A quick guide with some unique battery saving tips :)

[quantumrand]

One of the number one questions with smartphones is "How can I get better battery life?" There's guides all over the net about this, but they all pretty much say the same thing. Except TomsHardware.com seems to have one with some unique tips. Check it out:

How To: Increase Your Smartphone's Battery Life : Last Longer Between Charges

Btw, it's not just for Android phones. It has tips for iPhone and WP7, too.

 

[Kicksilver]

1: Display
2: Processor
3: Mobile networks

Those are the main hogs, there's no work around on those except not using the device at all.

 

[Andima]

But some of the methods are old?

 

[chanchan05]

Old methods still work, but the article also basically tells you to not use your smartphone as a smartphone. Keeping data off? Obe of the main reasons for smartphones is to be connected to the internet always for communication, especially if you get a lot of emails important to work. A battery saver app maybe more useful if you can accept being dark every 15min or so.

Background processes shouldn't be touched at all. The author's description of an app that still runs after you left, is misleading an app does that because its supposed to (actively syncing apps like Dropbox, SugarSync, Facebook, Twitter, etc) or because its buggy, in which case you should report it.

The others regarding battery itself and dark themes for OLED screens, while old, is true nonetheless.

 

[Logan47]

Better to use your phone in its full design and purpose and carry a spare battery if power consumption is creating limitations in usage.

 

[Deleted User]

I have to say I never understand these sort of items. A smart phone is not a mobile phone its a smart phone , ie a mini pocket computer, have you tried leaving your lap top on all day and seeing how long the battery lasts. The joy of a smart phone is all the things it can do and the convenience it can bring to your life. To do this it needs to be allowed to work the way it was intended. When you see the battery is getting low plug it in like you would with your laptop. If power is not available you can use a spare battery or a charging pack. If you don't need all the functions of a smart phone and wish to go 24 hours + between charges save your money and just buy a regular phone.

 

[Frisco]

Better to use your phone in its full design and purpose and carry a spare battery if power consumption is creating limitations in usage.

My thoughts exactly. Once we're into use of the device for a while (for me it takes about a month), we begin to see its limitations as to resource drain, so we just back off a bit and get sensible about how much we can do at once with it.

So, for me all it takes is manually syncing ("on demand") things like the weather widget and Facebook, Gmail etc instead of autosync, and that's about it. The display has to be nice and bright for me, just more usable, and the ring tones have to be loud and long. Result: never below 30 to 40% at the end of the day's 14 hours up time.

 

[quantumrand]

My thoughts exactly. Once we're into use of the device for a while (for me it takes about a month), we begin to see its limitations as to resource drain, so we just back off a bit and get sensible about how much we can do at once with it.

So, for me all it takes is manually syncing ("on demand") things like the weather widget and Facebook, Gmail etc instead of autosync, and that's about it. The display has to be nice and bright for me, just more usable, and the ring tones have to be loud and long. Result: never below 30 to 40% at the end of the day's 14 hours up time.

What I thought was nice about the article was that it wasn't just saying things like "Turn off data" and "Turn off WiFi" like all of the other battery saver articles out there. It was pointing out more practical ways to do it, letting your smartphone act more like a smartphone.

How many people know that you could use URLs as shortcuts to the iPhone's various settings menus? I for one didn't. With that, you can toggle all sorts of things in just two button presses. It's still not quite as convenient as something like Android's Power Control widget, but I thought it was a pretty good tip for any iPhone users out there.