Manage battery life on Android devices Video

Manage battery life on Android devices Video Transcript

-Even if you aren't a hacker running a custom ROM with a massive overclock, you probably know that battery life is not the strong suit of most Android phones. So, you may be wondering how can I squeeze the most life out of my Android phone's battery? I'm Antuan Goodwin, allow me to show you how it's done. One of the most effective tools for managing your Android's power usage is the power control widget. This bar can be added to your Android phone's home screen and provides access to the battery-sapping features of your phone at your fingertips. Now, the way that you add it to your phone is you're gonna press and hold anywhere on the blank space on the home screen and then you're going to go to add widgets and then find that power control widget. If you're not using Wi-Fi, bluetooth, or GPS functions, you can quickly disable them with the power control widget to extend your battery life. In a pinch, you can even disable background, syncing of e-mail, calendars, etc., for the extra stretch. However, by far, the most heinous battery sapper is your phone screen and its backlight. The power control widget allows you just to quickly adjust the screen brightness. Obviously, dimmer is gonna be better for battery life. Now, there's also an automatic setting that brightens and dims the screen depending on ambient lighting for the best balance of visibility and battery efficiency. Taking things a step further, you can also adjust the delay of screen time-out, so the screen isn't just burning away while sitting inactive. From the Android home screen, hit the Menu button then Settings then scroll to Display and tap that and then Screen Time-Out. From here, you'll be able to select the delay that you're comfortable with. Once you pick one, simply back out of the Menu. For those who really wanna delve in and micromanage, Android also has a battery usage meter that shows where your power is going. Now, jump back into that Setting's Menu from the home screen and find the Applications options then select Battery Usage. You'll be presented with a bunch of bar graphs showing what processes and features have been using up your juice. This is a great tool for finding battery hogging apps which can then be disabled or uninstalled. So, there you have it. Go forth without fear that you'll find your phone out of juice at an inopportune time. This has been Antuan Goodwin with cnet.com. Check out the Android Atlas blog for even more Android tips and tricks in CNET TV for even more how-to videos.