Posts Tagged ‘battery power’
Monday, August 17th, 2009
Let’s face it, despite the welcome improvements in hardware and software, the new iPhone 3GS still suffers from the same problem that all its predecessors had – battery life is terrible.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve compiled a list of 15 ways that you can keep your iPhone 3GS juiced up.
- Turn off WiFi – Saves power when not searching and staying connected to a wireless connection. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi > Switch Off.
- Turn off Bluetooth – Similar to switching off Wi-Fi you can get more time by turning this feature off. Go to Settings > General > Bluetooth > Switch Off.
- Turn off Vibrate Alert - Audio alerts take up less power than a vibration alert. Go to Settings > Sounds > Switch off Silent Vibrate and Switch off Vibrate Ring. You can also flick the Ring/Silent switch on the side of the iPhone.
- Turn Off iPod Equalizer – This was an old tip from Apple when they were helping users conserve battery on iPods. Go to Settings > iPod > EQ > Switch Off
- Get an iPhone Car / Vehicle Charger - Re-energise your iPhone while you’re driving. Normal charge time via one of these adapters is from 30 – 40 minutes.
- Get a iPhone Battery Extender – There are a couple of gadgets out there that allow you to add a battery extender to your iPhone. The negative impact is that it adds extra bulk.
- Turn off Location Services / GPS – When switched on quite the juice drainer as it employs a combination of Wi-Fi, cellular and GPS to determine your location. Go to Settings > General > Location Services > Switch Off.
- Cut down telephone calls – Only answer the important ones and let the rest go to your voicemail so you can check later.
- Reduce Game time - Stop playing Paper Toss and Blowfish – save that battery power!
- Reduce Screen / Display Brightness – One that I only recently implemented that has given me more time with my iPhone everyday. Go to Settings > Brightness > use slider to select lower brightness. Also switch Auto-Brightness off.
- Activate display of battery percentage - Keep close tabs on how much battery power you actually have left and display this permanently on your screen. Go to Settings > General > Usage > Battery Percentage > Switch On.
- Check mail less frequently – Increasing the intervals your iPhone fetches emails or doing it manually fewer times a day can also help battery life. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data > Turn off Push and set to Manually.
- Activate Auto-Lock with short interval – This feature dims your iPhone screen after a selected period of time of inactivity. The shorter the interval the faster it will put your iPhone to sleep and initiate auto-lock. Go to Settings > General > Auto-Lock > 1 Minute.
- Turn off 3G - Although you won’t be able to download data as quickly this saves you a substantial amount of power. Go to Settings > General > Network > Enable 3G > Switch Off.
- Turn off Data Roaming – Turn data roaming off when abroad especially, to avoid substantial roaming charges when using email, MMS, web browsing and other data services. Saves battery and money! Go to Settings > General > Network > Data Roaming > Switch Off.
Would love to hear if you have any others.
Tags: Battery Saving iPhone, Battery saving tips iPhone, iPhone, iPhone Battery Advice, iPhone Battery Tips
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Tags: 3g, aim, apple, apple iphone, battery life, battery power, bookmark, car, cat, click, Gadget, google, Hardware, iPhone, ipod, nec, network, Service, wi-fi, Windows
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Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
Do you have fond memories watching cartoon shows before school? I do. One of my favorite cartoons was of a pint-sized boy-shaped robot who could beat enemies of all-sorts; some were even double or triple his size. There were also countless times when in a middle of a battle he would run out of battery power and would be endlessly falling from the sky in what would seem his perilous finish. However, in the end he’d always turn out the victor 
I am of course talking about Astro Boy.
Today as I watched Monsters Vs Aliens with my family (not a bad movie btw 7/10), the Astro Boy movie trailer appeared and it rekindled my wonder years.
Any else looking forward to see how this ol’ cartoon will turn out on the big screen?
Here’s a snippet:
YouTube – Astro Boy Movie
Tags: Astro Boy, Astroboy movie, Astroboy Trailer, Movies
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Tags: alien, amp, battery power, car, Gadget, google, Service, shape, Windows
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Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Tags: apple, battery power, desktop, digital picture, frames, Gadget, gift idea, google, hub, iPhone, ipod, Micro, Microsoft, notebook, RAM, Service, USB, Windows
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Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
I’m not certain that I can really call the Pizza Boss a Cool Gadget per se. It’s not like it has any electronic parts going on inside of it.
