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PDAs Article Last Reviewed August 2009 |
 Maximize Your PDA's Battery Life | ||
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Theories abound on the best way to get maximum life from a PDA battery; we even have a few of our own. No matter what you do to extend the functional life span of your battery, remember that the integrity of your data is more important than eking a few more hours from a spent battery cartridge. Regular synchronizations will help protect your content if disaster strikes. Rules for longevity. Certain types of PDA behavior are known to consume inordinate amounts of juice from your batteries. These include practices such as leaving your PDA's backlight on or running the display at full brightness, and these activities will force you to replace or recharge your batteries sooner than you would otherwise. PC Cards and CF (CompactFlash) add-on components also are guilty of draining batteries, so take them out until you're ready to use them. Whenever you have the chance, connect your PDA to its AC adapter (if available) and turn it off when you aren't using it. Keep it charged. We suggest keeping the PDA charged by placing it in its recharge cradle when you aren't using it. Unlike their nickel-cadmium predecessors, today's Li-Ion (lithium-ion) batteries will not lose their storage capacity if you charge them every day. In other words, completely discharging Li-Ion batteries is unnecessary, though you will undoubtedly hear recommendations that encourage you to do it occasionally anyway. When a battery finally meets its end, don't try to replace it with any ol' battery. Contact the manufacturer instead and ask for information about obtaining a new battery. (Note that some PDA manufacturers make it difficult and expensive to replace a dead battery. These manufacturers apparently prefer that you buy a new PDA rather than a new battery. If that's something you don't want to do, ask about battery replacements before purchasing a PDA.) Change batteries quickly. Some Palm OS (operating system) devices get their power from disposable AAA alkaline batteries. These devices have a limited amount of backup power to retain your data while you change the batteries, and if you take too long to make the switch (as a rule of thumb, complete the battery swap in less than one minute), you risk losing all of the content on your PDA. Also, give the PDA a few minutes to adjust to the new batteries before pressing the power button again. The wrong button. When replacing a disposable battery in your PDA, be careful how you handle it. A number of users have inadvertently reset their devices, wiping out all of its content and configuration settings, by laying their PDAs face-down on some type of solid surface (such as a table, book, hand, or lap) while swapping the battery. Apparently, the pressure exerted by a user while inserting a new battery can cause a combination of buttons on the device's front to become pressed in, thereby resetting the PDA. To avoid this problem, close the PDA's cover (if it has one) or hold the device so that its buttons remain undisturbed as you change a battery. Recognize the signs. There are signs indicating when you need to purchase a replacement Li-Ion battery. One of the most obvious is when the PDA seems to have a shorter life span than it once did, such as only one or two hours between charges instead of the usual three or four hours you might have received six months ago. Other symptoms of a dying battery include a display that looks weak and dim, vertical lines that appear on-screen when you start the PDA, and a PDA that fails to start after charging it all night. The diagnosis is practically certain if you recognize any of these symptoms in a device that is more than one year old. A real turn-off. You may notice that your PDA turns off suddenly for no apparent reason. This isn't a malfunction (in most cases) but a designed energy-saving feature of your handheld computer. If the PDA detects no activity for a period of time, it should power down automatically. The process of adjusting the auto-off feature varies from device to device, depending on the OS type and version. Refer to the PDA users manual for instructions about activating and configuring the auto-off feature. by Jeff Dodd |
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