Smartphone adoption in Africa has risen at a phenomenal rate. A survey of mobile phone usage in five African countries has delivered findings on the rise of Internet access via phones within Africa’s major markets, namely South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Uganda.
The Mobile Africa 2015 study, conducted by mobile surveying company GeoPoll and World Wide Worx, has found that Internet browsing via phones now stands at 40 per cent across these markets, with 51% of respondents in Ghana and 47% in Nigeria reporting that they use their phones to access the internet. South Africa lags behind at 40%, and Kenya (34%) and Uganda (29%) are slowest on the uptake.
With African residents accessing the internet via there smartphones at such a rapid rate, Red-E has revealed 5 tips to extend the battery life of a smartphone. According to the company: “You never need to run out power for your smartphone or tablet if you follow these simple guidelines.”
Top 5 tips to extend the battery life of a smartphone
Don’t Waste – To save battery, whenever possible turn off Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, vibrate, camera flash, notifications, running apps. Turn down brightness and volume and, when the battery is really low, avoid playing games, watching movies, moving wallpapers, accessing the internet and video chats.
Airplane Mode Isn’t Just For Flying – Keeping your smart device in Airplane mode will help preserve battery by automatically switching off many life-draining features. Additionally, it also helps your battery to charge faster.
Keep it Up – Charge your battery once it reaches 50% if, as is likely, it is a lithium-ion battery. The common belief that you should only charge when below 20% only applies to nickel-based batteries. And never let your battery run down completely as this degrades it.
Avoid the Heat – Overcharging your battery or leaving it in the heat reduces its life. Ideally take the battery off charge just before or as it hits 100%. At an average temperature of 25° a lithium-ion battery loses 20% of its max capacity per year, at 40° it loses 35%.
Purchase a Powerbank – Keep a small, portable back-up power source in your car, handbag or briefcase to ensure you can always re-charge wherever you are. There are a range of powerbanks on the market which can handle multiple devices or multiple chargers per device at the same time.
Darryl Linington
