Battery Apps For The Android

20.8.11 The Reporter 0 Comments

Yesterday, we discussed how the Android needs for you to use battery saver and task killer applications. We discussed great multi-function app killer and battery saving apps in the previous post. Most apps available for the Android are standalone, however, so it takes a while to bump into good multi-function apps with the specs we discussed yesterday. Most of the time, you have to install and run quite a few apps to get what you need.

For dedicated battery savers and managers, this is what we require of them:

• Connectivity Toggle functions. WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth and other connectivity functions are the biggest resource and battery hogs. If the app has a function to toggle these off when your screen locks, better.
• System Tweak functions. Through the app's interface, you should be able to manage your phone's settings: sound volume, display brightness, as well as connectivity functions. Usually, you have to go to the Settings to tweak this. Your battery saver should let you have an easier time tweaking these settings.
• Status Bar icon. The Android's native battery indicator does not show how much power is left in your battery. Ideally, your battery saver should have a Status Bar icon indicating the percentage of power in your battery.

Battery Booster. This app has all three functions we mentioned. Not only that, it also comes with a great widget which you can use to toggle your phone's bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, brightness, and even set the display light's dimming/shutoff delay. The Android's native Power Control dock/toolbar/widget only has the WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Sync and backlight brightness buttons. If you can live without having a Sync button on your home screen and would find a backlight delay timer toggle more helpful, then we recommend you replace the native Power Control bar.

Aside from Battery Booster, no other app has all the functions we required. Most of the battery managers are similar to the apps we featured yesterday. If the apps are not like that, they have simple controls for their settings tweaks that we wonder if the developers should have put more effort to developing their apps. It seems as if the apps are but mere frontends to the Settings area that comes built into Androids.

Only one other battery-saving App is worth installing on your Android: the ShutUpBatterySaver. Its only function is to schedule AutoSync during intervals you can set: you can have it turned off every hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, or at a customized interval. Then you can set the time that AutoSync is turned on for 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and so on. Keeping your phone's Sync actions will help save the battery. If you're the type who'd love to get away from your email anyway, this may be a good idea for you. Notifications for your email may come delayed; if you're expecting urgent emails, you can turn ShutUpBatterySaver until you can put up with Sync at set intervals (ergo email notifications coming in delayed).

These are the only battery-saving apps worth installing, in our opinion. If you want to know what the Android Community thinks, however, here's a note about more famous battery-management apps.