Cell Phone technology is rising faster than its battery power technology. Mobile batteries used to last weeks before needing a charge, but today's pocket-sized smart phones are making it difficult for battery technology to catch up. Today, mobile technology can access the internet via WIFI or Satellite, check the weather, trade stocks, record video, and play games; all of which drain the life of the battery.
Farhad Majoo, from PandoDaily says, "The trouble with batteries, as everyone who makes phones will tell you, is that they don't follow Moore's Law," which states that computing power doubles every two years. Since batteries depend on "ancient chemistry" that has already been optimized, most improvements to battery life, he says, "are mainly the result of power-saving techniques in the processors and operating systems that power our devices," not improvements to the battery itself. Smart phones are continuing to improve in speed and networking capacity, shortening their battery life.
Recently, networks such as Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T have all worked towards converting over to 4G mobile communications. While creating a much faster networking service for smart phones, customer complaints about mobile battery life have been rising. Since 4G networks are not yet mainstream, they’re available only in densely populated cities. "You've got a situation where the phones are sending out their signals searching and searching for a 4G tower, and that eats up your battery,' says Carl Howe, vice president of research firm Yankee Group.
Still, whether a smart phone is using a 3G or 4G to transfer data isn’t as important as the data itself, transferring back and forth and draining battery power. Recently, VisualNews reported that the amount of data used by the average smart phone user grew 89 percent between 2010 and 2011 — from 230MB to 435MB.
Apps that check the weather, provide stock updates, sporting events, video recordings, and games such as Angry Birds are constantly transferring data back and forth over the network.
These days, the apps that consume the most energy are typically the free ones. "65 percent to 75 percent of energy in free apps was spent specifically in advertising modules," says Natalie Shoemaker from Geek.com — in reference to a study conducted by researchers at Purdue University. Games aren’t the only apps, either. The New York Times, for example, includes advertisement s which add more drain to the battery.
In spite of a short battery life, however, consumers have found a few easy tips to conserve the battery power and extend the life of their smart phone.
For example, when a user does not need their faster 4G connection, they manually turn it off. This stops the phone from constantly searching for a 4G network.
Practically every smart phone has syncing abilities to constantly update email, weather, stock prices, sporting event scores, etc. When an app isn't being used or needed, turn it off.
As for free apps like games, the user should either remember to turn them off when they're not being used, or pay the small fee for the ad-free version so advertisements won't be a constant drain on the battery. There are also other apps out there that are specifically designed to help you control battery power.
Maybe the easiest way to prevent a dead battery, is to buy a spare charger to use at work. Getting a
cell phone car charger will also help, since it will recharge while you’re driving. As a final resort, depending on your manufacturer, you may want to consider buying a spare battery.
