The phone you carry around all day is also a brilliant video recorder. Here are some basic tips for mastering mobile video.

As Christmas draws closer, many of us will be taking photos and shooting videos on our phones.

Follow our shooting tips to make your home movies even better.

Shooting Tips

Record in landscape

Filming in portrait mode can seem natural because that’s generally how we hold and use our phones. But it’s no good if you want to share it on any online portal or cast it to your TV. That’s because you’ll get vertical black borders surrounding your thin-looking clip.

So shoot in landscape mode – holding the phone is on its side – is essential. You might have to stand a little further from your subject, but it gives you a wider angle to fit more of the scene in your shot.

Keep a steady hand

There’s nothing more distracting than wobbly video, motion blur and out-of-focus subjects. One way to steady your shot is to hold your phone with both hands.

It’ll help you cut the amount of movement – but take care not to cover the lens or the microphone by mistake.

Many high-end smartphones, like the Sony Xperia X, have stabilisation technology to help reduce shake.

Keep movement smooth

Capturing moving subjects isn’t easy. So you’ll need to keep your camera movements smooth. One way to do that is by moving your body rather than just your arms – keep your elbows locked to your side and rotate your body instead. Or try using a tripod.

Take care with zooming

The digital zoom on most smartphone video cameras enlarges the pixels, which can diminish the quality. So try not to use it unless you really need to.

If you can, get closer to your subject instead. The alternative is pixelated, noisy video you won’t want to watch anyway. Have you ever had to sit through a friends’ video shot at a concert? That’s what you want to avoid.

Experiment to find the best light

It’s important to try to find the best light for your imagery, so move around and make use of natural light if possible. In daylight, try to make sure the sun is lighting your scene rather than shining directly into the lens.

Avoid the flashlight

On most phone cameras, the flash can double up as a light to illuminate subjects when recording video. But it can be too strong and make it look unnatural. So save it for when you can’t find any natural light.

Manually adjust exposure and focus

Many smartphone cameras feature a tap to focus setting and a way to adjust the exposure (controlling how much light the sensor lets in). Both methods can help with lighting your subjects correctly.

On an iPhone, for example, you can long press on the focal point to lock the focus and exposure.

Use the time lapse setting

Most high-end smartphones now have a time lapse setting, which lets you condense several minutes or even hours of footage in to a much shorter clip. This can be a great way to capture interesting road trips, tidal scenes or sunrises and sunsets. Here it’s important to lock the exposure (as we explained above) to make sure the lighting stays consistent.

Protect yourself from the elements

If it’s possible you should use your body to shield your phone from the wind, because it’ll ruin the audio. Position yourself in a way that stops the breeze getting to your phone’s microphone at the bottom of the handset.

Practical tips for your smartphone

Shoot at lower quality

4K and Ultra HD video are becoming more common on our phones. Which is great, but the resulting clips take up much more space on your phone. You can save space by shooting at lower quality.

Don’t eat up all your data

Upload large video files over wi-fi so you don’t use up all your mobile data allowance.

Trim your footage

Most phone cameras offer the ability to whip off the awkward start and end of clips, giving the video a more professional feel.

Use an editing app

You can use a specialised editing app to pull more than one clip together. Many will also let you add fades and transitions as well as a soundtrack. Try Apple’s own iMovie for iOS and KineMaster for Android.

Bring a spare battery

Shooting video does as much to drain battery life as any activity, so come prepared. If your phone has a removable battery, bring a spare. Otherwise, think about investing in a portable battery pack.

A week after it was first revealed Apple was slowing down older iPhones, ostensibly to stabilize performance, the company has succumbed to mounting pressure and, as an apparent gesture of goodwill, is offering owners of an iPhone 6 and later models a battery replacement for $29 — a limited-time $50 discount.

You are likely familiar with the rumor that Apple throttles older iPhones in an effort to make users resort to buying new devices. Of course, Apple maintains that’s not the case and it offered a statement regarding why iPhones may struggle as they get older.

Apple confirmed it slowed down older iPhones in an effort to better handle the power output that aging batteries can offer. Some users were upset. So much, in fact, that several lawsuits have been filed against the company.

“Defendant breached the implied contracts it made with Plaintiffs and Class Members by purposefully slowing down older iPhone models when new models come out and by failing to properly disclose that at the time the parties entered into an agreement,” reads a lawsuit filed by Wilshire Law Firm on behalf of Stefan Bogdanovich and Dakota Speas. The pair are seeking both California and nationwide class action status for their suit, according to a report from TMZ.

