Charging your cell phone

[Janet H]

Problem is, studies have shown that hands-free is very, very dangerous too. It distracts the driver - I think it was just as much as hand-held, but I'd need to check on that. -ERD50

I agree but now at least we don't have folks staring at their key pads trying to dial or text message. Recently I saw a driver with her phone wedged between her chin and shoulder, holding a cup of coffee and putting on mascara. She was stopped at a red light but still.....

 

[travelover]

I agree but now at least we don't have folks staring at their key pads trying to dial or text message. Recently I saw a driver with her phone wedged between her chin and shoulder, holding a cup of coffee and putting on mascara. She was stopped at a red light but still.....

Wow, I hope her car didn't have a manual transmission.....

 

[steve88]

Right. I suspect that this law was passed only because the cell phone industry wants a new profit center, namely hands-free phones.

Just like the suv's

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I wouldnt recommend using a car charger unless you have to. A whole lot of battery life reduction is attributed to crappy car chargers.

After I went through three batteries in my wifes Razr I figured this out and we...umm...do it in the kitchen now...and so far have had no further problems with battery death.

 

[youbet]

Your charger probably draws .5-3 watts when not charging. Mine takes less than 1 watt.

How did you measure that T-AL? Have a power meter?

I just fondled mine and it's stone cold. Seems like if it was dissapating 2 watts, it would be a little warm since it's in a confined space.

Not disagreeing with you....... just confused by mine having no signs of warmth.

 

[youbet]

I wouldnt recommend using a car charger unless you have to. A whole lot of battery life reduction is attributed to crappy car chargers.

After I went through three batteries in my wifes Razr I figured this out and we...umm...do it in the kitchen now...and so far have had no further problems with battery death.

See my post above.

Lots of poorly designed aftermarket crap out there.

I've been using mobile phones for 24 years (including pre-cellular AMPS and MPS systems) and haven't had any issues with car chargers, but I haven't used or tested the aftermarket stuff.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

This is with the original motorola charger. Its been a while since I looked into it, but the problem IIRC was with any car charger that tried to do a "fast charge", which according to what I read, many of them do.

I cant say that I ever had a lot of trouble with the nokia car chargers though.

 

[Goonie]

It would be better to have a weekly instead of a daily routine.

That's what I do. My phone is on 24/7, though it is actually used VERY little. I usually plug it into the wall charger on Tuesday evening before bedtime, and by morning it's ready to go for another week.

 

[Goonie]

We leave our tracfone in the car......

How do you like the tracphone? I've been seriously considering getting one, transferring my current cell # to it, and thus dropping my current provider. I did that with my Mom's cellphone, but she rarely uses it, so she doesn't really notice any difference. Just curious.

 

[youbet]

This is with the original motorola charger. Its been a while since I looked into it, but the problem IIRC was with any car charger that tried to do a "fast charge", which according to what I read, many of them do.

.

We have four RAZR's in the family here. All get charged with vehicular chargers with no issues. (Mine not too often anymore since FIRE though!) I wouldn't discourage folks from using vehicular chargers if that's what is convenient for them.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Thats good news. I'll ignore this bullet I got from the email motorola sent me when I inquired about short battery life.

" * Only use your car charger when necessary. The car charger and the home charger charge the batttery differently and the car charger can damage the battery if used excessively."

I would encourage folks to do their own research on their own brand of phone and type of charger.

 

[W2R]

That's what I do. My phone is on 24/7, though it is actually used VERY little. I usually plug it into the wall charger on Tuesday evening before bedtime, and by morning it's ready to go for another week.

Sailor and Goonie, that is a good idea. Actually when my old phone bit the dust, I selected a new Motorola W385 because it was a low priced phone that is supposed to hold a charge for 440 minutes, if you don't talk on it (which I almost never do). Plus, cnet.com seemed to think it was a good, basic phone that is not too confusing. I'm all for that! The salesman told me that they all hold a charge for the same length of time, but I decided I wanted to try it and find out for myself.

So far, I have charged it twice. Last night it had been 24 hours since the first time I charged it, and it was down to one bar. So I plugged it in and let it charge all night. Now, 7 hours after unplugging, it still has 4 bars (fully charged). So maybe it will just take a few charges before I get the long battery life. The instruction manual says

Relax, you can't overcharge your battery. It will perform best after you fully charge and discharge it a few times.

So, I will let it get down to 1 bar (or less?) before charging it the next few times.

Whatever routine I eventually establish, it will have to be one that will result in my phone not being lost in the bottom of my purse and dead as a doornail...
Other than that, it doesn't say much about how often to charge it.

 

[Martha]

Family Handyman an issue or two ago had some nice simple plans for a charging station which is nice if you have a couple of cell phones, cameras, etc. You can have a power strip inside the back of the box with all the chargers plugged into it. It looks similar to this from Potterybarn, but even nicer:
Pottery Barn | Shop

 

[TromboneAl]

How did you measure that T-AL? Have a power meter?

Yes, I have a Kill-a-watt.

How do you like the tracphone?

Like it. Very cheap. We use about six minutes per month ("Hi I'm on my way home now").

 

[RunningBum]

Sailor and Goonie, that is a good idea. Actually when my old phone bit the dust, I selected a new Motorola W385 because it was a low priced phone that is supposed to hold a charge for 440 minutes, if you don't talk on it (which I almost never do). Plus, cnet.com seemed to think it was a good, basic phone that is not too confusing. I'm all for that! The salesman told me that they all hold a charge for the same length of time, but I decided I wanted to try it and find out for myself.

