Learning

Turn down volume level to save power

(Touch screen, Non-touch screen)

When conserving power to extend battery life, every little bit helps. One way to conserve a little more power is to turn the volume down to the lowest setting that is bearable for you.

On touch screen devices, tap on the speaker icon in the upper right corner of the screen. An adjustable volume slider will appear that you can use to set the volume. Note that if you have a phone-enabled device, there will be two separate volume sliders: one for device alerts and sounds, and the other for ringtone volume. You can also adjust the volume in media players such as Windows Media Player Mobile—tap on the "+" and "-"-" buttons to raise or lower the volume.

On non-touch screen smartphones, the way in which the volume is adjusted varies depending on the device. Some devices have a dial or buttons on the side of the smartphone that you can use to manually adjust the volume, others do not. Consult your user manual if needed. In Windows Media Player, highlight the volume icon and press up or down on the D-pad to adjust the volume.

The more you use features that require sound—appointment alarms, games with sound effects, and especially music and video—the more power you conserve by turning the sound down.

Based on a tip from pdastreet.com

VIP site, tip #6044

Use your device as a flashlight

(Touch screen, Non-touch screen)

In a pinch, the LED backlight in the screens of Windows Mobile devices (and other mobile phones) can be used as a light in dark environments (such as lighting a darkened hallway, going up or down unfamiliar steps, or using it as a reading lamp if someone else is asleep in the same room). Here are some points to keep in mind:

• The larger the screen, the more light should be produced.

• A mostly white screen should produce the best light (such as a blank Word document).

• Adjusting the backlight option in Settings (touch screen: Start >Settings >System tab >Backlight; non-touch screen: Start >Settings >Power Management) will make for better lighting options. For example, you could set the backlight to never timeout and set the brightness level to maximum. If you are using the device as a stationary light source, don't forget to plug it in.

Based on a tip from pdastreet.com

VIP site, tip #6045

Powering down phone-enabled devices to conserve power

(Touch screen, Non-touch screen)

Most phone-enabled devices can be powered down (completely turned off) to conserve battery power. This is accomplished by pressing and holding the power on/off button (or the red End Call button if your device has no power button). Note that powering down a device is different from leaving the device in suspend mode (which means that the screen is off but the device is still using power and its phone and other core operations are still running). Pressing the power button once on a touch screen device will put it into suspend mode (pressing it once again will turn it back on). On both touch and non-touch screen devices, simply waiting until the screen turns off automatically will also put the device into suspend mode. Here are some other important facts:

• After pressing and holding the power (or End Call) button on phone-enabled touch screen devices, there is often a menu that appears asking if you want to confirm the power down.

• If you have powered down a device, you must press and hold the power (or End Call) button again to turn it back on. The device will then go through the same restart procedure as would happen after a soft reset.