Apple Insider has reported that attorneys on behalf of Keaton Harvey have filed another suit against Apple. The class-action suit alleges that the company’s decision to slow down old iPhones “allowed Apple to conceal the true nature and scope of the battery defect and to avoid expending time, money, and effort on correcting it.”

The suit requests that Apple notify owners about changes to the OS, repair the flaws in the software that led to the throttling, and reimburse those who bought affected iPhones.

In light of the suits, on Thursday, December 28, Apple released an apology for the confusion surrounding battery and performance issues. In its apology, the company stated “we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.”

Apple also promised to release a software update in 2018 that will allow users to better monitor battery performance and health on their devices. Additionally, it stated it will reduce the price of battery replacement on all iPhone 6 phones and later to $29 for the next year.

Recent throttling accusations first appeared a couple of weeks ago, when a Redditor shared Geekbench results take right before and right after the battery in an iPhone 6S was replaced. According to the Redditor, who goes by the name TeckFire, the iPhone performed as much as 20 percent better after the battery replacement.

After the Reddit post, John Poole, who founded Primate Labs, offered a more visualized look at the link between battery health and iPhone performance. Benchmarking tests were performed on iOS 10.2.0 and 10.2.1, and show some pretty serious differences in performance. Apple introduced an update in iOS 10.2.1 aimed at fixing an issue where some iPhone 6S models shut down, thanks to uneven power delivery from older batteries in the phones. That power management feature is what was causing the performance dips on some iPhone models.

According to Apple, there is a good reason for the performance dip.

“Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge, or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components,” Apple said in a statement to TechCrunch.

In other words, when an iPhone’s battery gets older, it becomes less capable of delivering enough power to the processor during a peak of performance, and when that happens it has to spread out the power requests over a few processor cycles. The result of that is a dip in performance.

That’s what is triggered when benchmarks are run — they look like performance peaks and valleys to an operating system, and as such on older batteries the power requests will be spread out. Upgrade to a new battery, and power will be delivered much more effectively.

It’s not all that surprising. As a battery ages, it stops working as well. That has always been the case and likely always will be. That doesn’t mean that the average performance of a device is being affected, nor does it mean that Apple is throttling your phone to make you upgrade. OF course, Apple could have been a little more transparent — a simple notification telling users that their battery is getting old and that they may see a performance dip because of it would go a long way. That lack of notification may be a serious point of contention when and if the new lawsuit ever gains ground.

What’s the Difference Between These In-ear Audio Devices?

Although companies like to stretch these definitions to fit their marketing needs, the difference between earphones and earbuds essentially boils down to this: earphones (also called in-ear headphones or in-ears) are inserted into the ear canal, while earbuds rest outside the ear canal.

Earbuds

Earbuds usually do not have cushions, although they can. They are meant to be held in place by the concha ridge at the center of your outer ear, rather than sitting inside the ear canal.

They are often one-size-fits-all, which may not be comfortable to wear. Depending on the shape of your ear ridges, they may not fit securely and may fall out frequently. That is annoying, especially if you are wearing them for sports and exercise. Some have wings or loops to tuck under the ridges of the ear to help keep them in place.

Earbuds allow in ambient noise so you can hear what is going on around you. You don’t feel sealed off from your environment. That provides a small measure of safety for outdoor exercise such as running or walking while wearing earbuds.

Earbuds have generally not had the same performance as high-end headphones, often lacking bass and sounding tinny. If you’re buying ear buds, the good news is they are often less expensive than earphones and in-ear headphones. If you want something for the gym that you don’t care if you step on them on the treadmill, or if you need the thirty-umpth pair for your teenager, ear buds are your friends.

Earphones – In-ears – In-ear Headphones

In-ears often feature different sizes and types of ear cushions to achieve the most comfortable fit possible. Examples of cushions include memory foam, rubber, and silicone. Some are shaped to lock into the concha and have a protrusion that extends further into the ear canal.

As with earbuds, you may find that they fall out if the fit is not snug enough, and they may not be comfortable if the fit is too tight. The kind that is designed to lock into your concha may be more secure, but you may also be trading off some comfort. Some high-end earphones are custom fitted to your ear with an ear mold done by an audiologist.

