Tag: portable battery charger

Pokémon Go gamers shouldn’t leave home without a portable battery charger.

The incredibly popular and newly released AR mobile game Pokémon Go, from Nintendo and Niantic Labs, is a battery killer. Android and iOS smartphone users who have been playing the game have complaining about the drain it’s had on their smartphone batteries. It seems that anyone who wants to play the game on the go might want to have a portable charger with them if they don’t want a dead phone battery.

The game’s drain on a smartphone battery isn’t a big surprise.

Pokémon Go heavily relies on the use of a smartphone’s GPS technology and camera. These are two features that use a lot of power. Furthermore, for the majority of today’s mobile devices, the manufacturing focus has been placed on design and available applications. This means the efficiency required to handle all the new technology and features with which these phones are equipped and their battery life have taken a backseat.

While this wouldn’t matter for many other types of mobile games – as players can shut off certain power-draining features when they’re not needed – Pokémon Go needs these features to function if the player wants the true Pokémon trainer experience. The game relies on the phone’s sensors, camera and location-based algorithms to place Pokémon in real-world locations. As a result, smartphone battery life suffers.

Players who want to “catch ‘em all” may want to invest in a portable charger.

As brutal as Pokémon Go may be on smartphone battery life, the fact remains that this augmented reality (AR) game is popular for a reason. It’s unique, engaging and a lot of fun. Players who want to enjoy this game on the go – as it was meant to be played – may require an external battery charger. A portable charger will not only ensure that players can enjoy the game for longer, but they also won’t have to worry about not having enough juice to make or receive calls, texts or use other applications.

Niantic says it is aware of the game’s battery-drain issue and is working on a solution. However, considering the power-sucking processes on which the game relies, it is not yet clear how the company will be able to address the issue. Until then, for Pokémon Go players, a portable charger seems to be the next best solution.

Though many people plug their mobile devices into their cars, they may be burning more gas than they know.

Many people have shrugged off the need for a portable charger due to the fact that they have an adaptor or a USB port that allows them to simply plug their devices into their vehicles so they can charge them up during their daily commutes and any other trips they need to make.

However, that technique may be more costly and may have a far greater impact on the environment than expected.

It has recently been pointed out in a number of reports that driving while talking on a cell phone isn’t the only harmful thing that these devices can do when they are used in vehicles. Even when the driver isn’t actively using them, if a smartphone is plugged into a car and is charging, instead of using a portable charger, it actually reduces the mileage of the vehicle in a measurable way. How much? According to a retired General Motors Co. engineering exec who studies power usage in vehicles, Jon Bereisa, people charging their smartphones in their cars are slashing their fuel efficiency by 0.03 miles per gallon of gasoline.

A portable charger is now seen as the best tool to avoid this harm to the environment and a driver’s wallet.

When considering the number of vehicles and smartphones across the United States, Bereisa’s calculations show that charging using a car instead of an external battery pack could actually send an additional 970,000 tons of global warming-boosting carbon dioxide into the air.

That said, according to Delphi Automotive Plc vice president of engineering and program management, Mary Gustanski, “Do I think we’re at peak USB? No.” She added that “We’ll get more and more creative to not only allow you to connect with USB but also to connect wireless. Consumers want their car to be just like their home.”

While mobile technology may be evolving so that it will one day offer a solution that won’t have nearly as much of a negative impact on fuel consumption, until that day has come, a portable that fits easily in a pocket, handbag or glove compartment might be the ideal solution for fuel economy-conscious drivers who care about the environment and who are hoping to spend as little as possible at the pumps.