How to Extend Battery Life Motorola Droid

Categories: Consumer Electronics | Cell Phones & Plans | Android | How Tos | Technology & Internet

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  Tips

  • Get the latest Android system update from Verizon Wireless.
  • Use the Power Control Widget to control and monitor your battery usage by hardware function. It can be installed by 1) touching the Menu key, 2) select Add, 3) select Widgets, and 4) selecting Power Control.
  • If you have the USA Today app, you may want to disable it. It has been reported that it does frequent updates in the background.http://fonefrenzy.com/2009/11/11/got-droid-need-multi-touch-better-battery-life-and-youtube-videos-we-have-it/¹
  • Having the GPS hardware enabled, while indoors or not in use, can be an unnecessary drain on the battery.
  • Reduce the on-time and brightness level of the touchscreen display by as much as possible.
  
  

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  The Motorola Droid is a popular smartphone from Verizon Wireless. The Droid was released by Verizon Wireless on November 6, 2009 and runs under the Android mobile operating system owned by Google. Since the Droid's initial release, usershttp://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1587489² and reviewershttp://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/181684/droid_battery_life_requires_new_charging_habits.html³ noted that the battery life of the Droid could be short, questioning whether the Droid was a capable enough phone for the consumer marketplace. This is not a unique criticism to the Droid as other smartphones have also received remarks about having a short batteryhttp://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-cell-phone-battery.htm⁴ life and needing ways of extending it.http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9114061/Smartphone_battery_life_20_ways_to_juice_it_up⁵
  
  This article addresses how the user can extend, or maximize, the battery life of the Droid. The steps are moderately easy to follow, but are somewhat detailed in actions the user may need to take. The user, however, must decide which applications or hardware they want to disable to extend the Droid's battery life. All choices are temporary and may later be reversed.
  
  
  Allow a half hour for doing all the steps. The user is advised to have the phone battery fully charged or connected to a charger that is plugged into a power source. The steps in extending the Droid's battery life are: 1) updating the system software, 2) managing the applications and 3) managing the hardware. Before proceeding, the user should have familiarity with operating the Droid from its touchscreen. The user should also be familiar with and have available the Droid User Guidehttp://cache.vzw.com/multimedia/mim/mot_droid/droid.pdf⁶ for further guidance.
  
  
  

Motorola Droid VideoTip: Awesome Battery Life

In the featured video from droidboards.com, Phil walks through the various hardware management steps detailed in this article's Step 3. This video illustrates the choices that can be made and how easy it is to reconfigure your Droid hardware to the desired settings. All changes are originated by going first to the home screen and selecting ''Settings''.

Step 1: Update Your System Software

When the Motorola Droid was first released, many users were surprised by how quickly the battery could run down. A common criticism was that the phone died too often, even when it was in a standby or idle mode. The recommendations found in this article are based on early user experiences. Apart from the ideas that came from the user community, Motorola, Verizon Wireless and Google went to work on a system software update that, in addition to other enhancements, promised to improve the battery life. That change was found in Android Update 2.0.1 http://skattertech.com/2009/12/quick-look-android-2-0-1-on-motorola-droid/⁷ that Verizon Wireless started to push out during the first two weeks of December, 2009. http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/07/motorola-droid-getting-2-0-1-now-verizon-posts-details/⁸

As a best practicehttp://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-best-practices.htm⁹, the Droid consumer should always have the latest system software installed. With the latest update, the user will be assured of having the most current system algorithmshttp://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-algorithm.htm¹⁰ that extend the Droid's battery life between charges. While important updates may be received and installed automatically, their distribution is not guaranteed to be simultaneous, or necessarily complete, to all users. Check your Droid's OS (operating system) to confirm that it is running the latest system software update. This can be verified by 1) going to the home screen, 2) select Settings, 3) select About phone, and then 4) select System updates. If it is not updated, go to the Verizon Wireless webpage for Droid supporthttp://verizonwireless.com/droidsupport¹¹ and follow the vendor's instructions for installing the latest software update manually.

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  Step 2: Manage Your Applications

  With the Droid, multiple applications, or apps, are able to run simultaneously under Google's Android operating system. An app that is running, but not being actively displayed in the foreground, is considered to be running in the backgroundhttp://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-background-processing.htm¹². Background apps, because they are doing work too, can drain the battery as much, or more, than a foreground app. It's important then to only have apps running that are currently needed, be they in the foreground or background. Additionally, some apps could require more battery power than the user can afford. For example, an app that is repeatedly trying to update or sync itself with new data will be an additional load on the battery.
  
