Get More Juice From Your Batteries

Keep notebooks, PDAs, and other battery-powered devices running longer.

Steve Bass

Steve Bass writes the "Hassle-Free PC" column in PC World's print edition and is the author of PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer, available from O'Reilly. Sign up to have Steve Bass's Tips and Tweaks newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.

Batteries are like my car's shock absorbers: I think about them only when they need replacing, and then promptly ignore them when that's done.

This week I present ways to goose the staying power in your notebook's battery, tips on batteries you use in handheld devices, and what to do when your batteries have gone south.

Stretch Your Battery

I recently bought a new notebook and I'm looking for ways to squeeze out a few more amps.

If you must know, it's a ThinkPad; I like Intel's power-saving Centrino processor. And no, I'm not worried that IBM sold its personal computing division to a Chinese company. Nor am I spreading useless industry gossip. (BTW, do you know what a yenta is?)

My first stop in my quest for longer battery life was a quick search of the PC World site, where I bumped into three articles about making notebook and digital camera batteries last longer.

Quick Search Tip: Instead of using any site's search function, I head for Google and use its "site" search feature. Try it by typing the following into Google's search field: ThinkPad battery site:pcworld.com

You'll see everything on PC World's site related to ThinkPads and batteries.

The first piece I recommend is by Kirk Steers, our hardware guy. Some of Kirk's ideas are things you probably already do, like using your notebook's power management tools. But others are a little less obvious, such as unplugging PC Cards and USB devices, and turning off wireless networking when it's not needed. Kirk has more to tell in "Maximize the Power From Your Notebook's Battery."

Similarly, Dave Johnson explains in his Digital Focus column how to make the juice in your digital camera last longer than you expected. For instance, I'm guessing you know that turning off your camera's digital display helps conserve battery life; but I'll bet you didn't realize (I didn't) that accessing the memory card also takes a bite out of the battery. See what else Dave has to say in "Make Your Batteries Last."

And not to be outdone, Jim Martin dedicated one of his Mobile Computing columns--suitably titled "No More Dead Batteries"--entirely to batteries. Granted, the column's a little long in the tooth (me, too, actually), but all of the links and info are still current and valuable (again, me, too).

BTW, If you want a battery that purports to keep your notebook humming and running for 8 hours, check out APC's Universal Notebook Battery. It's relatively lightweight at 2 pounds, and it's fairly compact: It measures 10 by 6.5 inches, and it's only 0.6 inches thick. The lithium polymer battery has adapters to fit most notebooks. I saved the drop-your-jaw price for last: It's about $200. (That makes you want to schlep your AC adapter on trips, eh?)

Dig This: Want to try the latest craze in Google games? "Guess the Google" will annoy and frustrate you, as it did me. You see 20 images snarfed from Google and you have to guess the search term that retrieved those images. Regretfully, my ego is such that I can't tell you my score.

Battery Boosting Tips

Here are a few tips that may help you squeeze a touch more life out of AA and AAA batteries.

Mixing older, almost-discharged batteries with new ones will strain and discharge the new ones. If any of the batteries are weak, replace all of them.<br /><br />

Batteries that are weak and don't perform well in one device may still work in others. For instance, when the AAs I use in my digital camera become weak, I stick them in a TV remote control, a headset, or a portable alarm clock.<br /><br />

According to Consumer Reports, "don't bother storing alkaline batteries in the refrigerator to stretch their life. Doing so made little difference in our tests." A cool, dry spot is adequate.<br /><br />

I found a comprehensive battery FAQ, titled "Batteries in a Portable World," on Isidor Buchmann's site.

BTW, most notebooks will tell you when their batteries need a recharge. But if you have an old clunker that's missing that feature, you can download a trial version of the $10 Battery Bar to see how much juice you have left.

Dig This: You want to make a short animated film, complete with music? Here's one I created in about 10 minutes. Once you view it, you'll see a link you can click to create your own movie.

The Battery Disposal Dilemma

Last week's recycling column covered everything but batteries. That's because I don't give much thought to batteries; I just toss the used-up rechargeables into a box and take them to my local Radio Shack for recycling.

And up until about four years ago, I didn't even do that: I just threw all my depleted batteries into the trash. But that changed when I visited China and got my consciousness raised. I was in a hotel lobby, and I spotted a barrel filled with used batteries--all types of batteries, including ordinary alkaline and an assortment of rechargeables. They were all destined to be recycled. A lightbulb went on somewhere over my head.

Since then, I've been a more environmentally conscious consumer of batteries--and you can, too. For a list of retailers in your area that accept rechargeable batteries for recycling, hop over to RBRC Call2Recycle. If you own a business, I encourage you to click on the "Businesses" link to see how easy it is to handle recyclables at your company.

And even though Consumer Reports says that "small quantities [of alkaline batteries] can safely be thrown away with other trash," some states, such as Massachusetts, still urge consumers to recycle alkalines. I bring mine to L.A. County's hazardous-waste roundups; check with Earth 911 for resources in your own community.