And while there is plenty you can do to keep your phone alive, whether it be a portable USB battery pack or an extended battery case for some particular phones, there’s no shame in keeping your phone’s current charge alive for as long as possible.

This is where Google is aiming to improve things with what appears to be a new breakthrough to help preserve battery life. Check out the details in an excerpt from a Gizmodo article below…
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Google has some new stuff coming up for Maps for Android. Details aren’t super detailed right now, and of course we’ll believe some of this when we see it, but the claims are pretty incredible.

First, is Fused Location Provider. This uses all your phone’s sensors to find your location. Google’s claiming that the location mode will use less than one percent of batter per hour while active. That would be a huge deal! Except we don’t know what size battery Google’s talking about, and also that it would be an incredible achievement, so this is one to watch to see if it really behaves like Google claims it will.

Next is improved geofencing. This is a HUGE thing to look forward to, since it will let your phone know when you enter an area that it should turn on functions, or perform certain tasks, but Google didn’t say much more than that it’s working on it. It’s been a big need on Android for a while now, though, so it’s encouraging.
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Check out the rest of the article here: http://gizmodo.com/android-maps-are-getting-way-better-battery-life-and-lo-506754269

That could be on the verge of changing though. The most recent Chromebook release from Samsung is aiming to do it all, or at least come closer than any other similar model has.

Techradar.com recently reviewed the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook and was pleased with the results. They do mention that gaming will be a drain on the battery, which means you might want to get an additional charger to always keep with you on the go. But that aspect of things doesn’t really fall into the realm of simplicity that these Chromebooks seem to strive for anyway. But it’s still something to keep an eye on if you’re looking to push those boundaries.

Check out the verdict section of the techradar review below…
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Traditionally, we’d have said that a Chromebook isn’t good enough to be your primary computer, and in too crowded a market with smartphones and even tablets, to consider as a second computer.

Things change, though. It’s not the technologies that change – broadband speeds and processor power haven’t changed all that much since the Chromebook was announced late in 2010 – but what is beginning to change are our habits and priorities.

Where five years ago lots of people would have preferred desktop email clients to webmail, for example, these days millions of us access Gmail in browsers without giving it a second thought.

With that in mind, we think we might just be at a tipping point for the Chromebook concept.

This latest model is good, and for lots of people would be perfectly sufficient as a primary computer.

It’s a great cheap machine for students (so long as your campus has Wi-Fi), and not in a patronising way; younger folks are more likely to be happy using web apps rather than traditional programs anyway.

And actually, it could be a useful second machine, especially if your primary computer is a desktop tower or all-in-one, or even just a bulky, heavy laptop. It’s a good chuck-it-in-a-bag-and-head-to-Starbucks-to-get-some-work-done machine.

It is, ultimately, good at doing the thing it’s designed to do. All you have to do is decide if that thing is right for you.
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Check out the full review for this computer here: http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/samsung-chromebook-1111354/review

But that doesn’t mean that technologies can’t blend together, and one of the most commonly seen instances of this is the camera phone. It’s been around for a decade now, and in that time we’ve seen cameras on phones become a necessary feature rather than a luxury.

Lately though, some manufacturers have been taking camera phone technology to the next level. Rather than just having a camera that is high-end for a phone, now we’re starting to see what appear more to be compact cameras equipped with phones.

Among those makers is Samsung, who has underwhelmed thus far with this technology. But that could be on the verge of changing. Check out this article below about a new patent filed by Samsung that could be an emphatic step forward in the camera smartphone world…
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Samsung might enter the “camera smartphone” battle that should begin this year with the Sony Honami and Nexus 5 sooner than I expected, with this new patent of theirs showing they are designing a phone with optical zoom and what looks to be a huge sensor (seemingly even bigger than the one in Sony Honami). The patent also shows curved screens in their future smartphones, but that should’ve been expected with the arrival of their flexible YOUM display.

With smartphones becoming too similar at the high-end (now most even use the same Qualcomm processor), it’s going to be a challenge for smartphone manufacturers to differentiate, and I believe the next area of competition is going to be “cameras”. As such, I expect OEM’s not only to focus on making “regular” smartphone cameras as good as possible, and with the best software they can write for them, but I expect them to even “go overboard” and try to test the limits of what the consumers might like, just like they did with the smartphone screens over the past few years.

Make no mistake – this is a good thing! Sometimes this is how innovation is born, by having companies try all sorts of crazy things, until they hit the “sweet spot”. The OEM’s have raised the bar on what a “standard screen size” should be for a smartphone from 3.7″ to 5″, and on some devices have even gone beyond that, and making 5.3″, 5.5″, and now some even some over 6″, which is starting to completely blur the line between smartphones and tablets.

