The smarter the phone, the shorter the battery life. It’s a sometimes frustrating axiom of modern technology – and it’s especially true for nerds power-users like me, who tend to push their gadgets to the limits.
But the HTC Hero has a some things going for it in this regard that may help. First of all, it charges via a mini USB cord, rather than a unique device-specific adapter. Charging can be done either through an electrical outlet with the adapter and cable that come with the phone – or by plugging the phone into a USB port on your computer. I just keep my phone plugged into my computer while I’m at the office. This is especially handy if I go out after work – my phone is fully charged and ready for action.
If you’re a gadget-head like I am, you’ve probably got some extra USB/mini-USB cables lying around. If not, you can pick one up for a couple of bucks at your local electronics shop or online.
Of course, the other way to manage battery life is to only turn on the services you need. If you’re not using Wifi, turn it off; if you only use Bluetooth in your car, turn it off when you get to work; turn off GPS when you’re not using maps. And this is all made very easy to do with the Android Power Control widget. Add the Power Control widget from the widget gallery (Press Home button -> Menu button -> Tap Add to Home -> Tap Widget) to one of your home screens and you’ll have quick access to control power functions that can suck up juice even when you’re not actively using them.
From left to right:
Wifi – Off/On
Bluetooth – Off/On
GPS – Off/On
Sync – Off/On
Screen Brightness – Cycles through Low, Medium and High with each tap. I have my screen set to Auto Brightness control, so I generally don’t make other changes. Keep in mind that using the Brightness control in the Power Control widget will deactivate Auto Brightness; to re-enable, you’ll need to go to Settings/Sound & Display/Brightness.
So, in spite of moderate-to-heavy use throughout the day and evening, these tips mean my Hero is always ready to go.
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Does anybody know which sort of video files are supported? I remember the Instinct only could dl 3gp using opera mini. I downloaded the twist ap, perhaps that is the problem? How can I watch videos from websites apart from youtube? Which file varieties? Often I am given the option of 3gp or mpeg4. Cannot get both to work. Thanks in your time! Rattling I want I was eligible for the upgrade to EVO!
Thank you for the good article, I’m very excited. I have had my phone for just over a month now and am in point of fact playing the entire free apps from the android market, being able to have the internet and navigation at my fingertips the entire time. The one not up to thought characteristic is the image/video text messages, as they aren’t downloading properly.