Latest in battery life

Would you believe that many computers and smartphones can run cooler and consume less power? A trick exists, called undervolting, which can increase your CPU's efficiency with few drawbacks. If performed right, devices generally produce less heat while exhibiting improved battery performance. The process can require a great deal of patience and confidence as the potential for disaster exists.
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My phone's anemic battery life really drained the fun away from an otherwise awesome phone, the Nexus 4. Overnight, it would typically lose about 30-50% of its battery charge – while idle! I would get about two or three hours of use before needing to recharge. However, my battery problems went away after using a single app: Wakelock Detector. Unlike other battery analysis apps, Wake Lock Detector provides an easy method to seek out app issues causing battery drain.
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A nameless writer once remarked, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” While probably in reference to broadcast television, the saying also applies to Google’s recent introduction of several poorly implemented services in newer versions of Android. Over the past year, you may have noticed programs running on your device that you never signed up for or installed. These purported "free" services come with a hidden price.
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Smartphones can be important tools in an emergency. Besides providing the chance to call for help, a phone can act as a flashlight, compass and GPS. But all of a phone’s functions rely on the battery and the features most useful in a pinch are the ones that consume the most charge. Once the battery is flat, the phone becomes nothing more than a lump of plastic and metal.
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Has the performance and battery life on your mobile dropped off? A gang of dysfunctional and buggy apps probably cause such decline. Getting rid of the errant apps remains the single best performance enhancing tip. Unfortunately, most users lack the slightest idea of which miscreant apps to kill. This article details 4 apps that specialize in finding and murdering crappy apps.
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Have you ever forget to charge your phone overnight and, come morning, realize your phone’s battery life sucks? A portion of your troubles probably relate to Android’s inherent design flaws - in particular, its poor background app management. Another large part of your problems could originate from poorly designed apps that you unwittingly installed. Together, these two problems devastate battery life.
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So how do you know how well your battery is holding up? And if you just got a new Android, how can you make sure you are getting the most efficient use of your battery power? Are you burning up the juice with services like GPS or Wi-Fi that you may not always need? Isn't it a pain to keep turning those things on and off? How does a person manage all of that and stay sane?
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Battery life: There’s never enough. Having your screen set too bright can really drain your battery, and besides, it’s plain uncomfortable. Sure, Android has built-in auto-brightness control, but is there any way to tweak it? Can you change it to be really dim at night or in a dark room? The answer is no, and the answer to that is Lux Auto Brightness.
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The HP TouchPad is a remarkable piece of kit. This tablet computer with its dual core CPU was released with a buggy version of the webOS operating system back in mid-2011 and failed to capture the imagination of app developers, leading to HP dropping the device within weeks of its launch. The ensuing firesale resulted in tablets being picked up brand new for under $100 on both sides of the Atlantic.
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About 10% of an average home’s power use is dedicated to computers. That is the average for the United States, however, and is only an average. Users who are computer enthusiasts may find that their computer accounts for a much larger portion of their power bill. It’s simple logic. The more the computer is used, the more power it draws.Yet not all computers are the same, and they are not all used the same way.
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We live in a wireless world. Except we don’t. Sure, we can send huge amounts of information across the airwaves, but the devices capable of sending and receiving it are tied down to power cords. Batteries allow some freedom but, eventually, we all have to come back around to the familiar face of the power outlet. What if we didn’t? What if we could charge anywhere, at any time?
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In a society where energy costs are rising, brownouts and blackouts are more common and the urge to stay connected is ever-greater, knowing how to manage your mobile phone’s battery as effectively as possible is increasingly important. This isn’t only to keep costs down – it’s also about staying in communication with emails and social networking services as well as text messaging and phone calls.
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In a perfect world, our smartphones would know exactly when they should be silent, when they need to remind us of things, and when they should conserve battery. By default, however, our phones don't do this, and there haven't been any apps which can change the phone's settings for us. At least, that's been the case until now. "Smart Settings" is an app for Android which focuses on changing your phone's behaviors at certain moments.
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Get better battery life from your Linux laptop. Jupiter Applet is a small program that helps you save energy by adjusting your CPU, tweaking the Linux kernel and your hardware. You probably won't notice a performance difference, but your battery will last longer.
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Occasionally we receive a question on MakeUseOf Answers about a battery that refuses to charge. This isn’t surprising. Batteries are known to only last so long, and poor conditions can drastically reduce their life. Issues with chargers or excessive power draw can also be a problem. Let’s address this common concern. Just what do you do when your battery is on the outs?
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