So far, I have charged it twice. Last night it had been 24 hours since the first time I charged it, and it was down to one bar. So I plugged it in and let it charge all night. Now, 7 hours after unplugging, it still has 4 bars (fully charged). So maybe it will just take a few charges before I get the long battery life. The instruction manual says


So, I will let it get down to 1 bar (or less?) before charging it the next few times.

Whatever routine I eventually establish, it will have to be one that will result in my phone not being lost in the bottom of my purse and dead as a doornail...
Other than that, it doesn't say much about how often to charge it.

The #1 factor in how long it will hold a charge is whether you are getting a digital or analog signal. With an analog signal, your phone is constantly in communication with the tower so it can receive calls. With digital, it does this in very short time slices, which means it is not constantly communicating and thus uses less power when idle.

My latest phone, a Samsung Snap, chirps (once a minute?) when the battery is getting low, which is a great reminder to recharge if I've forgotten. First time I couldn't figure out what was making that noise, had windows open and figured it was a neighbors alarm or something.

I switched from a monthly plan (low minutes, still $30 or $35) to a prepaid plan which I just have to put minutes on to keep it active. $100 means I don't have to put more minutes on for a year, and I won't ever use them all. Adding minutes can be done by phone, online, or at their store. So now I have my emergency/occasional use cell phone at 1/3 the cost. Unfortunately Alltel seems to have a terrible network around Austin, though it's the best on the mountain in Virginia.

 

[Khan]

I switched from a monthly plan (low minutes, still $30 or $35) to a prepaid plan which I just have to put minutes on to keep it active. $100 means I don't have to put more minutes on for a year, and I won't ever use them all. Adding minutes can be done by phone, online, or at their store.

I did the same back in February (Cingular/ATT).

Don't use the phone much; I leave it turned off and forwarded to landline when I'm home.

 

[W2R]

I did the same back in February (Cingular/ATT).

Don't use the phone much; I leave it turned off and forwarded to landline when I'm home.

I might eventually get rid of my landline. Haven't decided yet. I like cable internet, and during the past few years it has become much more reliable - - so having an alternate means of internet access is no longer a priority for me. I can't think of any other reason to keep a land line.

 

[Goonie]

The #1 factor in how long it will hold a charge is whether you are getting a digital or analog signal.

I found that out a couple of years ago. I couldn't figure out why my phone would only hold a charge for a a couple of days while vacationing waaaay out in the boonies. A friend informed me of the digital/analog deal. I was relieved, because I had thought my battery was going south on me.

Thanks, T-Al.....I'm about the same 5 or 10 minutes a month (usually). I do use it for all of our long distance calling around holidays and that sort of thing. So I thought the TracPhone would be the way to go for me also.

 

[Khan]

I might eventually get rid of my landline. Haven't decided yet. I like cable internet, and during the past few years it has become much more reliable - - so having an alternate means of internet access is no longer a priority for me. I can't think of any other reason to keep a land line.

Internet is DSL. Haven't tried cable internet (DSL got to my house first). I'll stay with cable TV and landline/DSL /prepaid phone for now.

 

[Martha]

The argument for keeping a landline is to have it for emergencies. (for example, 911 tracing)

We take the risk. We haven't had a land line for several years.

 

[Khan]

The argument for keeping a landline is to have it for emergencies. (for example, 911 tracing)

We take the risk. We haven't had a land line for several years.

The county just spent weeks and dollars mapping everything so that cell phones can be located in 911 calls.

 

[RunningBum]

911 is the biggie, though providers are required to track 911 calls to within 100 meters. I'm not certain how reliable that is, and 100 meters is a pretty wide space in tight neighborhoods, and certainly apartments/condos.

If you lose your phone, it breaks, it's without a charge, or you can't find it, then you're without a phone. If I'm in a 3 story house, unless I remember to carry my phone around with me, I may not even hear it ring, much less get to it in time. Then again, how often do I get urgent calls? Anyway, I like the convenience of having a phone near me.

If I hear the sound of glass breaking in the middle of the night, and my phone is charging downstairs, how do I call 911? I suppose you can probably leave phones plugged in and get 911 support so maybe that's not an issue. Are they able to associate your address with the line if you don't have a number? If not, there's an exposure if you're physically unable to talk or too scared to remember or have a guest that doesn't know the address.

Is the quality of a cell phone in your home good enough? My brother went back to a land line because he was frustrated with the spotty quality.

I think most of these things will be scoffed at by the next generation who will be used to only dealing with a cell phone. I imagine not that many college kids have phones in their dorm room anymore or relies on a hall phone. It's tougher for me to get used to.

 

[MikeD]

ve a landline and two cell phones. We don't use any of them very much.

Mike D.

 

[Sue J]

Regarding the issue of calling 911 from a cell phone.... I added my city's police dispatcher phone number to my cell phone. I work and live in the same city, so 95% of the time this is the number I would need. My husband works in an adjacent town, he also added that town's dispatcher number.

We also have a landline and really don't use it much. For now we're keeping it. It just seems like we're supposed to have a "home phone". But with 4 people, 4 cell phone numbers and 2 of those people also have office phones, it's getting to be something to consider.

I know our DirecTV TiVo requires a home phone connection. They charge you an extra $5 a month if you don't have a home phone but I don't know if we'd lose any services without it.