The wires may extend straight down, or they may be designed to go up and over the ear, or swivel for either configuration.

Don’t let their small sizes fool you — earphones can get into the extremely high end of the price and performance spectrum.

Wireless Earbuds and Earphones

Wireless versions of earbuds and in-ears often have a larger earpiece to accommodate the Bluetooth mechanism and controls, or have them on a thicker behind-the-neck cord. This adds additional bulk and weight. Another factor with wireless audio devices is that they are powered and need to be recharged after a few hours of use. With the iPhone 7 eliminating the audio jack port, many more designs will enter the marketplace for wireless earbuds and in-ears.

Sometimes offers for desktop and laptop computers seem to be priced too low to be real. In the description of these products you might find the term refurbished. Both manufacturers and retailers may be offering these systems below what a normal PC costs, but what is a refurbished product and are they safe to buy?

Refurbished computers typically fall into one of two categories. The first type have failed a quality control check during manufacturing.

Rather than simply disposing of these systems, the manufacturer will rebuild it to pass quality control but sell it at a discounted price. The other type is a rebuilt system from a customer return likely due to a component failure.

Now the refurbishment of the product may be done by the manufacturer or a third party. Manufacturers rebuild the system using the same parts used in the new PCs. A third party that rebuilds the machine may use alternate parts to get it up and running. These alternate parts may change the system from its original design. This makes it important that the consumer read the specifications of the refurbished system and compare them to the standard specs for the product.

Another type of product that consumers will find discounted is an open box product. These differ from a refurbished product as it has not been rebuilt. It is simply a product that was returned by a customer but it has not been tested.

Consumers should be very careful when purchasing any open box products.

Costs

Cost is the primary reason people purchase refurbished desktops and laptops. They are often priced below the average computer system currently sold. Of course the amount of discount is only really relevant if you happen to be looking at the same exact product.

Most refurbished PCs available will typically be older products that are being compared to the original suggested retail prices for the product when it was first released. As a result, the deals may not always be the best.

When pricing a refurbished computer, it is important to note if the system is still available for sale new. If it is, this makes the price comparison very easy to determine. PCs such as this generally can be found for modest discounts of between 10 and 25% off the retail prices. As long as they have similar warranties to the new products these can be an excellent way to get a system for below retail.

The problem comes from older systems that are no longer sold. Consumers are often tricked into paying for a system that looks like a good deal but is not. This is where the specifications become extremely important. With those in hand, try to find a comparable brand new system. If one is available, then the same cost analysis of 10 to 25% still holds. If a comparable system is not available, then look for an equally priced new system and see what you get. Often times consumers in this case will find that for the same price they can get a better, newer laptop or desktop.

Warranties

The key to any refurbished computer system is the warranty. These are products that typically were returned or rejected due to a defect. While that defect may have been corrected and no further problems may develop you want to make sure that some coverage is included for potential faults. The problem is that warranties are typically modified for refurbished products.

First and foremost, the warranty should be a manufacturer one. If the warranty is not provided by the manufacturer it should raise a red flag for consumers. A manufacturer warranty will guarantee that the system will be repaired to the original specifications with manufacturer parts or certified replacements can be used with the system.

Third party warranties can cause major problems as replacements parts may not be guaranteed and it may take longer for the system to be repaired.

The next thing to look at is the length of the warranty. It should provide the same length as if it was purchased new. If the manufacturer is not offering the same coverage consumers should once again beware. The lower cost of the system may be the result of them not offering to support the product.

Finally, be wary of extended warranties. If an optional warranty is offered for purchase with the system, it should be a manufacturer extended warranty and not one through a third party. Also be wary of the cost for extended warranties. If the cost of the extended warranties makes the system cost more than buying it new, avoid the purchase.

Return Policies

As with any product, you may get the refurbished computer and find that it does not meet your needs or has issues. Because of the nature of refurbished systems, you want to be very careful of the return and exchange policies offered by the seller. Most retailers tend to have more restrictive policies regarding refurbished machines and they may be sold as it which means you have no recourse for returning the product. Because of this, always read them carefully before making a purchase. Manufacturer refurbs often have been options than third party sellers.

Conclusions

Refurbished laptops and desktops are one way consumers can find a good deal, but they have to be much more informed before the purchase.

