How to: Maximize battery life

By Aleksi | Permalink | 1 comment | September 5th, 2007 | Trackback

If you’re looking for a few key ways to increase the battery life of your gadgets, try these simple, yet effective tips.

Keep the power consumption low by turning off bluetooth, WiFi, IR beam, and backlights. Your iPod, phone, and anything else that has a screen most likely has a light that powers it. If you can either disable, or turn down the intensity of this light, you will greatly increase the life of your device on a single charge. Also, leaving bluetooth on your phone enabled will drain your power faster than you may think.

Don’t leave them plugged in constantly. It’s a proven fact that if our body relies on a crutch for too long, we can begin to adapt to the lack of effort required to perform an action. Same goes for a battery. If you leave it always plugged in, it won’t be able to use the full intended capacity. Drain the power lower before you charge it, and once it is charged, remove it from the outlet.

Keep them cool. Heat robs power, so if you keep your devices cooler, they will function better.

Avoid turning devices on and off constantly. Don’t take our your camera, snap a picture, turn if off, only to turn it on 30 seconds later to take another picture. Instead, turn off the LCD screen on the back, and leave the camera on if you know you’re going to be taking pictures. Devices consume the most power when they are starting up.

Finally, Use the correct battery for your device. You may not understand the difference between Alkaline, and NiCd batteries, but if you’re using a digital camera that uses standard AAA, or AA battery types, try using rechargable batteries that are NiCd. While they cost more than standard Alkalines, they provide more power and will last longer in more demanding gadgets.

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