  This step pertains to disabling, or killing, apps that are not needed or require too much battery power to stay active. Available for download to the Droid are at least two tools that can manage or kill applications. They are:
  

  1. Advanced Task Managerhttp://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-arron-taskmanager-zpp.aspx¹³, available for download for $0.99
  2. Automatic Task Killerhttp://www.androlib.com/android.application.biz-stachibana-taskkiller-qBip.aspx¹⁴, available as a free download

  Select and download either tool for managing your apps. Follow the instructions provided and stop whichever apps that are not currently needed. Of course, you are free to restart any and all apps at a later time, as warranted.
  
  
  
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  Step 3: Manage Your Hardware

  Various functions of the Droid are provided through a mixture of hardware components built into the unit. For example, the touchscreen is an important part of the Droid's overall functionality. On the other hand, the touchscreen, when lit, puts one of the heaviest loads on the Droid battery, if not the heaviest. The touchscreen probably doesn't need to be lit all the time, though there is an option for that. This step is for managing your Droid device capabilities to minimize their potential drain on the battery.
  
  The functions specifically managed in this step include:
  
  
  

  1. Wi-Fi
  2. Bluetooth
  3. Screen brightness
  4. Screen timeout
  5. GPS
  6. Background data
  7. Auto-sync
     
     

  1. Go to the home screen on the Droid and select Settings.
  2. Select Wireless & networks. From here you may disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Disable Wi-Fi if you are not planning to communicate or determine your location through it. Disable Bluetooth if you are not planning to communicate with a Bluetooth device, like a Bluetooth headset. Touch the Back Key to go back.
  3. Select Sound & display. From here you may adjust your screen brightness and screen timeout. Select Screen brightness and adjust the screen brightness to the lowest level you need. Select Screen timeout and adjust the timeout to the lowest setting possible that will work for you. Touch the Back Key to go back.
  4. Select Location & security. Disable GPS if you are situated indoors, not needing the location finding capability or satisfied with the mobile network location capability. Touch the Back Key to go back.
  5. Select Accounts & sync. From here you may disable background data and auto-sync. Disable Background data if it is not needed by any of your running apps. Disable Auto-sync if you do not need to synchronize with email being pushed or similar type services. Touch the Back Key to go back and to the home screen.
  
  
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    Resources  Powered by Google

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      Motorola Droid: Battery Life Review | Android Phone Fans
      phandroid.com
      
      
      
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      Motorola Owners' Forum: DROID : Contacts and Battery Life
      supportforums.motorola.com
      
      
      
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      YouTube - Motorola Droid Tips & Tricks - Better Battery Life
      youtube.com
      
      
      
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      How To Extend The Battery Life Of The Motorola Droid | Cell Phone ...
      

      Battery life is always a concern for smartphone users including owners of the new Motorola DROID. Fortunately, there are some effective ways that can help one to make your smartpho...
      

      611connect.com
      
      
      
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      Motorola DROID - Tips for extending battery life - Support Home ...
      motorola-global-en-usa.custhelp.com
      
      
      

    view more links...
    

    References

    1. ^ http://fonefrenzy.com/2009/11/11/got-droid-need-multi-touch-better-battery-life-and-youtube-videos-we-have-it/
    2. ^ http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1587489
    3. ^ http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/181684/droid_battery_life_requires_new_charging_habits.html
    4. ^ http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-cell-phone-battery.htm
    5. ^ http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9114061/Smartphone_battery_life_20_ways_to_juice_it_up
    6. ^ http://cache.vzw.com/multimedia/mim/mot_droid/droid.pdf
    7. ^ http://skattertech.com/2009/12/quick-look-android-2-0-1-on-motorola-droid/
    8. ^ http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/07/motorola-droid-getting-2-0-1-now-verizon-posts-details/
    9. ^ http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-best-practices.htm
    10. ^ http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-algorithm.htm
    11. ^ http://verizonwireless.com/droidsupport
    12. ^ http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-background-processing.htm
    13. ^ http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-arron-taskmanager-zpp.aspx
    14. ^ http://www.androlib.com/android.application.biz-stachibana-taskkiller-qBip.aspx

     
    
    
    
  
  

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