The key is to ask several key questions to know if it is really a good and safe deal:

Ÿ Is it sold by the manufacturer or a retailer?
Ÿ What is the price relative to the same PC new?
Ÿ Is the system comparable to an equivalent priced new PC?
Ÿ What type of warranty comes with the PC?
Ÿ Who will handle warranty work?
Ÿ Is there the option for a return?

No matter how well you treat your laptop’s battery, it will eventually die. If you’re lucky, it will be time to replace your laptop by the time its battery dies. If you’re not, you’ll need to replace the battery.

Battery death can seem sudden, but it doesn’t have to. Windows will warn you when your battery reaches extremely low capacity levels, but you can also keep your own tabs on its capacity.

Windows Will Warn You

Windows doesn’t normally keep you up-to-date with your battery’s capacity level. As you use it and it weakens, you’ll just notice that your laptop doesn’t seem to last as long on battery.

Eventually, when your battery reaches a low enough capacity level, Windows will warn you. You’ll see a red X appear on the standard battery icon in your system tray and, when you click it, Windows will inform you that you should “consider replacing your battery.” Windows also says that your computer might shut down suddenly because there’s a problem with your battery — in other words, your battery can’t hold enough of a charge to power your laptop for long when it’s not connected to an outlet.

Note that this warning was added in Windows 7, so you won’t see it if you’re using Windows Vista or XP.

How to Check Your Laptop’s Battery Capacity

If you’re curious just how far your laptop’s battery capacity has declined, you can use a third-party tool to view it. NirSoft’s free BatteryInfoView does this well, displaying the battery’s approximate wear level, the capacity it was designed to have, and the capacity it currently has.

Calibrating Your Battery

The information above may not be completely accurate if your battery requires calibration. For example, we had a battery that reported it was almost dead. Windows warned us that it was time to replace the battery and the battery appeared to be at 27.7% wear level according to its reported capacity.

After we calibrated the battery, Windows stopped warning us and the battery’s reported capacity went back up to 70.8%. The battery didn’t actually gain any additional charge, but the calibration helped the battery’s sensor actually detect how much capacity was in the battery. If Windows says it’s time to replace your battery, be sure to calibrate it first before checking its actual wear level. If you don’t, you may replace a battery that’s still in good enough shape. That would just be a waste of money.

Why Your Laptop’s Battery Capacity Declines

Laptop batteries decline due to a number of factors. Heat, usage, age — all of these things are bad for batteries. Batteries will slowly die no matter what — even if you put your battery in a closet and never touched it, it would slowly lose capacity due to age. However, if you never use your battery — say you use your laptop at your desk most of the time and it gets rather hot, which is bad for the battery — removing the battery can certainly help prolong its life.

Replacing Your Battery

If your laptop has a user-serviceable battery — that is, one you can remove on your own — you can replace your battery fairly easily. If your laptop doesn’t have a user-serviceable battery, you’ll need to contact the laptop’s manufacturer so they can crack your laptop open and change its battery for you.

Assuming you have a user-serviceable battery, you can order a replacement battery for your laptop model online. Don’t just head to eBay and buy the cheapest third-party batteries available — buy official batteries from a reputable company. Aftermarket batteries are often built on the cheap, with cut corners and insufficient testing. They can be dangerous — a cheap, counterfeit, and improperly designed battery could literally go up in flames.

How to Choose a Laptop Based on HDD, SSD, CD, DVD and Blu-ray Options

Most modern laptops are moving away from the traditional mechanical drives in favor of more durable and smaller solid state options.

This change is being fueled by the fact that laptops keep getting smaller, and so their internal space is restricted and no longer accommodating for larger storage devices.

To help clear up confusion for buyers, this guide looks at all the various types of drives that may be in a laptop, and what they can offer.

Hard Drives

Hard drives (HDDs) are still the most common form of storage in a laptop and are pretty straight forward.

Generally, the drive will be referred to by its capacity and rotational speed. Larger capacity drives tend to perform better than smaller ones and faster spinning drives, when compared with ones of similar capacity, are usually more responsive than slower ones.

However, slower spinning HDDs do have a slight advantage when it comes to laptop running times because they draw less power.

Laptop drives are typically 2.5 inches in size and can range from 160 GB up to over 2 TB in capacity. Most systems will have between 500 GB and 1 TB of storage, which is more than enough for the standard laptop system.