In the same way, I expect OEMs to start using bigger and bigger sensors in their cameras, and try all sorts of camera technologies  that have only been used in point and shoots and even DSLR’s in the past. I expect the lines to blur between smartphones, point and shoots, mirrorless cameras and regular DSLR’s over the next few years. The “higher” you go, the longer it will take to happen though. But I do expect smartphones to almost completely wipe out the point and shoot market within 5 years.
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Check out the rest of the article here: http://androidheadlines.com/2013/05/patent-shows-samsung-is-getting-serious-about-camera-smartphones.html

Avoiding these situations is the very reason to make the small investment in an iPhone 4/4s Extended Capacity Battery Case from Batteryheads.

Still, everyone has a story of the time their phone ran out of battery and the desperate measures they had to go to in order to climb out of that hole. Some are pretty off the wall, while others are of a person who simply went without their phone until they could reach a charger. Regardless, the threat looms on.

For laughter’s sake, the folks over at Buzzfeed put together this list of the 10 worst times for your phone to die on you. And while the article mentions the Droid RAZR MAXX as a long-lasting smartphone, an iPhone 4s with an extended battery case attached will no doubt be in that same league, if not better!

Check out the top 10 list here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/motorola/the-10-worst-times-for-your-phone-to-die-on-you

Whether it’s to make one last phone call in a pinch, checking e-mails to get you through your work day, or play games for just a bit longer while waiting for an appointment, you can always make use of some extra juice. In more simple terms, battery life can always fall under the old saying that, “it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it an not have it.”

One common complaint about the iPhone 4 and 4s is that the battery life leaves plenty to be desired. And without the availability of a removable battery, toting around a spare battery isn’t an option as it is for many other phones.

To counter that though, we’ve got an option for iPhone users that can kill two birds with one stone! And during the month of May, that double-threat can be had for a heck of a deal.

At Batteryheads.com, you can now get the Apple iPhone 4/4s Extended Capacity Power Case for 20 percent off! Protect your phone and add 200 percent more life to your battery.

Whether it’s as a gift for Mother’s Day, or to give yourself enough power to last you through any lengthy summer adventures, this case and this deal is something every iPhone user will not want to miss.

Samsung looks to be on the verge of changing the game of data transfer with a new chip that enables speeds never before seen, while also consuming less power. That makes for a heck of a combination for improving the capabilities of today’s technologies.

Check out this short article from InfoWorld.com that details the technology. Mixed in with all the high tech terminology is some more simple explanations of how it works as well…
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Samsung on Tuesday announced production of its first ultra-high-speed, 4Gb low-power mobile DRAM chip, which uses the company’s most compact circuitry to date.

The new double data rate 3 (LPDDR3) mobile DRAM, which is produced using a 20-nanometer manufacturing process, can transmit data at up to 2.1Gbps per pin. The new DRAM performance is more than double that of the preceding memory standard mobile DRAM (LPDDR2), which had a data transmission rate of up to 800Mbps.

With 2.1Gbps performance, a mobile device with the Samsung chip embedded could transmit three full HD videos, collectively 17GB in length, in one second.

Samsung said its new LPDDR3 mobile DRAM enables seamless display of full HD video on smartphones with five inch-or-larger screens. In comparison to a 30nm-class LPDDR3 DRAM, the new device generates more than a 30 percent improvement in performance and 20 percent savings in power consumption, the company said.

The new 20nm process node also offers mobile devices 2GB of memory by using four of the new chips, which have a height of .8mm or about .3 inches.
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Check out the rest of the article here: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/samsung-builds-chips-supercharge-your-smartphone-217609

And there is maybe no genre of gadgets where this is more prevalent than in mobile phones. The technology is evolving and improving so rapidly that it’s tough for even the biggest of tech junkie to keep up with it all.

But there are some good people out there who do their best to keep up to date with lists of some of the best devices out there. On top of that, they even provide some quality little write-ups on each device to help give you an idea of what each one has to offer.

Take particular note of what is said about the lackluster battery life of their No. 1 ranked device on this list of the best Android phones. Such a great device can suddenly be made useless if a dead battery comes into play. A portable USB charger could help ease that problem, so keep an eye out for what each of these phones bring in the battery life department.

