TechBuzzIreland has been working hard in the background on several projects and The Consumer Show has been one of those projects and we would like to thank The Consumer Show and Tadhg Enright for having us on the show in which we discuss battery anxiety and how it can be solved or can it be going forward with todays technology. Portable charging is one way and these chargers have evolved from a typical slab to an fancy accessory in their own right and now they look attractive and prices have come down over the years since they have hit the market. Not only are they a viable option to aide the discussion at hand they are another revenue stream for manufacturers too.
Tadhg Enright asks the nation about their battery anxiety, that 21st century condition in which mobile users fret about whether they’ll be left with a dead phone.
Tadhg said: “It’s that sinking feeling you get when halfway through your busy day, there’s well under half your battery left on your phone and nowhere you can plug it in.”
88% of mobile users won’t leave home without their mobiles, according to a survey carried out for The Consumer Show by Edelman Ireland. 84% of us have changed our behaviour to keep our batteries from dying. 8% of people who answered our survey actually went home rather than stay out with friends so they could charge their phone.
Mobiles are no longer just tools for calling and texting with web-browsing, email, photography, social media and a plethora of apps all draining their batteries. Dr. Kevin Ryan from the University of Limerick told The Consumer Show: “If you look at your phone that you had 10 years ago and the phone you have now, the battery is probably the same size, but the applications that it’s running are probably a lot more.”
From turning off data to putting their phones in aircraft mode, there are many ways for mobile users to preserve their batteries throughout the day. Jim O’Brien, from Techbuzz Ireland told The Consumer Show about his top tips: “Turn off your location settings would be one, turn off background applications which are updating by themselves would be two, and your light on your screen: sometimes people have their screens very bright which wears down the battery.” Other tips also to include turn auto updates off,notification settings (sync data),vibration or use flight mode when not in use etc.
51% of people who answered our survey said that battery life was an important consideration when choosing a new mobile phone, second only to price.
The Consumer Show visited the University of Limerick where researchers in its nanotechnology lab have made a scientific breakthrough which could help double the capacity of mobile batteries. Dr. Kevin Ryan, whose been leading the research said: “What we’re doing is developing the next generation of lithium ion batteries. What we’re trying to do is improve the performance of those batteries so they can last longer and deliver more energy for your device.”
Tadhg will also show consumers some of the other cures for battery anxiety including mobile charging devices and the latest wireless charging technology which could be coming to a café near you soon.
Watch below on the RTE PLAYER
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