If you’re looking at a laptop to replace your desktop as your primary system that will hold all your documents, videos, programs, etc., consider getting one with a hard drive that’s 750 GB or larger.

Solid State Drives

Solid state drives (SSDs) are starting to replace hard drives in more laptops, especially the new ultrathin laptops.

These types of hard drives use a set of flash memory chips rather than a magnetic platter to store the data. They provide faster data access, lower power consumption, and higher reliability.

The downside is that SSDs don’t come in such large capacities as traditional hard drives. Plus, they usually cost a lot more.

A typical laptop equipped with a solid state drive will have anywhere from 16 GB to 512 GB of storage space, although there are some available with more than 500 GB but they are prohibitively expensive. If this is the only storage in the laptop, it should have at least 120 GB of space but ideally around 240 GB or more.

The type of interface that the solid state drive uses can also have a significant impact on the performance but many companies do not overtly advertise it. Most inexpensive systems like Chromebooks tend to use eMMC which isn’t much more than a flash memory card, while high performance laptops use the new M.2 cards with PCI Express (PCIe).

Solid State Hybrid Drives

If you want higher performance than a traditional hard drive but don’t want to sacrifice storage capacity, a solid state hybrid drive (SSHD) is another option. Some companies are referring to these as just hybrid hard drives.

Solid state hybrid drives include a small amount of solid state memory on a traditional hard drive that is used to cache frequently used files.

They do help speed up tasks such as booting up a laptop but they aren’t always faster. In fact, this form of drive is best used when a limited number of applications are used on a frequent basis.

Smart Response Technology and SSD Cache

Similar to hybrid hard drives, some laptops are using both traditional hard drives with a small solid state drive. The most common form of this uses the Intel Smart Response Technology. This provides the benefits of the storage capacities of the hard drive while gaining the speed benefits of a solid state drive.

Unlike SSHDs, these caching mechanisms usually use larger drives between 16 and 64 GB that provide a boost to a larger range of frequently used applications, thanks to the extra space.

Some older ultrabooks use a form of SSD caching that offers higher storage capacities or lower costs, but Intel has changed this so that a dedicated solid state drive is required in order for new machines to meet the ultrabook branding requirements.

This is becoming much less common now that prices for SSD’s continue to drop.

CD, DVD and Blu-ray Drives

It used to be that you were required to have an optical drive on a laptop since most software was distributed on discs, so it was required in order to load the program to your computer. However, with the rise of digital distribution and alternate methods of booting, optical drives are not a requirement like they once were.

These days, they’re used more for watching movies or playing games, as well as burning programs to a disc, creating DVDs, or building audio CDs.

If you do need an optical drive, what type of drive should you get on a laptop? Well, whatever you end up getting, it should definitely be compatible with DVDs. One of the great advantages to laptops is their ability to be used as portable DVD players. Anyone who travels regularly has seen at least one person pull out a laptop and start watching a movie during the flight.

DVD writers are pretty much standard for laptops that have an optical drive. They can fully read and write both CD and DVD formats. This makes them extremely useful for those looking to watch DVD movies on the go or for editing their own DVD movies.

Now that Blu-ray has become the defacto high definition standard, more laptops are beginning to ship with these drives.

Blu-ray combo drives have all the features of a traditional DVD burner with the ability to play Blu-ray movies. Blu-ray writers add the ability to burn lots of data or video to the BD-R and BD-RE media.

Here are some optical drive options and the tasks they are best suited for:

Basic computing w/DVD Playback: DVD-ROM
DVD/CD Recording: DVD Writer
HD Video Playback: Blu-ray Combo
HD Video Recording: Blu-ray Writer
With current component costs, there is almost no reason that a laptop would not have a DVD burner if it is going to have an optical drive. What is surprising is that Blu-ray drives have not become more standard as their prices are also quite low now for the combo drives. It should also be noted that laptop drives are generally much slower than similar drives found in desktop systems.

Even if a laptop does not have an internal optical drive, it’s still possible to use one so long as you have an open USB port for room to attach a USB optical drive.

Note: When you purchase a laptop with an optical drive, it may require additional software beyond the operating system to properly view DVD or Blu-ray movies.

Drive Accessibility

Drive accessibility is important when considering whether to upgrade or replace a damaged drive. It’s important to know what you’re doing, so you might consider having an authorized technician open the computer.

