battery saving ideas for smartphones??

[Ryan_V]

Anyone have any? I got my new Samsung Vibrant and it's a great phone, but the battery life is short so far. Granted, it's still new to me, so I'm using the heck out of it. Anyone use any task killer apps?? Have they helped??

[pureinsanity]

With these smart phones there usually is a thing called "push internet" Its constantly keeping your internet going. Actively updating GPS Weather to your location via internet, and also checking your emails, and keeping browsers running int he background.

Not sure if there is an app for Andriods that kills that process but that is a big help!

I know on my windows phone I was able to do a registry hack and disable that option. Now the internet is only running when I want it to be. All apps close when I want them too. (most times apps just minimize instead of closing)

My phone has 25% more memory and my batter lasts all day with moderate use

[Ice Hole]

I have a Vibrant as well. It's a simply awesome phone!

Do not use a task killer. I won't go into details as you can search the internet for yourself (Google's Android developers blog, Android Forums, etc), but the Android OS is nothing like Windows. Using a task killer on your phone will actually wear the battery down quicker because it's constantly working to do something that the OS is already doing very efficiently.

My battery life got better on my phone after it was used for a few days. It also gets better as you learn how to use it. Things like decreasing screen brightness, don't use live wallpapers, use wallpapers with dark colors, turn off wi-fi when not in use, turn off 3g if you don't need it, etc. Also, if you have widgets/apps that update frequently (weatherbug, sports updates, etc.), decrease the update occurrence.

Unfortunately, smartphones are tough on batteries. However, I have no problem getting a full day with moderate use out of the battery out of this phone. Hope this helps!

[pureinsanity]

My battery life got better on my phone after it was used for a few days. It also gets better as you learn how to use it. Things like decreasing screen brightness, don't use live wallpapers, use wallpapers with dark colors, turn off wi-fi when not in use, turn off 3g if you don't need it, etc. Also, if you have widgets/apps that update frequently (weatherbug, sports updates, etc.), decrease the update occurrence.

Does it have a auto adjust option for screen brightness? That is one feature I love on my touch pro 2. It has a light sensor on the front of the phone. depending how much light is glaring against the phone it auto adjusts the screens brightness! The weather apps and such is exactly what I was talking about. "internet push" I try to disable the updates at all. I will manually update if I need the feature.

Very good info!

[Ryan_V]

Ice Hole...... What does wi-fi do when it's enabled??? I see it on the notifiaction menu, but it's always been off. I disable the gps function unless I'm checking weather or something. also, how do you turn 3G on/off??? I'm not sure I'm getting 3G here, (I don't see the icon on my phone)

thanks!! I'm new to the whole smartphone thing, so I'm trying to take it all in!!!

[Ice Hole]

Does it have a auto adjust option for screen brightness? That is one feature I love on my touch pro 2. It has a light sensor on the front of the phone. depending how much light is glaring against the phone it auto adjusts the screens brightness! The weather apps and such is exactly what I was talking about. "internet push" I try to disable the updates at all. I will manually update if I need the feature.

Very good info!

Good advice. It does have auto-adjustment of brightness. This can help tremendously. If you go to Settings > About Phone > Battery Use, you'll see what's been using your battery. Your display will be the biggest culprit.

[Ice Hole]

Ice Hole...... What does wi-fi do when it's enabled??? I see it on the notifiaction menu, but it's always been off. I disable the gps function unless I'm checking weather or something. also, how do you turn 3G on/off??? I'm not sure I'm getting 3G here, (I don't see the icon on my phone)

thanks!! I'm new to the whole smartphone thing, so I'm trying to take it all in!!!

Wi-fi is used to connect to a wireless network, so if you have access to a wireless network, the phone will use the network for internet activities versus sending data through your provider. For example, at home I have Wi-Fi turned on so it will use my home wireless network. It's fast and efficient - uses less power than sending data through the provider. However, if a wireless network is not available and you hve it turned on, it continues to search for one, using up battery life.

I haven't found turning the GPS on/off to make any difference, as I've found that the phone does not activate the GPS unless I'm actually using an application (Google Maps/Navigation/My Tracks, etc) that makes use of it.

As for turning 2G/3G on/off, that's now a good question! The Vibrant received an over-the-air update last week with the JI6 firmware to fix the GPS issues, and now I'm not finding that setting anymore!

[Ryan_V]

I got the update as soon as I got my new phone. Was wondering what it was about.

[Ice Hole]

I believe the setting for disabling 3G is now here:

Settings > Wireless and Network > Mobile Networks > Network Mode > GSM only

[spearchucker]

I believe the setting for disabling 3G is now here:

Settings > Wireless and Network > Mobile Networks > Network Mode > GSM only

Why would you want to do that? You want to connect at the highest speed possible. It will probably use less battery with the higher speed data because it won't have to transmit as long.

[Ryan_V]

What do GSM and WCDMA stand for?? Am I correct in thinking that GSM is over the air, and wcdma is wi-fi?? I have mine set

[spearchucker]

What do GSM and WCDMA stand for?? Am I correct in thinking that GSM is over the air, and wcdma is wi-fi?? I have mine set

No, both are over the air signaling types. Google is your friend.

[DTro]

Ice Hole's first response is spot on. Do what he suggests and you will get the best battery life you can.

A few things I've found:

Wi-Fi doesn't take much battery power, but GPS is a hog.

If you notice your battery being drained quick, go to your battery manager and see what is using it up.

Extended talk times will really chew it up as well as doing a lot of internet browsing over 3g connection (versus wi fi).

My battery also got much better after a couple of weeks. I can easily get a full day out of it now....but no more than that.

Always carry a charger with you

[pureinsanity]

T-Mobile, AT&T, = GSM

Sprint, Verizon = CDMA

[pureinsanity]

Always carry a charger with you

Dtro just probably gave the best advice there is...

I have several chargers I use constantly just to charge my phone.

Blue Tooth, PS3, Two wall chargers, 2 car chargers, Computer, Anything with a usb port.

[LwnmwnMan2]

I DO know that if you use any of the radio apps like I do, all day every day, you use up your battery quite quickly.

Also the kids playing Angry Birds constantly wears it down.

I've gotten to the point where I have my mount in the truck for my Droid, and I have a wire plugged in to the aux jack on the truck radio. I'll unplug the head phones and plug in the phone to the aux jack on the radio, letting the phone charge between lawns / firewood deliveries, but not worrying about whatever amount of delay between the phone app and over the air radio.

I put a widget on my home screen for the GPS, as well as a battery widget so I can just instantly go to those settings, as I'm constantly turning them on for navigation, then off once I get to the delivery stop.

[pureinsanity]

I recently picked up an android phone and everyone should download juice defender, its confusing to set up, but well worth it.

Juice Defender is a app that helps save your battery. Currently I have it installed and it disables many options. You have to purchase the full version to get the most efficient use out of this program. But the free version works well.

Currently I have this program set up to disable data whenever the screen is locked. This saves the battery big time as you do not have email, facebook, news feeds, weather, ect, ect, ect running in the background.

You can set this program to check the data 1min every 15mins. You can set it up for 3min every 30 minutes as well.

Give it a try.