Friday, June 24, 2011

THREE TIPS AND TRICKS TO HELP LENGTHEN AN ANDROID'S BATTERY LIFE

                              One of the biggest complaints we have about our super-powered, super fast Smartphones is that the battery life doesn't last long enough. With internet access from the palm of our hand, thousands of apps to install and use, and endless entertainment, it's no real surprise that these handheld wizards might eat up battery juice. While the battery life of your Android phone may never be exactly how you want it, there are several tips and tricks you can use to make your phone's life run longer. Rather than purchasing expensive car phone chargers or downloading time consuming apps to help "kill tasks" to save battery life, try these three simple tips that you can perform right on your phone to keep your phone powered up longer.


1)Turn off Bluetooth When You Don't Need It
       Maybe this tip is a little obvious, but it's still a great way to really extend your phone's battery life. Also, because it is so obvious, many Android users overlook it. Whenever you are not actually using your phone's Bluetooth capabilities switch them to the off position to help save your battery. The easiest way to switch Bluetooth off and on is by using a widget on your homescreen (that most all Android devices have in place from the get go). When Bluetooth is left on and you are not utilizing it, your device will try to locate other Bluetooth signals with no success. This means that your phone is wasting valuable battery life trying to do something it doesn't need to do.

2) Either Switch Wi-Fi Off or Keep It On At All Times      Your phone's wireless internet connection works in much the same way that the Bluetooth connection does when it comes to wasting battery life. Many people know that turning off the Wi-Fi connection can help prolong your phone's juice, but few realize that keeping it on at all times can also help. If you are close to a reliable WLAN for most of the day, then having your Wi-Fi always enabled may be best for your phone's battery life because We-Fi uses up less juice than 3G does. To set your Wi-Fi setting to always on go to Settings> Wireless Networks> Wi-Fi Settings. Once you are in the Wi-Fi settings tap on Advanced and set the Wi-Fi sleep policy to Never. However, if you are not close to a strong Wi-Fi signal the majority of the time, it may be beneficial to disable the Wi-Fi from your homescreen widget. This way your phone won't search for a wireless connection, wasting valuable battery power, when Wi-Fi is not actually available or necessary.

3)Learn What Exactly is Killing Your Juice                     Like most things in life, the best way to fix something is to know why it's broken. Most all Android devices available today have a built-in feature that tells you exactly what your phone is using its batter power on. Of course, as one of the most useful features on your Android phone, most users don't know that it actually exists. Check to see what aspects of your phone use are draining the most juice by going to your phone's Settings> About Phone> Battery> Battery Use. This page will show you the percentage of battery spent towards your phone being idle, the Android system, cell standby, the display, media, and more. By seeing exactly where all of your battery juice is going you can better modify the way you use your phone or the specific settings you have in place to help extend the life of your phone's battery.

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for best online college. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99@gmail.com.