and quad core chips on the horizon for 2012, higher capacities and higher outputs are vital for batteries of the future.