subject: How to Conserve your PDA Battery [print this page] How to Conserve your PDA Battery How to Conserve your PDA Battery
Maximum battery life is achieved on the Pocket PC through brief, intermittent use. For example, you don't use much power if all you do is occasionally check your Calendar schedule, look up a Contact, or jot down a brief note. Of course, a major strength of the Pocket PC over simple personal information managers is that it allows you to play graphics-intensive games, watch videos, and listen to movies. Those activities can drain your batteries quickly. Here are some things you can do about it:
DOPOD ARTE160 PDA battery, O2 SBP-02 PDA battery
Always drop your Pocket PC into its sync/charging cradle when you sit down to work. This not only keeps your appointments and contacts current, it tops off the battery. When you're ready to go somewhere, you've got a fully-charged battery.
Keep your device set to power off in as brief a period as you can tolerate. This time is specified in the Advanced tab of the Power set up utility (Start > Settings > System > Power). Make sure the box labeled "Turn off device if not used for" is checked, and set the time in the drop-down menu adjacent to it (options: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 minutes). We recommend setting it to 1 minute first, and adjusting it upward if you find that it shuts off too quickly for you.
Press the power off button when you're finished. Even with auto power off set to 1 minute, you still waste a minute's worth of power.
Activate the Windows Media Player screen toggle feature. This allows you to turn the screen off by pressing a hardware button, while you're listening to music. You can configure other hardware buttons to go to the next or previous song, or to adjust the volume, so you don't need the screen on to control the program. To do this on a Pocket PC running the Windows Mobile 2003 (or previous) operating system, open Windows Media Player, activate the Tools menu, and go to Settings > Buttons. To do this on a Pocket PC running Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition (or later) OS, open Media Player, activate the "Menu" menu, select Options, and go to the Button tab.
Finally, if you spend a lot of time away from your desk, and find that you are running out of power, consider carrying a spare battery with you. They are available from your Pocket PC manufacturer.
