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20 Tips to Save Your Mobile Phone Battery Life

We greatly increasing on our smartphones, so it's more of a problem when the battery finally gives out. So what can you do to eek that little bit more life out of your phone? You might be surprised by some of the tricks you can pull off! Let's start with the more obvious tricks first: 1. See what apps are eating power first Although iOS8 does not have a battery usage screen to tell you which apps are using more power, it does not have a way to quickly close all apps. However, you may not know that you can actually close more than one app at a time. Double-tap the home button and then use up to three fingers to close three apps at a time. As Android is a more open OS than iOS there are various task manager apps available that will kill all open apps with one tap. 2. Enable any power-saver modes Many mobile phones have power-saving modes that shut down all but the most essential functions. This should be your first port of call before anything else, as it will take care of pretty much everything you need to control with one quick flick of a switch. 3. Lower Screen Brightness The screen is the single-most battery hungry component on your phone, so turn the brightness down to the lowest level you can work with. 4. Set a shorter screen-off period You might have the screen-off timer set too long on your phone, so take a quick tip into the settings to check that it's on the lowest. Better stil, whenever you put the phone down, press the switch switch rather than waiting for it to time out. 5. Turn off 3G / 4G or cellular data altogether If you can bear to be disconnected from email, social media etc then turning off 3G or, better still, cellular data altogether. This will likely reduce your battery consumption by at least 20%. Of course, if you're going to be somewhere where you have WiFi and you need to be online you can turn off cellular data altogether. 6. Turn off WiFi Conversely, if you are out and about and there away from WiFi why not switch it off altogether? You can then rely on cellular data. 7. Turn off Bluetooth Bluetooth does not use the same amount of battery as 3G / 4G but it'll probably add 10% to your day. If you do not need to use any devices such as headphones or car kits then hit the Bluetooth kill-switch. 8. Turn off GPS / Location services Many apps will use location services eg the GPS functionality of your phone, regardless of whether the app's functionality demands it. Games are a good example, as they collect information such as this for 'marketing' purposes, often to deliver more targeted ads. Turning of GPS will not stop apps that do not rely on that functionality from working, but do not expect to use Google maps as a satnav with this disabled! 9. Close all open apps Apple's iOS does a reliably good job of throttling background app usage. Android apps have a bit more leeway, though. Either way it's good practice to close all apps if you are watching the battery meter. 10. Put the phone in flight mode (if you're in a zero coverage area) When you have no signal your phone goes into overdrive trying to latch onto the nearest cell tower, so can drain your battery extraordinarily quickly. Flicking the flight-mode switch will not only switch off the ability of making receiving calls / texts but will also switch off Bluetooth and WiFi at the same time, which will most likely double your battery life altogether. So that covers the basics, but it does not stop there. Here's a few tricks you may not have thought of: 11. Stop apps from automatically pulling data down If you have your email client set to pull down emails say, every 15 minutes this is going to erode your battery over the course of the day. Set it to manual and just open your email client when you need to. Look for similar apps, such as Facebook, Twitter or news apps that regularly check for updates and disable background operations. Turning off Notifications in iOS also stops this, as many apps will power on your screen to pop up messages. 12. Update the phone OS Often, an update to the OS (especially if you are updating from a first release of a new OS - iOS 8.0 / 8.1 anyone?) Can bring significant benefits to battery life. My wide upgraded her Sony Xperia Z3 from Android Jellybean to Lollypop and her battery life went from less than a day to nearly two days on a single charge, due to Lollypop's frugal power management options. 13. Choose a dark background (AMOLED screens only) Some of today's smartphones (such as the Samsung Galaxy S6, LG Flex 2 and Yotaphone) are fitted with AMOLED screens. These different from other technologies such as LCD as AMOLED does not have a back light - each pixel has its own light, and the brighter the pixel, the more power is used. The battery drain on an LCD screen is constant, regardless of how bright or dark the screen is displayed, but a darker screen on an AMOLED display will draw less power than a brighter one. So if you were to change your background to a cool black image it's going to be better than a bright background picture. Test suggest a 10-20% saving can be achieved, which is not to be sniffed at! 14. Turn off vibrate OR your ring tone If you receive a lot of calls or texts then that vibration alert is going to slowly gnaw away at your remaining juice, and of course generating a sound also requires power. Switch off vibration alert or turn your phone on silent to wring out a little more life. 15. Make a call instead of sending a text! Most people assume that making a call will drain more power than sending a text, but think about it; when you are sending a text the screen is on and you're tapping away on the touch screen. When you make a call most of the drain is caused by making the initial connection. You then put the phone to your ear and the screen shuts off. So when you're down to 1% and have to contact someone make a call rather than sending a text and you might just get through. 16. Buy full versions of games without ads! If you are not the customer, you are the product. Free games are not really free. We mentioned earlier that many will be using your GPS data to load targeted ads. However, if you shell out a bit of cash for the full versions of games without ads not only the software will not connect to the servers but it will not often share location information either. If you are a serious gamer you might be surprised at where your battery life is going, even if you are playing games that are not processor-intensive. It's a small price to pay for something that probably costs less than a prawn sandwich but which could deliver significant battery performance savings. 17. Keep your phone cool Mobile phone batteries work better when they are cool, so never leave your phone out in the sun as it can also degrade the battery, exacerbating the problem. Finally, if you can not squeeze any more life out of your battery during the working day there are a few more tips that could keep you going. 18. Buy an external battery It's really handy to have a battery pack in your bag or purse. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be picked up on eBay for under a tenner. 19. Buy a battery case Better still, carry the battery with you all the time by buying a case that has a battery incorporated in it. Your phone might get a bit bulkier, but you'll probably most double your battery life. 20. Always have a charging cable on you If you do not want to carry a battery pack, but are not often far from civilization then the Nomad Chargekey might be the thing for you. This keyring sized USB charger cable is available for both Apple and Android devices. You are rarely far from a USB socket - whether it's a laptop, hi-fi or games console - so having a cable on you at all times could have the differences between a recharge and digital solitude. Summary As you can see there are plenty of tricks you can pull to garner a few more percent points out of those sleek slabs of silicon that we are all so addicted to. Take a moment to see what power-saving tricks your phone already has. Of course, the best thing you can do is apply these tricks early in the day - do not want until you are down to 10%, as a 10% saving on 10% is not a great deal! Until manufacturers either add larger batteries or develop longer lasting ones then these ideas might be the difference between all day usage and the 'black screen of death'. Source by Martin E Bailey Read the full article

