The New York Times published a very interesting article on March 11 that would be well worth a read to anybody who uses a cell phone or a notebook computer. And in today’s world, this pretty much encompasses everybody. More than ever before, people are relying on their cell phones for not only communication, but also for keeping track of their schedules, emailing and checking the internet. What this means, of course, is that by getting the additional use from their cell phones, people are also putting an additional strain on their cell phone’s battery. And the recent article in the New York Times provides some good insight on how to preserve battery life on most technological devices.
Without rehashing the article word for word, this post will provide a few of the tips that it offered. First off, however, it is notable that iPhone owners are immediately at an advantage because AT&T’s network uses less battery power than a network such as Verizon. So without doing anything, iPhone owners are putting less of a strain on their battery than smart phone owners who use other networks. Beyond that, the following three tips should be helpful to those looking to get the most from their cell phones and notebook computers.
1. Dim the screen. As should be obvious, it requires more battery power to maintain a brighter screen. So by simply changing the setting of the device to display a dimmer screen, consumers can help their battery to go longer without a charge. On a MacBook Pro, the F1 and F2 command buttons work to dim and brighten the screen. Moreover, there is a setting on MacBooks and iPhones that reads the brightness of a room and adjusts the monitor accordingly so as to automatically save battery life.
2. Only check email manually. iPhones have a variety of settings for checking email. Many people set their iPhones to check for mail automatically every five minutes or so. The problem with this is that every time the phone checks for mail, it uses battery power. As such, by simply changing the iPhone setting to check for mail manually, consumers can significantly extend their battery power between charges.
3. Get an App from the App Store. As iPhone owners know, there is no shortage of applications available for purchase. There are several applications available that are specifically designed to help people preserve their battery life. In addition to iPhone applications, there are also applications available to help people preserve the battery life on their notebook computers.
Taking these simple precautions could very well mean the difference between having battery power to make that important call or not. There are times when getting a battery charge is next to impossible, and it is times like this when people wish they had taken precautionary measures. Consumers can get the most from their devices by putting battery saving techniques into practice.
