This is ALWAYS the place to look for your Timely Tip!
We've all had this aggravation -- a smartphone battery going dead right when you REALLY need it. If you follow these few smart tips, you can avoid that problem for the most part. 1. Get an Extra Battery. You spent $200 - $400 (or more!) on that phone, and it only is awesome when it actually works. Spend the extra $50-$75 on an extra battery and charger, and carry it with you. I keep an extra battery and charger in my computer bag every time I leave the house, and it has literally saved me several times now. 2. Get Extra Car Chargers, and Leave Them in Your Car. They cost about $10 each. Get two or three, and leave one in each of your cars. Charge up EVERY TIME you drive, especially if you are using the GPS mode on your phone. Also, I keep one in my primary travel bag, for use with any car rentals when I'm traveling. Sure, this is a little redundant, but how often have you forgotten your "one and only" charger when you could really use it? 3. Learn and Manage the Applications That Are Battery "Suckers". Generally, phones with WiFi capabilities, GPS, and Bluetooth can drain VERY quickly, especially if you have them all turned on. Certain game apps and other apps can really run the CPU and tap the battery. Even just having the phone/data service on and/or having the display lit can burn down the battery fairly quickly. If you want to extend your phone's battery life, turn off extra services when you aren't using them, and if you are using those that really tap the battery, try to plug in while using them. 4. Consider Downloading Apps That Help With Battery Management. My Droid Bionic has a pretty solid onboard "Settings" app, that both shows "Battery Management" and "Applications." The Battery Management tab shows which applications are currently using the highest battery/CPU load. Of course, if any of those apps aren't being used right now, you can manually shut them down and extend battery life. The Applications tab shows ALL of the applications that are either currently running or are running in standby mode. Every time I open that I see at least 2-3 apps I can shut down to reduce battery load. There is also a free app I downloaded from Android Market called "QuickSettings." This is a super-handy app, as it quickly allows me to turn on/off WiFi, Mobile Data, Bluetooth, set system volumes, and even go quickly to "Airplane" mode, turning off all sounds and phone/data streams. 5. Charge When You Go to Bed. This is a no-brainer, but every night when you go to bed, plug in. Wake up with a charged phone. And consider keeping a charger wherever you have downtime (your office/desk seems like an obvious place!) Basically, this month's Timely Tips is effectively the Boy Scout manual for SmartPhone battery management, you just always have to BE PREPARED! | 
