Battery drain on the Samsung Jack

I’ve been having trouble recently with the battery life on my Samsung Jack. I have narrowed it down to a few culprits, and the answer is likely a combination of the following:

• Exchange Server patches at corporate HQ: it now allows for “real-time” push emails. I used to have this set to sync every 10 minutes. I didn’t expect there to be this much drain given that i used to sync more frequently manually anyway.

• Overclocking: I use an application called Omapclock to increase the processor speed from 252MHz (stock) to 276MHz when I need to do some serious work. This would be my number one pick for the cause of the drain if it wasn’t for the fact that I have been doing this for a while and only now is the power leak evident.

• Flexmail and Pocket Informant running constantly in the background: my most recent reorganization kick led to the installation of these two programs, and I keep them up in the bakground for the better part of the day. They’re not actively performing any functions, but the sense is that processes are still running that could cause a slight drain to the battery, however minimal (I’m not sure how much I believe that, but I’m not eager enough to investigate further).

• Smarttoolkit: This is a small application that runs on top of the regular today theme and gives you a ‘Start’ button functioning similar to how you would expect on a desktop. I’ll write up more about the utility of this in another post, but right now it’s worth mentioning as another potential culprit as it is the latest application to be added to the arsenal.

Fortunately, I have a second OEM battery as a backup, but I don’t have any meaningful way to charge it other than through the device. That means I have to somehow charge two batteries at night by swapping out, which also resets my phone minute tracker. Dilemmas.

I will continue to monitor this and troubleshoot as the annoyance level escalates. If you have any thoughts, I’m open to hearing them…

PSp

Productive Smartphone – The Introduction

If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly looking for new ways to be more productive. The word of the day is efficiency, and what better way to achieve that than through the effective use of your mobile device? It doesn’t hurt that you already have a penchant for spending hours of your life toiling away with tweaks, mods, and hacks of your device as a result of this inane urge to toy with technology. You are a gadget freak, so it’s time to make that freakiness work for you.

Why focus on the phone?

Who doesn’t have a phone these days? It is one of the few tools you carry with you everywhere you go. It’s in your pocket, in your purse, or in a fancy holster clipped to your waist. Either way, it’s always within reach. Nowadays, ubquitous tools are at the height of popularity. These tools allow you to access and integrate information from your many phones, iPods, and laptops through the internet. Think Gmail or Yahoo! Mail.

Topics for Discussion

This site is organized into several themes:

1. Devices. Everyone loves to know about all the cool new devices. OK, not everyone, but I do. If you’re looking for reviews of the latest and greatest, you won’t find them here – try Engadget or Mobileburn – but I do go through a few different ones every so often and will be sure to provide thoughts on how they perform.

2. Productivity. This is a general category for new ideas on how to be productive, irrespective of the tools you choose. We’ll talk about everything from emails to organization, GTD to other methodology, and the sort.

3. Smartphone Tools. This is the bread and butter – all about how you can set up your phone to work for you, and the tools to help you do that. One day your smartphone may be able to do your dishes and take out the trash, but until then, we’ll focus on applications that help to simplify your life.

4. General (everything else). Who knows what else we’ll think of? This category is for all other things related to the productive use of your smartphone (and sometimes not!).

Over the course of the next little while, we will post as much as possible about our pursuit to ultimate phone-driven productivity. Sometimes the posts will be systematic; other times at random depending on our mood. Either way, we hope something will cross your screen that may save you a few minutes of time down the road…

PSp