battery tricks ???

[naviworks]

i heard that every battery has a specific number of charge cycles (full charge to full drain =1 cycle) and if we charge the battery before it is fully drained then we eat up our total charge cycles and our battery will be dead soon.... so my friend advised to charge my newly bought tattoo only after it drained completely.... but life is difficult doing this any help?

 

[unofficialitguy]

If it's anything like the iPod/iPhone battery, it should be safe to plug in at different intervals without having the full charge cycle taken away from the device. I'd say that as long as you do a full drain/recharge cycle once/month you should be fine.

 

[SlowMoe]

//off topic (with a hint of sarcasm)
Why bother worrying about the battery cycles. You'll change the phone in 6 months anyway

//on topic
I'm not sure about the lifespan vs. recharging. I am not sure that charging a non-drained battery as the one on the Tattoo has any affect on the battery's lifespan. There might be some minor differences but in the long run, it will probably die only a few days before a battery that's treated properly. You won't save months and years by undraining and charging the battery on a monthly/weekly basis. Well at least, that's not what I think.

So just charge your battery when it's around 15-20% and you should be set. And by putting $4 aside every month, you can always buy a new battery for $50 in a year.

 

[Qlither]

So just charge your battery when it's around 15-20% and you should be set. And by putting $4 aside every month, you can always buy a new battery for $50 in a year.

wise words. these batteries are not meant to suffer from the memory issues of the old type batteries. So just recharge about 15-20% or when ever you get a chance to plug it in.

 

[naviworks]

thank you
unofficialitguy,slowmoe and qlither.

also tell me, is it ok to leave the phone charging overnight i.e charging the battery even after it is fully charged. is there serious problems of overheating?

 

[Qlither]

I do it on a almost nightly basis and i have had no trouble yet. I find it safer to walk out the house with a full battery than to risk it on 30-50%.

 

[bfradio]

Its better to keep an Li battery fully charged. There is no need drain to near zero. An Li batter does have about 500 charge cycles, but that is from full to empty. Therefore, keeping it full is not a cycle. Search Google about battery life and I am sure you will find an article discussing this.

 

[LucyMouse]

At least with HTC you can buy and replace a battery yourself...

 

[renomael]

Tips For Improving HTC Hero/Tattoo Battery Life

1. Disable the "Always On" Data Opetion - Go To "Menu" then "Settings" followed by "Wireless Controls" and finally "Mobile Network Settings" where you'll need to unselect the "Enable Always-On Mobile Data" - This will single handedly be the biggest energy saver since your phone isn't constantly searching for information.
2. Disable Wireless Network Positioning Services - Navigate to "Menu" then "Settings" then "Location" and finally "Use Wireless Networks" where you'll choose to turn off the positiona service. Please note you don't need to turn off the GPS checkbox since GPS only operates in conjunction with services that access it.
3. Turn Off WiFi - This one's quick, just select "Menu" then "Settings" followed by "Wireless Controls" and then uncheck "Wi-Fi."
4. Turn Off the Weather App - This is a function that constantly pulls data, which in turn drains battery life. Turn this function off by doing the following: "Menu" then "All Programs" followed by "Weather" then chosoe the "Menu" option from within the Weather program and choose "Setting" where you can disable "Update Automatically" now you can just pull Weather information when you want it, not constantly.
5. Set your other constant update app to lower update frequencies - There's really no menu to navigate here, it depends on the applications you're using. For example you could set the Facebook App to only update once an hour rather than every 5 minutes. The main point is simple, you want to use the least amount of data possible to help battery strain.
6. Use the Task Panel and Shut Down Apps - Sure the HTC Hero can run 10 apps at one time without many issues, but every application that remains open is using processor power, which in turn is draining your devices battery. Exit applications you're not using to save battery life.
7. Turn Down Screen Brightness - From the Hero Launcher click on "Screen &Lock" then find "Screen" and look for the "Brightness" option, you can drag the brightness down slightly to save on battery life. This is really a personally preference option, I don't like a super bright screen, but factory settings offer a blaring brightness.
Those are some basic battery saving tips for the HTC Hero. The basic idea is simple, the less strain you put on your devices processor, the better your battery life will be. While lowering how long your screen stays on when idle and the brightness at which it operates will also play a role in battery life times.
These are of course just several tips. Feel free to leave a comment with your own tips for extending the battery life on the HTC Hero.

Screen & Lock from the launcher. Look for the Brightness slider under Screen, you can tap it and hold on it to drag the brightness to the level you want.


Read more: HTC Hero. Tips For Improving Battery Life In Several Simple Steps

 

[brandmarked]

Useful tips. Thanks.

Also, if you have a Tattoo, its much easier to add the HTC widgets to toggle the data settings on and off (both WiFi and Mobile) than to go through the settings menu. I have my screen to the right of home as a settings page with Mobile, GPS and WiFi toggles. I also have my Browser, Market and Maps shortcuts on this page so I can quickly turn data or WiFi and GPS on, and then launch the app.

+ > HTC Widget > Settings > then select each widget in turn

Also, you don't need to worry about closing all apps, they don't all use processor time unless they are trying to do something, or if they are poorly written. Read some of the threads in the Apps forum (and Droid Eris) about Task Killers.

So close somethings like Underworld that are constantly checking data and this will save your battery. BUT, you don't have to use Task Panel or a Killer to close apps. Many apps can be closed by simply pressing the back arrow key to exit (lots of people just press the home key and this leaves the app running).

- Mark