However, it solves a problem that all of us have had: cutting up a homemade pizza, or one of those take and bakes you can pick up. I used to have one of those circular blades on a stick, but it didn’t really work all that well. One day, my wife bought home a semicircular plastic blade with a handle on top, which allows the user to cut the pizza by putting pressure on both sides.
That device, which is purple grape, has been working like a charm. However, I like the Pizza Boss 3000. As you can see, it looks just like a circular saw, but without the cord. There’s no battery power either, but do you really need it? Only if you burnt your pizza, or if you want to cut the circular metal pan that it sits on.
If the Pizza Boss 3000 is as appealing to you as it is to me, then feel free to scurry over to the appropriately named Perpetual Kid site. You may also want to check out the Shark Pizza Cutter while you’re at it.
Source
Introducing
Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
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Pizza Boss 3000 copyright by
Coolest Gadgets ]
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Tags: amp, arm, battery power, electronic, Gadget, google, hp, images, ohgizmo, Service, source, Windows
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Sunday, December 7th, 2008
The radio-controlled Spyfire blaster is like an upgraded version of the Wireless USB Missile Launcher – now allowing you to fire it from up to 25 feet away instead of 15.
Not only is it a powerful, battery powered, 4 shot blaster capable of blasting up to 25 feet away – but the handle can separate from the rest of the blaster. You can set the blaster up with its integrated, folding tripod and set it to cover your escape path.
Here’s a video demonstration of the R/C toy in action:
Features:
- Powerful 4 dart blaster
- Stores extra ammo in handle
- Flip-up sight and fold down tripod
- Electronic power-up and firing sound effects with each shot
- R/C range: up to 50 feet
- Shoots up to 25 feet
The Spyfire R/C Blaster measures 3 x 12 x 10 inches and requires 5 x AAA batteries. The product is available from the ThinkGeek website for $29.99.
(Via Geeky Gadgets)
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Tags: aa batteries, aaa batteries, battery power, electronic, Gadget, Geek, ipod, radio, thinkgeek, toys, USB, video, Windows
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Friday, October 31st, 2008
Sony’s eBook Reader is now available in cherry red. The interesting thing, however, is that with two circle wheel control knobs at the bottom, the reader looks like a portrait version of an Etch a Sketch. (memo to Hasbro, get on that, will ya?)
Aside from the cosmetic changes, the Sony eBook reader is exactly the same. Users can install and read novels using Sony’s patented e-Ink technology, play MP3s and view JPG pictures.
It’s built-in memory can hold a library of up to 160 books and newspaper editions. The patented (and proprietary) e-Ink technology makes the electronic image look like traditional print on its six inch screen, and pressing the button shows an animated page turn to the next page – kinda fun. And because it has no backlight, the image doesn’t flicker and as such, is easier on the eyes, but more difficult to read in darker, ambient light.
A handy bookmark feature helps keep the reader in place, and it’s magnification option helps vision challenged readers to enjoy reading as well. Battery life is judged, rather interestingly, at 7500 continuous page turns since the e-Ink screen only uses battery power when you are changing pages.
The one problem Sony’s eBook reader has – other than being mistaken for a child’s drawing toy – is that PDF files are hit and miss compatibility wise since Sony’s obsession with proprietary technology can make anything outside of their sphere of influence questionable to use. Even if it says it will.
But can it give the Kindle a run for its money? Quality wise, it can, but it needs to drop it’s price more to compete on price point and so it’s doubtful it’ll hold ground in this economy. Cost is around $275 from Amazon.
Hat tip – Shiny Shiny
Introducing
Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
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Sony’s new reader mistaken for Etch A Sketch copyright by
Coolest Gadgets ]
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Tags: amazon, ambient light, amp, battery life, battery power, bookmark, cat, economy, electronic, electronic image, eye, flicker, Gadget, google, hasbro, hp, images, ink technology, magnification, memory, news, patent, Service, sony ebook reader, Wheel
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Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
Because the iPhone 3G doesn’t have a user-replaceable battery — and because it’s so easy to burn through a full charge before the end of a day — some users may need a variety of power charging solutions. They need to keep the included universal serial bus cord or dock handy at home, and perhaps have one in the office. One also might need a car charger and might seriously consider an external portable battery. There are several external portable batteries on the market, and I chose two different types of portable battery power from reputable dealers to evaluate.
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Tags: 3g, battery power, car, images, iPhone, market, news, Office, solution, TechNewsWorld
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