Cell phones and their batteries?
 

I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S4.

I adore this phone.

My last phone - even though it was suppose to be a 'smart' phone - hardly could even make phone calls or texts. That doesn't sound very smart to me.

I call my new phone 'Goblin Phone.'

I'm thinking of getting an extra battery for it because I love to play games on it and I love playing with apps.

I wanted to ask, what kind of phone do you have/like?
And do you have experience with keeping more than one battery handy for your phone.

Well, the thing with "smart" phones, they usually have to be whatever G is the latest (3 or 4G) which the coverage varies between providers. Me and my brother are on the same provider, but he has a smart phone which needs specific signal while I am on a dumb phone. I get better signal than him.

I like things with keyboards and hate ones that are only touch screen. Which means, soon enough, I'll be screwed :D

I didn't think I would like the touch screen at all - but I'm finding it's actually working for me. I was very surprised that I actually like it now.

I thought it was the signal with my oldie phone, and when I want to the providers store they said I could buy a signal booster for the house, which is where I got the worst signal, For a little over $200 bucks.

Hellz to the no!

Thank goodness I am not having that problem now. Same provider different phones, same place. I don't know.

http://cdn.ubergizmo.com/photos/2010...eze-II-ATT.jpgThis is what I have right now. No texting, no games, just 700 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends and mobile to mobile. I had to give up my Motorola Razor for it... It died from a short in the charger input port... I had no way to charge it. Now, this phone is acting up (I can only talk for roughly 7 minute intervals with it "fully charged" before it dies on me, unless it's plugged in).

I have however dealt with smart phones, and I have to say my favorite is the Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4g Touch. http://cdn.theunlockr.com/wp-content...G-Touch-01.jpg This is also the phone I want, and I'm waiting for my hubby to upgrade so I can theifs it from him for myself. Ouo

Also, the two battery idea is great. I've known several people who do that, and they've found it to be a life saver, especially when travelling long distances with no access to a charger. *nod nod*

That is what I was thinking for my upcoming trip. *nod nod*

Re: 7-minute battery life: Replace the battery; it's dead. It may have reached the end of its useful charge cycles, or it may have taken thermal damage. (Overheating can kill a battery's ability to hold a charge.)

Re: Reception: The newer phone uses a different technology for its transceiver. It runs on a different frequency band using a better data encoding scheme. It may also support MULTIPLE frequency bands. What this boils down to is that it supports a wider variety of cell signals, and it's smarter about using it. This means you can use more towers and make better use of a signal even when it's weaker.

I can handle a touch-screen keyboard but I prefer hardware. It's bloody HARD to find smartphones with hardware keyboards anymore.

Am I allowed to say intelligence is smexy!?! Thanks Coda!

Now I just have to figure out international calling on my phone! <3 Also - I think I am going to buy another battery. Plane travel for 18+ hours...

Heh, that's not intelligence, just trivia. I happen to have dealt with this kind of stuff in the past, so I happen to know some facts about it, but that's not related to intelligence. ^^()

It is to me! That is awesome. ;)

Plus Jeopardy?! :D

@Coda: Yeah..... I know I need to get a new battery (it's not the first time this has happened with this phone), we just don't have the money right now. My aunt's husband is supposed to be loaning me a phone until I can get a legitimate replacement. Thanks for the info, though. Didn't really think about batteries having useful charge cycles... And the most likely culprit IS overheating. It used to get really hot while it was charging, and while my grandmother (who I got it from) and I were talking on it.

I wonder if I should be charging my phone in a more directly ventilated area.

It can't hurt. A smartphone IS a computer, with all the best-care practices that entails.

I knew it! Cool places it is. <3

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3, but I'm a boring old fart so the only apps I have are productivity ones, like Evernote, calendar, shopping list, and scriptures. :d My husband is the one who likes having games on his phone.

I have... a few productive apps. Calender is a must. I have to write everything down. Alarm. Weather. Calculator. And a learning Japanese app. The rest are GAMES! *woo hoo*

Ginny's got a Galaxy S4; I've got a T-Mobile MyTouch Q (which is a Huawei device). We both have a few games; I also have remote administration tools so I can fix stuff when I don't have my laptop.

What the heck is a Huawei device?

Huawei is a cell phone manufacturer from China. Most of the time their stuff gets rebranded by the carrier -- if I had to take a guess this is in no small part because Americans tend to have a fairly dim opinion of Chinese electronics. But Huawei's actually really good, this is the second Huawei phone I've owned (the first was a high-end dumbphone) and I've been very satisfied.

Better than LG phones. :P

Ah! I feel like posting that - *The more you know!* rainbow. lolz!

