We have to accept the fact that our lives revolve around gadgets and we cannot live without them. These gadgets are power hungry and unless we keep feeding them, they close down, shutting everything and bringing life to a still. Our reliance on gadgets can be scary, if we are not prepared.
Most of us carry at least two of these energy monsters; laptops, phones, iPods and digital cameras, which make sure they run out on us just when we need them the most. How many times have you had your laptop give up when you are about to send an important email? Didn’t your digicam die when you spotted something you wanted to capture? It happens to all of us all the time.
But you can be smart and get the better of your gadgets. There are a few tricks that will help you squeeze more juice out of the batteries in these gadgets, to ensure they keep ticking for longer.
Keep them cool at all times
We all love the fact that our gadgets have fancy covers and cases to keep them safe. We even buy a good looking case when we see one. What we fail to understand is that these cases are the number one enemies of your devices. As if battling the heat outside and the warmth of your pocket or bag is not bad enough, your devices are tortured and stand no chance in these hell holes.
Batteries die faster due to heat. The power in batteries comes from a chemical reaction and extreme temperatures make batteries work harder to generate the same amount of power, using up the battery life in huge chunks. So, you will have to keep your devices cool if you want your battery to last longer.
Stay away from features you do not use
Today’s devices come with numerous features, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, backlights etc. In the excitement of having all these features, you never bothered to learn that these features hog batteries.
The first thing to do is to turn off all the features you are not currently using, in order save power. Secondly, your iPods and phones have lights that enable you to see the screen more clearly, and these lights can be detrimental to your battery health. It is good to either completely turn off the lights or lower the intensity to save power. With laptops, apart from taking care of the backlight, you can also remove all the devices, such as a USB flash drive etc. that you are not using. Turn off the LCD on your digicam and look through the view finder.
If you are in the midst of a photo shoot and your camera beeps indicating low battery, you can make it go longer by turning off the flash. Get into the habit of switching off flash whenever possible as this will give a long lease of life to your batteries.
Refrain from turning devices on and off
Most of us are guilty of making the mistake of turning off and restarting our devices often, because common thinking is that turning off devices when not in use saves power. The fact is that devices consume maximum battery when they are starting up, so switching off should be done only as a last resort. If you phone has an “airplane” mode, use that instead of switching it off. In that mode, you can save a lot of battery life as it will not catch cell signals and is better than turning it off completely.
For laptops, you can use the “hibernate” mode, especially if you are going to be using it soon. Similarly, you must ensure not to switch off your camera often between snaps. Instead, turn off the LCD screen and leave the camera on, if you know you’re going to be taking pictures within the next few hours.
These precautions may seem simple but are guaranteed to keep your battery kicking for long. You will not have to face disasters of your devices dying on you. Conserving battery power not only gives a longer battery life but also keeps the devices in good condition for longer.
Do you have any more tips for extending the battery life of your gadget?
Share them with us below!