This generally isn’t a problem for many people, but in a corporate environment it can cause increased down time for a worker. Laptops that have drive bays that are accessible or swappable have the advantage of easy and quick access for upgrades or replacements.

In addition to being accessible, it’s also important to get an idea of what kind of drive bays there are and what the size requirements may be. For instance, the 2.5-inch drive bays used for hard drives and solid state drives can come in several sizes. The larger 9.5 mm drives often have better performance and capacities but if the drive bay only fits 7.0 mm drives due to a thin profile, you need to know that.

Similarly, some systems use the mSATA or M.2 cards rather than a traditional 2.5-inch hard drive for their solid state drive. So, if the drives can be accessed and replaced, be sure to know what type of interfaces and physical size limits there are.

Batteries don’t last forever. As you charge and discharge your battery, it degrades and over time, you get less battery life from a full charge. Eventually, the battery—or the device—needs to be replaced.

Battery Capacity Decreases Over Time

A battery doesn’t just go from good one day to bad the next. Instead, batteries slowly degrade over time. This capacity decrease is a gradual process—happening over many charge cycles—and you won’t necessarily notice until you realize you used to get a few more hours of battery power from a charge.

You can help prolong your battery’s life and keep its capacity up by properly caring for your battery. But you can’t avoid battery degradation forever. If you replace devices often—say a new phone every couple of years—you may never notice. Or, you may notice but the problem won’t get bad enough to do anything about before it’s time to replace your device again. But for devices like laptops, which you’re likely to keep for longer, you may have to replace your battery at some point.

Some devices will even warn you when it’s getting time to replace your battery. For other devices, you can often find third-party apps that let you check up on your battery’s health.

How to View a Device’s Battery Health

Unfortunately, many devices don’t display battery health warnings ahead of time. You’ll either notice a problem yourself or the battery will simply fail. Even devices that do include some kind of warning often don’t give you much advance notice. It pays to check up on battery health yourself once in a while.

Here’s how to find battery health information on some common operating systems and devices:

Ÿ Windows Laptops: We recommend NirSoft’s BatteryInfoView to find a Windows laptop’s battery health, but there are other utilities you can use instead.
Ÿ MacBooks: Hold down the Option key and click the battery icon on the menu bar. You’ll see a “Condition:” line displayed here.
Ÿ iPhones and iPads: You can actually ask Apple support to tell you your iPhone or iPad’s battery health
Ÿ Android Phones: Unfortunately, most Android users are out of luck. Some older phones would show battery health information if you opened the dialer and typed *#*#4636#*#*, but this doesn’t seem to work on modern phones.
For other devices, search for the type of device and “battery health” to get instructions.

When It’s Time to Replace a Battery

Whatever your device says about the health of its battery, the rest is up to you. If your battery reports it’s at 40 percent of its original capacity, but you’re still happy with how much battery life you get, there’s not much need to pay for a replacement until it declines to a point where it becomes bothersome.

How to Replace a Battery

If you have a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or another device with a removable battery, replacement is easy. You just need to purchase a replacement battery designed specifically for your device, power down your device, and then replace the current battery with the new one. This gives your device a fresh battery with maximum capacity.

However, devices these days are often made so that you can’t access the battery yourself—at least not easily or without voiding your warranty. Instead, you’ll need to have the manufacturer replace the battery for you. For example, you can take an old iPhone, iPad, or MacBook to an Apple Store and pay a fee to have Apple employees open your device and replace the battery for you. Check if your manufacturer offers this service.

Of course, even on devices without an easily accessible battery, if you’re so inclined and don’t mind the associated risks, you always have the option of doing it yourself. You could open up your device, get a replacement battery, and try to seal it back up again. We don’t necessarily recommend this, though. Too many modern devices have batteries and other components that are glued together and not designed to be opened.

The battery health status your device reports can help you decide whether it’s time to replace your battery, but the decision is ultimately up to you. If your battery feels okay to you, then you don’t need to do a thing right now. Better to put that money toward a future device replacement. If the battery is no longer performing adequately and you’re not interested in replacing your device, then it’s time for a replacement.

Laptop screens tend to collect dust, food particles and other debris that starts to look unattractive after a while. It’s important to use very gentle supplies to clean your laptop screen, since the LCD surface is easily damaged. Here are attached tips and Q&A for your reference.

