VC’s Techie CockTail

In this era of Gadgets & Gizmos, every gadget we own runs on ordinary ‘AA’ / ‘AAA’ batteries or rechargeable batteries. Now almost every portable electronic device runs in Rechargeable batteries be it for your laptop, MP3 player or your mobile phone. The thing about rechargeable battery and getting the maximum out of it is a skill by itself. Some tips which i have found useful in maintaining my gizmo’s batteries are,

• Once getting a new device first charge your battery fully ( called “Breaking it in”) and then for the first 2-3 recharge cycles drain your battery fully before recharging them else the capacity of the battery will reduce (called “Memory Effect”)

• For a device like laptop / digital camera / mp3 player when you are not using for a long period of time , take out the battery and store it in a cool and dry place(far away from any metallic objects).
• To extend your battery life in critical situations where there in no charger in your hand mainly for your phone, try reducing the brightness (works for your laptop / mp3 player too), reduce the ring volume, switch off the vibration mode / bluetooth. Then as a last resort switch off your phone for a few minutes and then switch it on again.
• For optimal and safe usage always buy original batteries. A rechargeable battery’s lifecycle is measured by its recharge cycles, so after a “X” amount of recharging the life comes down drastically.

To get in-depth information on various types of batteries and the chemistry behind them visit GreenBatteries.com and BatteryUniversity.com.

written by Vignesh