How 2 . . . Make your cell phone battery last longer

Etan Horowitz | Sentinel Staff Writer

February 23, 2008

There's nothing worse than having your cell phone die when you don't have a charger with you. Here are some tips that will let you squeeze a few more minutes of talk time out of your phone.

1. Consult your phone's user manual for charging instructions that are specific to your phone.

2. Reduce the brightness of your phone and lower the backlight time. You should be able to do this by going to the settings menu of your phone.

3. Don't take photos, play games, listen to music or surf the Internet. These functions drain your battery quickly.

4. If you are not getting service, turn the phone off. When your phone is constantly searching for service, it can run down the battery.

5. Whenever possible, charge your phone with a wall charger instead of a car charger. Although car chargers are convenient, they do not charge phones as reliably as wall chargers.