How to extend your
smartphones battery life By Tecca | Today in Tech - Fri,
Dec 23, 2011 No matter what type of smartphone you have, the device can serve as your MP3
player, digital camera, gaming
system, and even your TV
while you're out and about
as long as you have battery power. If it seems like smarter phones are getting less life out
of their batteries... you're absolutely right. Smartphones can help you get a lot done
while traveling, but if you're
doing a lot on one in a day,
you're apt to see your screen go
dark long before the sun goes
down. Watching out for a few small
things during your day,
however, can help extend battery life on your trusty device and make sure you've
got enough juice to make it all
day and well into the night. Mixed signals
It takes extra juice for your
smartphone to search for a data
connection. If you're
somewhere where you won't
get a signal, like an airplane or subway, putting your phone in
airplane mode or turning it off
altogether will prevent it from
draining your battery. Turning
your phone on does require a
bit of extra power, so it's best to save shutting it off for times
when you plan to leave it off
for a while, rather than
something like a 20-minute
subway ride to work in the
morning. Thinking of it as car mode or subway mode instead
of airplane mode might just be
the mental trick you need! Likewise, turn off wifi when you don't need it. When it's
active, your phone scans for
available wifi connections
constantly, which kills battery
life. If you're using the wifi in a
coffee shop or bookstore, remember to disable that
connection when you're done
to avoid draining your battery
while you're on the road. Focus on the task at hand
Sure, you can have your email
open, search for directions to a
local restaurant, watch a video
on YouTube, and play Angry Birds at the same time but chances are you're really only
focused on one of those tasks.
Everything you have open on
your phone is using some
amount of battery power. Try
to focus on doing just one thing at a time on your phone, and close unnecessary applications to keep them from draining
your battery. Things like your GPS and the bluetooth connection you use to connect to your hands-free
device in the car gobble up a
ton of battery power and are of
no use to you unless you're
doing a few specific tasks. Bright future
Bright screens look great but
are a huge drain on your
phone's battery. To stretch your
phone's life, go into the controls
or settings and dim the backlight or brightness of your
screen. While the dimmest
setting might be difficult to
read (especially if you're
somewhere brightly lit),
something toward the middle will extend your battery life
without putting too much
strain on your eyes. If your
phone has an auto-brightness
option, using that can be a one-
step solution to balancing battery life and ease of
reading. Along those same lines, try to
avoid using animated backgrounds on your phone. Remember, the less you ask of
your phone, the less it draws on
your battery. Bad vibrations
It takes more battery power
for your phone to vibrate than
it does to ring. While you
absolutely want to have your
phone on vibrate (or turned off) when you're at a movie or in a
meeting, keeping your ringer
on at other times can help
extend battery life. Mandatory nap time
Just as you would with a
toddler, the easiest way to
make sure your smartphone's
battery lasts all night is to give
it a nap at some point during the day. If you're headed into a
meeting for a few hours, turn
off your phone and leave it in
your desk. Likewise, if you're
out to dinner with close friends
or on a date, turn off your phone and focus on your
companions. Not only will you
look like a better employee and
friend for focusing on the
people around you in real life,
you'll also save that much more juice for later. Still having trouble?
If you still find yourself running
out of battery life before the
end of the day, plug into a charging bag or use an external battery pack such as Morphie's JuicePack to strap on some extra power for the road. This article was written by Emily Price and originally appeared on Tecca More from Tecca: Beginner's guide to Android
phones and tabletsBeginner's
guide to the iPhone5 tips for
improving your iPhone battery
lifeEverything you need to
know about the Galaxy Nexus and Android Ice Cream
Sandwich U.S.
smartphones battery life By Tecca | Today in Tech - Fri,
Dec 23, 2011 No matter what type of smartphone you have, the device can serve as your MP3
player, digital camera, gaming
system, and even your TV
while you're out and about
as long as you have battery power. If it seems like smarter phones are getting less life out
of their batteries... you're absolutely right. Smartphones can help you get a lot done
while traveling, but if you're
doing a lot on one in a day,
you're apt to see your screen go
dark long before the sun goes
down. Watching out for a few small
things during your day,
however, can help extend battery life on your trusty device and make sure you've
got enough juice to make it all
day and well into the night. Mixed signals
It takes extra juice for your
smartphone to search for a data
connection. If you're
somewhere where you won't
get a signal, like an airplane or subway, putting your phone in
airplane mode or turning it off
altogether will prevent it from
draining your battery. Turning
your phone on does require a
bit of extra power, so it's best to save shutting it off for times
when you plan to leave it off
for a while, rather than
something like a 20-minute
subway ride to work in the
morning. Thinking of it as car mode or subway mode instead
of airplane mode might just be
the mental trick you need! Likewise, turn off wifi when you don't need it. When it's
active, your phone scans for
available wifi connections
constantly, which kills battery
life. If you're using the wifi in a
coffee shop or bookstore, remember to disable that
connection when you're done
to avoid draining your battery
while you're on the road. Focus on the task at hand
Sure, you can have your email
open, search for directions to a
local restaurant, watch a video
on YouTube, and play Angry Birds at the same time but chances are you're really only
focused on one of those tasks.
Everything you have open on
your phone is using some
amount of battery power. Try
to focus on doing just one thing at a time on your phone, and close unnecessary applications to keep them from draining
your battery. Things like your GPS and the bluetooth connection you use to connect to your hands-free
device in the car gobble up a
ton of battery power and are of
no use to you unless you're
doing a few specific tasks. Bright future
Bright screens look great but
are a huge drain on your
phone's battery. To stretch your
phone's life, go into the controls
or settings and dim the backlight or brightness of your
screen. While the dimmest
setting might be difficult to
read (especially if you're
somewhere brightly lit),
something toward the middle will extend your battery life
without putting too much
strain on your eyes. If your
phone has an auto-brightness
option, using that can be a one-
step solution to balancing battery life and ease of
reading. Along those same lines, try to
avoid using animated backgrounds on your phone. Remember, the less you ask of
your phone, the less it draws on
your battery. Bad vibrations
It takes more battery power
for your phone to vibrate than
it does to ring. While you
absolutely want to have your
phone on vibrate (or turned off) when you're at a movie or in a
meeting, keeping your ringer
on at other times can help
extend battery life. Mandatory nap time
Just as you would with a
toddler, the easiest way to
make sure your smartphone's
battery lasts all night is to give
it a nap at some point during the day. If you're headed into a
meeting for a few hours, turn
off your phone and leave it in
your desk. Likewise, if you're
out to dinner with close friends
or on a date, turn off your phone and focus on your
companions. Not only will you
look like a better employee and
friend for focusing on the
people around you in real life,
you'll also save that much more juice for later. Still having trouble?
If you still find yourself running
out of battery life before the
end of the day, plug into a charging bag or use an external battery pack such as Morphie's JuicePack to strap on some extra power for the road. This article was written by Emily Price and originally appeared on Tecca More from Tecca: Beginner's guide to Android
phones and tabletsBeginner's
guide to the iPhone5 tips for
improving your iPhone battery
lifeEverything you need to
know about the Galaxy Nexus and Android Ice Cream
Sandwich U.S.
