battery

One of the biggest struggles the past few years if you were a part of the Windows Phone community was the lack of accessories compared to iOS and Android devices. While we still may not have the number and variety they have, we are slowly gaining extra accessories for devices like the Lumia 920 and HTC 8X. Today we’ve got one more for the Lumia crowd, a cover from Brando for your 920 that packs a 2200 mAh battery in the back.

To help with the on going battle to monitor your Windows Phone 8 battery performance, enter the Windows Phone 8 app myBattery.

myBattery will chart your batteries life cycle, note the percentage of power left and an estimated time left on the current charge. Live tile support includes the multiple sized tiles with the medium and small tile showing just the percentage left and the large tile showing both the percentage and time remaining.

Additional features include customizable colors for the battery meter and chart, charts cover not only daily use but overall use history and notifications in the lockscreen.

Ever since Windows Phone 8 came out people have rightly wanted Skype. And so they got it, albeit a preview edition which in our vernacular reads ‘beta’ and beta it is.

Previously we’ve passed on a few tips for people who have had battery issues and we can absolutely confirm one of them now: Skype. No, it doesn’t occur often in fact this was our first time with the problem ever since Skype hit the Store a few weeks ago.

The issue started when we were updating some contact info and then we force synced our Microsoft Account under Settings (hold down the account, hit Sync). Only problem was, it wouldn’t stop ...ever.

If you're on the cutting edge of Windows Phone hacking and homebrew then you probably have a fully unlocked device with a custom ROM running "Tango" 8773. If so, then you may want to take a look at this latest creation from Zealson over at XDA.

The simple XAP file will launch a mini-app to allow you to change the battery meter to a custom version. The meters have four options available: default, horizontal, vertical and circular with the latter three having a percentage number for a semi-accurate reading of your remaining battery life.

We say semi-accurate as the percentage doesn't get down to the 1% range and instead looks to be at 10% increments. Such a limitation is due to the API though who knows what magic these devs can whip up, so there may be hope for 1% changes too.

Of course as we mentioned at the beginning, only fully-unlocked ROMs can install this and luckily the Titan and Radar are now in that camp too. 

Source: XDA Forums

Abhinav Pathak, a computer scientist at Purdue University, Indiana, and colleagues have concluded that free smartphone apps with in-app advertising may lead to the battery being drained at a faster rate, compared to paid apps. What's interesting (and slightly alarming) is the team discovered through testing that Angry Birds, Free Chess and NYTimes only used 10 - 30 percent of the battery power for core functionality.

Using the Android Market as the test grounds for the research, the team found that 25 - 35% of the app power consumption went to third-party advertising code displayed in apps for developers to make ends meet. In the case of Angry Birds, 20% is used to display and run the game, while 45% of the power is used finding and uploading the user's location with GPS, followed by downloading location-appropriate ads over a 3G connection.

This is something to consider when next browisng any smartphone marketplace. The findings will be presented by Pathak at the EuroSys conference in Bern, Switzerland, next month. Be sure to check out the full research documentation as it's fairly lengthy, but interesting.

Source: Microsoft Research, via: NewScientist

An article has been published over at Nokia Conversations detailing the 1600.2483.8106.11500 firmware update for the Lumia 800, which is in the process of rolling out. The update is being pushed out gradually using Zune software and contains two benefits; battery performance (making use of the capacity too) and WiFi connectivity improvements. This is update number two of two that were announced at the end of last year.

"The update will not be delivered to every Lumia 800 simultaneously, but rather will be staggered over the next two weeks through Microsoft’s standard update process. This helps each owner gets the update without any hitches. Around half of owners will get the update in the next seven days, with the remainder over the following seven days."

Unfortunately, we've received reports that users have encountered issues with soft key lighting and battery performance after updating, but we've yet to confirm this on our models. Let us know in the comments when you get the update.

Source: Nokia Conversations

We know what you're thinking; "What?!". We were thinking the exact same thing. Mugen Power is selling an extended HTC Titan battery that has a whopping capacity of 3600mAh. To put this into perspective (as the above chart does so gracefully), the stock battery which comes with the handset is 1600mAh which has decent performance as is.  Should you require that extra juice, or spend extended periods of time finding a charger, this 3600mAh upgrade should interest you.

The only issue is that this will add some considerable weight and a slight increase in width with the included extended battery door/back cover. If you require a battery that lasts up to 2.25 times (according to Mugen) longer than stock, this disadvantage can be overlooked with over 50% increase in performance. Should you not be interested in adding size and weight to your Titan, the 1950mAh battery upgrade (also from Mugen) could be the right choice and will use your Titan's existing battery cover.

Note that this product is currently out of stock and if orders are put through now, delivery will be on February 3rd. The purchase will set you back $98.95.

Source: Mugen Power; thanks, maghedo, for the tip!

I'm not really sure what to make of this, it's as though Microsoft plans to not only provide you with a powerful, simplistic handset, but to throw in some Nintendo Wii Remote-type accessories as well if this patent is anything to go by. Should this indeed turn out to be the case, that all future Windows Phone handsets will have a slide-out accessory expansion slot, then it could open up a whole new realm of opportunity.

From the trusty external keyboard that aids typing to a battery extension to a game pad that gives the user an edge in gaming, I'm sure Microsoft has bags of imagination (as anyone would) surrounding this idea. As for me I'm not one to fuss about moving/interchangeable parts as I'm fully aware that hardware wears out. It's one of the reasons why I adore my Samsung Omnia7 - it's just a block with no moving parts (sliding keyboard etc.).

"A mobile communication device comprises a first device with a first display and multiple second devices. The second devices are releasably attachable to the first device and are interchangeable with each other. The mobile device can operate as a mobile cell phone with one or more second devices operable as a mobile phone hand set. The second devices can comprise one or more game controllers, batteries, physical keyboards and/or mobile phone handsets with a display. In a detached configuration, the first device is separated from the second devices and can wirelessly communicate with one or more of the detached second devices. In a three device configuration, the first device can send commands, control signals or content to one or more external devices in addition to the second devices."

It's interesting to note that the secondary devices (accessories for the smartphones) will be able to work wirelessly without being connected to a handset. Still, I remain skeptical. Let us not forget the integration with Kinect we could be experiencing in the future.

Source: Patent, via: BGR, Unwired