Keep Your Gadgets Going For Longer

New cell phones, portable media players and DV cameras can sure make life fun and interesting. They offer us lots of functions, make our lives richer and easier in a number of ways…. that is if they would just stay charged. It seems like the only thing we can complain about with these days is the battery life of our new toys. The first question you often end up asking after pulling the gadget out of the packet is…

“Where does that manufacturer get off saying my battery can last up to 3 hours!?!?!”

If you are lucky it seems more like three minutes and if you’re unlucky three minutes would be a wonderful eternity. Thankfully there are four proven steps to lift your battery’s performance.

Four Steps To Longer Battery Life
  • 1) Don’t assume the battery is fully charged when you get it
  • 2) Run the battery completely down and recharge it to the top three times
  • 3) Keep it away from extreme temperatures
  • 4) Keep using it regularly

1) Don’t assume the battery on an item will be fully charged.

While it is possible that your new unlocked phone may have been shipped to you immediately after it came off the production line, it is more likely that it has been sitting in storage for a few months before landing in your hands. So when you first get your product the battery is not at 100% capacity, it is actually at a number much lower.

2) Go through three full discharge and charging cycles when you first get your product.

This is possibly the biggest thing you can do to improve battery life, even if the importance of going through the cycles is less than before.
watch phone
Completely running down the battery of this watch phone and fully recharging it three times can extend the life of the battery on this gadget.
It used to be that batteries had a “memory” and would get used to being at a certain capacity and act as if that was the maximum. While that in itself is no longer true, Li-ion batteries do have circuits that help to do internal calibration, so by doing a few full discharge-recharge cycles you allow the internal calibration to be most accurate. This way your battery will always reports its true state of capacity to your electronics product.
battery lifespan, with and without cycles
Doing three full recharge cycles when first taking ownership of your new gadget will add 20% more life to the gadget’s battery

3) Avoid extreme heat or cold.

Temperature extremes can greatly affect the long term viability of your battery and makes it harder for your product to function properly.
 

Put the battery from your watch phone too long in the heat it’ll cook but too long in the cold makes it freeze. Your battery is just like you it enjoys a warm day and a cool summer breeze. (pictures supplied by Morguefile)

4) Use your electronic device at least once a month.

If you let it sit in a drawer too long without using it, you will affect the battery and hurt its ability to hold a charge.

So next time you get your new gadget in the mail follow these four simple tips and you and your gadget will have a full and happy life together, without illness or premature decharging.