Without further ado though, here’s a list of the best Android phones out there, courtesy of the folks over at techradar.com: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/best-android-phone-which-should-you-buy-717819

There are creative ideas about improving battery technology coming in all shapes and sizes. But this new battery technology can come in any size.

Check out this video below with an excerpt of an article from Popular Science.
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In the future, stretchy batteries such as these could help power solar-energy generating clothes, tattoos that monitor your vital signs, robot skin that’s sensitive to touch and other futuristic, flexible devices, the batteries’ creators wrote in a paper published today in the journal Nature Communications.

Think you can’t get away from email now? Wait til even your clothes are electronic.

Aaanyway, we’re not here now to talk about your digital life balance. We’re here to talk about how cool this battery is. And it’s pretty cool. It looks like a little chip, maybe the size of an SD card, and it’s made of a translucent silicone rubber material stamped with aluminum and copper electrodes and assorted connections. Its creators, a team of engineers from China, Korea and Illinois, hooked the battery up to a red LED light and demonstrated that it continued to work when folded, twisted, and stretched to the size of small notepad, then pulled over an elbow, like a large Band-Aid.
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Check out the full article here: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-02/rubbery-battery-stretches-300-percent

The fancy new features that make the phones and tablets of today so impressive are often centered around big displays, bright colors, and stunning picture resolution. The drawback to these is that each factor has its own impact on battery life. And while some of these aspects are easily controlled and adjusted (brightness, for example), others would require a little more effort to crank down, if it’s even possible.

The brightness, resolution, and colors might take a backseat to the primary functionality of a phone at times though. Such a scenario would be when a phone is badly needed for calling or texting, but is almost out of juice. Chances are that many people would gladly sacrifice their eye-popping screen resolution for the sake of a few extra minutes that their phone will stay alive, especially in a pinch.

All that is exactly what Google appears to be going for with this patent. Check out an excerpt from an article found on digitaltrends.com that details this…
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Cell phone manufacturers are always looking for new ways to help reduce the rapid loss of battery life, something that is becoming increasingly difficult as advances are made that let us use our phones for more and more, taking an even bigger toll on the battery. (Remember the days when your phone could go for days in between charging?)

The most common two suggestions for conserving battery life are quitting out of all apps that run in the background, even after closing them out, and turning down the brightness on your screen. Many phones will sense the life left in your battery and automatically reduce the brightness on its own — or even do it based on whether your current activity warrants a vibrant screen.

Fuji is aiming to make a big splash among seekers of both thrills and durable cameras with the XP200.

It’s not the kind of camera you’re going to go mounting to the end of a surfboard, but it’s also not the kind of camera you’re going to see in the hands of a toddler and worry of its impending doom.

It will however hold its own to some physical abuse, is water proof, and still comes loaded with features on top of that! The folks at techradar.com got the chance to play around with the XP200 recently. Below is an excerpt of what they had to say about their first impression…
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Although they may seem to be aimed at adrenaline junkies, rugged cameras also appeal to families who need a tough camera that can survive abuse in the hands of the younger members of the clan.

As it can survive underwater down to 15m, endure drops from 2m and cope with temperatures down as low as -10C, Fuji’s new XP200 seems ideally suited to both camps.

Its buttons are a little larger than on previous models so they are better suited for used by gloved hands than before and it has chunky rubberised grips that make it feel pretty secure in your hand. We’ll get back to you about the gloved hands bit when we get a full-production sample in – we want to see if you can operate them with wetsuit gloves.

Although like other tough compact cameras there’s no viewfinder, there is a 3-inch 920,000-dot LCD screen for composing images. Fuji has given this an anti-reflective coating so that it provides a clearer view in bright conditions such as on the beach or in snow.

We were only able to examine a pre-production sample of the XP200 indoors, but the screen seemed to be pretty good. We’re looking forward to trying it in more challenging conditions.

Most tough camera manufacturers have realized that a dual lock is required to avoid accidental opening of the battery and card compartment, however, these mechanisms can be quite fiddly to use. Fuji has integrated the two locks into a dial and button system, just press the central button and twist the dial to open. We found it very easy to use while offering the security that you want.

Fuji has also introduced a burst mode button and pressing it automatically sets the camera to record full-resolution (16MP) images at 10fps for up to 9 images. It seems an ideal solution for capturing action that develops quickly.

Like the Fuji XP170 before it, the XP200 has Wi-Fi connectivity built-in. This enables image and video transfer to a PC or smart phone without the need for cable connections – handy when the camera is wet or covered in mud.
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Check out the rest of the hands-on review here: http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/compact-cameras/fuji-xp200-1139666/review