I liked my old LG "dumbphone." I only have an iphone because it was offered free with a new contract, and given I was in hospital at the time, it really helped to have the data plan and apps so I could handle email and such from the hospital (which had no wireless I could use on that floor) instead of getting friends and relatives to handle everything for me. I have little battery issues with it, though I'm told iphone batteries don't last as long in the rural area I'm moving to (most people have Samsungs or Blackberries) but it seems alright so long as I'm not playing one of my battery sucking games.

QMC, my mom let me use her lappy top when I was in the hospital. That made like so much more bearable. I played a lot of Lord of the Rings online.

I can't wait to get to Japan. I'm going to see what kinda cool cell phone covers they have for my phone!

Cell phones do drain more battery in areas with poor signal (they're trying harder and more frequently), so there's some truth to the statement.

oh gosh - I wonder what kind of signal I will get in Japan. I don't know if I should try to get the international chip, sim? card for it - or just deactivate it for three months.

Oh I could have brought my laptop. The problem was there was no wireless connection that I could use it with, so the data on the phone was handy.

And yeah, I know about the connection thing. My old LG which normally lasts forever would die on a daily basis out at my sister's farm where the connection was bad. It was always looking for a signal.

Assuming I'm going to keep my LG around, would be worth buying another battery for it while they're still available, or would it just die while sitting in a drawer?

Nah, it'll bleed charge in the drawer (might need recharged after a year) but it won't hurt the battery chemistry as long as it doesn't overheat.

I was going to sell my old phone - but I might keep it for artistic purposes. :)

I'm considering buying a new phone soon. The battery I have now is awful now, since it's "swollen," and it's always shutting off automatically about ten minutes after a full charge due to over-usage and me foolishly waiting until the battery has a red slash through it to run to a charger. XD

On top of that, the LG Optimus T really sucks, and even if I did like it, a new battery would cost way more than the phone itself.

If your battery is swollen you should really stop using it RIGHT AWAY. Swollen batteries are EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. They're an EXPLOSION HAZARD, and swelling only happens when the battery has been damaged in the first place.

Fully discharging a battery isn't bad for it -- in fact it's actually healthy for the battery to occasionally go through a complete drain-recharge cycle. Overcharging the battery is what's bad for it.

When you've got a swollen battery, it's from one of a few causes:

* The battery overheated. Don't leave batteries in a hot place, and ESPECIALLY don't charge them when they're hot.

* The battery has been physically damaged, perhaps by being dropped or stepped on. You can't necessarily see the damage from the outside. (There's no need to be paranoid and stop using a battery just because you dropped it, but if it swells, stop using it.)

* The battery has been electrically shorted, perhaps from water (which can include being operated in a humid environment or cold enough to form dew).

* The battery has been overcharged. Most modern devices are SUPPOSED to automatically disable the charger when full, but there are reasons this might not work or not be enough. You should avoid leaving a battery plugged in longer than necessary.

* The battery has been charged with dirty power. Don't buy cheap chargers. You'll break stuff. (Sometimes you can even see the problems in action from the touchscreen misbehaving while plugged in.)

Furthermore, due to the fire and explosion hazards, you should never dispose of lithium batteries in the trash. (It's actually illegal.) And if it's swollen, you shouldn't even use a battery recycling drop-off bin; you should take it inside some place like Best Buy and give it to someone in person for safe disposal.

FauxReal, I as well, have a Samsung Galaxy S4 and it far surpasses the performance of my previous phone which was an iphone 4. The battery only drains quickly with the use of large apps such as Pandora or Youtube.

I'm not sure what is meant by adding an extra battery.

Coda, I had no idea this 'Swollen' battery thing could happen. How can one tell?

The S4's stock battery just wasn't big enough for the device's power consumption, that's all. But you can buy extra batteries, keep them charged, and switch them in when you need them, or you can buy external power banks and plug the phone into them for a recharge on the go during the day.

A swollen battery is literally that -- a battery that you can see visibly swelling. It's not flat any more; you can see it bulging out. A battery that's gotten to that point is seriously dangerous and you should take it to a safe disposal center (DO NOT throw batteries away in the trash!) and replace it.

Thanx, I appreciate the explanation. Gave my battery check and it does not have a bulge. I'll now be sure not to leave it on the charger after it's fully charged which I have been known to do just to ensure it had full battery when I leave the house.

I have a Google Nexus 6. I don't have any experience with replacement batteries because

1: you can't remove the battery from the Nexus 6 and
2: the battery lasts all day anyway

edit: and yeah, Li-ion batteries are extremely dangerous if they're damaged or defective in any way.