No Funeral for my Smartphone Battery??

I think that my Android phone and the Energizer Bunny need to have a little chat. If that pink, fuzzy, shades wearing mammal can hook my phone up and help to keep my phone alive for potentially more than a day, I’ll be forever grateful.

I’m sure I’m not the only one, who is ever increasingly frustrated about the lack of battery life of my Smartphone. I love the fact that I can surf the internet, text, and talk all at the same time, while keeping up on my feed subscriptions, checking game scores, and weather reports. Yes, I enjoy all of these luxuries, but they KILL the battery. By 8 pm, if I’m nowhere near a charger, it’s a wrap.

So, no surprise, I need help. I found an article that claims that it can help to give your lithium-ion battery more stamina. They actually list some very good tips:

Their first tip is to reconsider your network. The C.D.M.A. mobile standard used by Verizon takes more power than the G.S.M. used by AT&T and T-Mobile. For those who use their phones constantly, you may consider switching your network provider if they provide the coverage you need. For a T-Mobile user like myself, this looks promising. :

Another tip is to dim your LCD screen. The brighter the screen, the more juice you lose. So if you’re in a dimly lit room, dim the screen as well. Or, if your phone comes with an auto-dimmer be sure to use it.

You can also disconnect your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth searching tools when not in use.

The article lists a good bit more that will save you from the slow singing and flower bringing for your battery. Being as desperate as I am, I’m going to try these techniques right now! Let me know if you do!

Do you know of any other ways to save your battery life from an unflattering fate?

Don’t Believe the Hype!

Unlimited calling plans. For someone who loves to talk, this could be the miracle that you were waiting for. Trust me, I know all about exceeding your monthly allotted minutes and having half of a heart attack when you receive your cell phone bill for that month. : Before, unlimited calling was a little pricey, depending on your phone carrier. Now, many carriers are making the bill a tad cheaper, though all that glitters isn’t gold. Meaning, there’s always a catch.

Last month, Verizon and AT&T announced that they were cutting the prices on their unlimited cell phone calling plans to $70 a month from $100. Yes, that seems like a great deal. The thing is, that doesn’t include the other features that technology savvy people can’t live without; a text and data plan. So with the cost of these features, you’re steadily rising from $70 on up. With sites like fixmycellbill.com and billshrink.com, people have been comparing their bills to what they would cost with unlimited plans to see what works for them. Unlimited deals were found to NOT be the best plan for 75% of the people that opted to compare their bills.

Though this number is pretty high, you have to do what’s right for you. (I’m actually doing pretty well with T-Mobile).What do you think of unlimited plans? Are they a good deal, based on your carrier?