Welcome to the Addicted to Android Blog!

Welcome!

You've stumbled upon the Addicted to Android Blog, and I'm glad you did. If you're new to Android cell phones, or to smartphones in general, this is the place for you! If you're more advanced you may find the information you find here a little more basic than what you need at times, but I'll aim to keep it interesting for people of all skill levels. We'll look at the ways you can make the little green robot in your pocket work the way you need it to work for you, from managing your battery life (today's topic), to cool applications, to troubleshooting techniques for problems you might encounter.


On that note, I want to make this the type of place that empowers people to use technology to their own ends. No problem is too silly or to small to shoot me a quick email about - I'm happy to help! If your problem is one that I can't handle myself I'll try to leverage my resources to solve it for you, but I also want you to know how to solve problems with your phone on your own. To that end, when I solve a problem for you I hope to always show you where I found the answer as well so you'll have some resources to go to as well.


Now if you're somewhat intimidated by technology, now is the time to take a breath and prepare yourself to shed your preconceived notions about what it means to adopt a new piece of technology. From this momet forward your phone is under your complete control; no longer will its actions be a mystery. We'll work one day, one solution at a time, to make you an Android Authority! Today we'll tackle a fundamental problem that all smartphone users face: battery life!


I work for T-mobile, and I recommend Android devices to most of my customers. The most common reason that my customers cite for returning to see me in the store after their initial visit is that their battery wont make it through a whole day! Why would these companies make phones that don't last all day? And why would T-mobile carry it? My first question is always, "What are you doing to manage your battery life?" More often the not the answer is 'nothing'.


Well, your phone has a lot of capabilities, but each of those capabilities requires a certain amount of energy to operate. Your phone is also doing a lot of things even when you have it tucked away in your desk drawer. The key to making sure your battery lasts is to minimize those things that are draining your battery to those that are really for what you need your phone to do. Today I'll outline some strategies for eliminating the biggest drains on your battery.


In my experience the biggest drains on battery life are always wireless connectivity tools, i.e., the Bluetooth that connects your phone to your wireless headset, the Wi-Fi you jump on at Starbucks to get faster internet, and the 3G you use to connect to the internet wherever you go. First I'll show you how to manage those three things, which should have a dramatic effect on your battery life if applied correctly.


Let's start with Bluetooth; when you aren't driving or actively using your headset I'd recommend turning off your Bluetooth.. The instructions I give will pertain specifically to the MyTouch 3G so if something doesn't make sense leave a comment or shoot me a quick email and I'll walk you through it for your device. Get your device out:


Turning Bluetooth On and Off:

1. From the Home screen (if you dont know what that is just press the Home key and it'll take you there), press Menu.

2. Select Settings from the menu that pops up at the bottom of the screen.

3. Now you should see Wireless Controls, as the first option. Select it.

4. You should see two mentions of Bluetooth in this menu, one to toggle it on and off and another submenu to adjust the settings. In a later post, we'll get into that submenu because that's where you'll set up your Bluetooth headset, but for today the on/off button is all we need. When the button is checked Bluetooth is on, when it is unchecked Bluetooth is off.
Simple huh?


Turning WiFi On and Off:

1. Starting from step 3 of the previous instructions (Home 1.Menu -> 2.Settings->3.Wireless Controls) you should also see two mentions of Wi-Fi. Just like Bluetooth the first one should be an on off switch, and the second a settings menu for Wi-Fi. For now we're only concerned with the on/off switch so all you need to no is that the checkmark= on and no-checkmark= off.


Switching from 3G to 2G and Back:

This part might require a little explanation if you're not too familiar with cellphones. 2G and 3G refer to the generations of technology used to connect your phone to the network. 2G technology, refers to second generation GSM technology called EDGE; 3G GSM technology is called UMTS. For our purposes, the difference is the speed at which they transmit information and the amount of battery that they need to operate. EDGE is very slow, akin to your dial up 56k modem, but 3G is much closer to your DSL speeds. The difference in power is appropriate to the difference in speed which is why I recommend switching from 3g to 2G when you're not actively using the phone.

Here's how you can do it (Right now this tip pertains only to the MyTouch3G):

1. From the Home screen press Menu
2. Select Settings from the pop-up Menu
3. Select Wireless Controls
4. Select Mobile Networks
5. Check the box for Use only 2G networks

Done!


Up next I'll show you the top 5 applications that I think every new Android user should know about!

Thanks for reading, I hope this helps some of you have a better experience with your Android device. In the comments section below please let me know if anything us unclear so that I can correct it. Also feel free to ask specific questions you may have about your device, leave general comments about the blog, or offer suggestions for future topics. Or to just say "what's up?"

-John