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Fashion Freak? Top 4 Fashion Apps Trending in 2018

With time, the perspective of fashion changes. Once, what was a 'cool' trend, probably now is out of trend! Today, starting from clothes to matching accessories, handbags to shoes - everything you can buy online. The enhancements in the app development field have a great contribution to make it possible. If you are a fashion freak and love to keep yourself updated with the ongoing fashion trends in the latest market, read on! Here is a list of top-rated fashion apps of this year. #1 Feedly This news app is available for both desktop and mobile versions. Any kind of fashion related blogs, latest news is available on Feedly. The most important feature of this application is that it has impressive integration with other popular apps like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, IFTTT, Twitter and so on. Looking for any blogs on latest fashion trends or news, Feedly would not disappoint you. However, setting up this app might take a few minutes. You can get Feedly on your smartphone without spending a single penny. #2 Polyvore Polyvore is a well-known name in the list of most popular fashion apps that are trending in the market today. It is a famous community, where discussion on latest trendy fashion products, sales, ideas etc. go on. More interestingly, this app provides a few customisation tools along with smooth shopping options. Other than fashion products and accessories, if you want to get new ideas for furniture items for home decor, Polyvore would give you plenty of ideas and references. You can get this application from Google Play Store at free of cost. #3 The Hunt Clothes, jewellery, accessories - The Hunt is the online marketplace for almost any fashion stuff that you can think of. Here, you can post different fashion ensembles. More interestingly, you can see posts of other members suggesting or recommending cheaper versions of any particular product. Even though The Hunt is not entirely bug-free, for finding creative and new ideas on fashion trends, to satisfy the quench of your shopping spree, to interact with like-minded fashion freaks around the world, this app is very useful. #4 Pinterest To explore new and creative ideas, Pinterest is a very good choice. Not only fashion related posts, you can find a lot of other interesting stuff on this popular application. Even for one-of-a-kind type of stuff, Pinterest is an intriguing app to dig in. Using this social media application, you can pin all the things that you like to your personal profile for the future references. The fascinating point about Pinterest is that it is available for free of cost without any kind of in-app purchases and it smoothly integrates with some of the other popular apps. Other than all the above-mentioned mobile applications, Poshmark, Etsy etc. are some other popular names in the list of available fashion apps in the market of 2018. Source by Rob Stephen Read the full article

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How to Get Smart About the Stock Market

The stock market can have big implications on world events and your own finances, but many investors find it overly complex and cumbersome. Increasing your knowledge of the stock market can help you better understand its impacts, but how do you get started? Consider taking the following steps. Study common investment terminology. The stock market is rife with complex concepts, so start by getting a grasp of the frequently used terms. First, it helps to understand what all the abbreviations stand for, from NASDAQ to NYSE and beyond. To break it all down, use an online investment dictionary that provides plain-English definitions of common investment terms, or ask your financial advisor to explain them to you. Enroll in a class. Take advantage of free webinars, seminars or workshops on investing fundamentals. If you prefer learning in a classroom setting, look for basic courses on investing, how the stock market works or personal finance at a local college or university. Follow the news. Start following the business and financial sections of your favorite media outlet to get a healthy dose of investment know-how. You'll begin to understand the types of business activities that impact the marketplace-for example, oil prices or new housing starts-and gain an appreciation for what's considered newsworthy. As you become more attuned to global markets, you'll start to see the ripple effect of mergers and acquisitions, product innovations and even front-page news stories-from natural disasters to general elections and terrorist events-on Wall Street confidence. Watch investment programs. Public radio and television stations often feature investment programs aimed at new and seasoned investors. Even your local news channels may include a market segment. Be wary of infomercials disguised as informational investment programs, though. Check out stock market apps. There are hundreds of apps available today focused on helping consumers understand investing. Have financially-savvy friends? Ask what apps they use to keep up on the stock market. Before downloading an app, check the reviews and opt for those that have been vetted by trusted sources. Track your favorite companies. To better understand the movement of individual stocks, pick several of your favorite publicly traded companies to follow. Then, check their stock price, company newsroom and social media accounts each day. Tracking the stocks over time will help you understand how company announcements and actions, such as a product launch or comment by an executive, may affect the stock price. Work with a financial professional. A professional can help you understand your investment options, and help you make financial decisions that are best for your individual needs. Work with someone who is willing to explain investment concepts and provide educational materials. Tell your professional about your desire to learn more about the market. He or she will likely be willing to send you news articles, add you to a newsletter or give you a call to discuss market news that may interest you. Source by Scott D. Serfass Read the full article