Geek's Corner: Top six ways to extend battery life on mobile devices

As an appraiser, you are mobile by nature.  If you aren’t out in the field, then you aren’t making money.  Because we are all tied to and dependent upon mobile devices, maintaining and increasing battery life is a constant struggle.  Here are some tips that I came up with for Tablet PCs but obviously work with laptops and some other devices as well:

1. Screen brightness is your biggest power draw – if you can turn it down a notch you’ll get more battery time and your computer will run cooler as well.  Most tablet PCs have programmable buttons on the outside.  I use the ones on my tablet to turn the screen off when I push them – they screen comes right back when my pen gets close.
2. Install as much memory as possible in your tablet/notebook/pocket PC.  Memory is inexpensive and will let your computer run faster.  In addition, it takes much less power to retrieve information from memory than the hard drive because there is no physical movement.
3. Set your Power Saving settings to turn off the screen automatically when not in use.  These settings can be changed if you go into the Control Panel.  When you are talking with the client or crawling an attic it is easy to forget to turn off the screen.  Instead of burning extra battery, have it automatically turn off after 1-2 minutes.
4. Using your tablet or laptop on AC power?  If your computer can run without the battery being in it, completely unplug it.  This is more likely to be possible with laptops or convertible tablet PCs than with slate tablets.  Not only will you reduce the heat to the battery (which shortens life) but reduces cycling of the battery.
5. Do you have an extra battery?  Don’t let it sit out – Lithium Ion batteries deteriorate the moment they leave the factory and their capacity diminished when subjected to heat.  It may sound silly but keeping spare batteries in the refrigerator will lengthen their life.
6. Use a device like a CoolPad to elevate your tablet or laptop and keep it running cooler.  Heat is a major factor for lessening batter life and when you run your device on a flat surface with no airflow, store it in your trunk on a hot day or constantly have it charging when the battery is already charged you are shortening the overall battery life.

Author: John Hill - Phone: 877-772-5587 x101 - Enjoy the best source for Tablet PC News at TabletPCBuzz    Visit our Tablet PC Store 

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