Tips

Tissues, napkins, and other paper products will leave flakes of paper on your monitor. It’s better to not even try using them. They can contain wood fibers and may even scratch polished surfaces. You don’t want mineral spots on your screen, so don’t use tap water. If you’re a photographer, you can use your lint-free lens wipes instead of a soft cotton cloth. If you have lens cleaner for eyeglasses, check the back to see if it contains “Isopropanol”, if it does don’t use it on your LCD monitor. Use a cotton swab for the harder to reach places with the cleaning solution on it. If you apply too much of the solution and it is drippy or too damp, wipe it off with a soft cloth and apply less. Clean and then let it soak for a little and then repeat. Be patient with hard to clean spots. If in doubt, test a small area of screen first.

Community Q&A

1.How can I clean a laptop keyboard?

Try using the sticky side of a sticky note in between the keys to pick up dirt and dust.

2.Are there similar types of cloth I can use instead of microfiber?

Anything made of cotton is gentle enough to use on a laptop screen, but you should avoid using paper towels or facial tissue, which are too abrasive for this type of cleaning.

3.Where can I buy a microfiber cloth?

Most supermarkets have them, as well as office supply stores.

4.Can I use cotton for cleaning a laptop screen rather than microfiber?

Yes, as long as it is a gentle, soft kind, like t-shirt material.

5.Can Lysol wipes be used to clean a laptop screen?

No, it is too harsh. Use only water and white vinegar solution with a microfiber or soft cotton cloth, like an old t-shirt.

6.Can you use Clorox wipes or baby wipes to clean your laptop screen?

No. If you have eyeglasses cleaner, I suggest using some of that. Don’t spray it directly on the screen or it could get into your laptop.

7.How can I get better at not being distracted when I work on my homework?

Get all the distractions out of the room and take breaks every once in a while.

8.What is the best way to clean a flat screen TV with fingerprints on it?

Take some dryer sheets and wipe across the TV lightly, if there’s dust. Then take a microfiber cloth and clean it like you would a computer screen.

9.What should I do if my screen is foggy due to cleaning solution?

I used distilled vinegar and water with a microfiber cloth for mine. It worked well for me.

Battery determines the extent to which you will enjoy your phone. A newly purchased phone will have long and durable battery. What I am saying in excess is that, you will enjoy your phone without charging it constantly. Then, there is call to improve battery life of your smart phone.

I don’t know maybe you take note of this or not, when your smart phone is new, you will do whatever you want on the phone with ease.

On the other hand as your phone is getting older, as you keep downloading or adding to the software on the phone, the battery will get drain faster than your expectation.

Increase battery life will be your target as compare to when you buy new battery from the market. From the experience, so called new battery can nowhere be compare to those that came with your phone.

Therefore, that is why this article will help you to improve battery life on your device. Here we have listed out some lesser known tricks that will help you get the most out of your smart phone battery:

Tips Or Tricks To Improve Battery Life On Any Smart Phone

Charging of battery is common where electricity is not always available. This result to the threat of having low battery on your phone. So when battery percentage in less than 80%, so many users do connect their phone to electricity or any available source to charge their battery. As this process continue, your phone battery will be drain faster as soon as it lesser than the 80% when you normally charging it. Therefore if you want to improve battery life on your phone, I will recommend you charge your phone when it is less than 10%. You can as well charge when your phone notify you to connect your charger, this will increase and improve battery life on your phone.

If you want to make your android battery last longer, the next thing you need to do is adjusting the brightness manually. Here are the steps to adjust screen brightness manually:

Step 1.Wipe screen from top down ward

Step 2.Tap brightness to adjust to your taste

Minimize Vibrations To Improve Battery Life

Another tip to help your android battery is quitting every vibration, activating every vibrating settings will drain your battery so easily. If you want to opt out this vibration, here is how to do it:

Step 1.Go to settings

Step 2.Tap sound, then check out options that vibrate on your phone.

Make The Screen Turn Off Quicker To Improve Battery life

The period at which your phone display plays a vital role to the level of battery drained. Therefore, to combat this problem one need to make his or her phone to turn off the screen quicker. It is no surprise that screen-on time has such a big impact on battery life. Here is how to go about this:

Step 1.Navigate to Settings

Step 2.Scroll to Display

Step 3.Select Screen Timeout

Step 4.Choose your preferred option

These steps are so simple, do it today and improve battery life on your smart phone. If you carry out exactly what was highlighted on this tip, you will improve battery life.