Cell preservation

I can't seem to go an hour without my cell before panic sets in, and lately my battery seems to be losing the ability to hold juice. So I've taken to carrying the charger around with me, asking for an outlet in some of the most inappropriate places, like restaurants and shoe stores. If only I had known when my battery was new about the precautions that would help preserve its life. Unfortunately, there's no bouncing back for a worn-down battery, so I'll likely be replacing mine before long, adding it to the expanding cell phone parts and accessories waste stream (130 million cell phones and their batteries were tossed in 2005), but here are a few tips to help save your cell phone battery from a similar fate.

1. Stop charging overnight! The longer a battery is charging, the longer it's exposed to heat, which can wear it down. Most cell phone batteries fully charge in under two hours, so as soon as all bars have been restored, unplug your phone. And while you're at it, unplug the charger, which constantly drains power even when it's not juicing up your phone (see"Carbon Pincher").

2. All heat sources--not just the charger--can damage the battery, so whenever possible, keep your phone out of the heat. Put it in your pocket instead of on the picnic table on hot days. Avoid parking it on the dashboard of your vehicle.

3. Adjust to power-saving settings. Lighting the screen drains the most battery power, so cut the LCD brightness down as far as you can without causing eye strain, and, if your eyes can take it, turn down the backlight setting so that it dims in just a few seconds.

4. During periods when you'd rather not be bothered, like in the movie theater or while sleeping, turn the phone off completely.

And keep in mind that power is draining whenever the phone is in use, even if it's not for a phone call, so only play Tetris when you absolutely have to.

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