When I purchased my Nokia N8, I had a serious challenge with the battery. I even returned the phone to the vendor for repairs because I thought it was faulty. The battery discharged completely every 5 hours after a full charge. It was a serious challenge, and I began to have regrets for buying the phone. A brief research showed that I was not the only person with this problem.

I read through what others did and applied the information. Now I can use my phone for 2 days before needing to charge it. The following suggestions are rather extreme but the could go a long way to save your battery power.

Like obtains on many modern smartphones, there are many features on your Nokia N8 that increase the demand on battery power and reduce the battery life time. The idea is to manage those features in order to conserve your device’s battery charge.

1. Always charge the battery fully (until the battery full notification is seen or the battery status bar stops running and stays in full position and charging indicator light is off).
2. Activate power saving mode. Press the power key, and select Activate power saving.
3. Change the synchronisation frequency for your mailbox. Select Menu > Applications > Mail, your mailbox, and  Options > Settings, and the relevant sync frequency settings.
4. Mute unnecessary tones, such as key tones.
5. Use wired headphones, rather than the loudspeaker.
6. Deactivate the background animation effects. Select Menu > Settings >Themes > General > Options > Theme effects > Off.
7. Deactivate the Big clock screen saver. Select Menu > Settings > Themes > Screen saver > None.
8. Features that use Bluetooth technology, or allowing such features to run in the background while using other features, increase the demand on battery power. To prolong the operating time of your device, turn the Bluetooth technology off when you do not need it (Menu > Settings > Connectivity > Bluetooth > Bluetooth = Off).
9. Features that use wireless LAN (WLAN) increase the demand on battery power. WLAN on your Nokia device switches off when you are not trying to connect, not connected to another access point, or not scanning for available networks. To further reduce battery consumption, you can specify that your device does not scan, or scans less often, for available networks in the background. WLAN switches off in between background scans. When Menu > Settings > Connectivity > WLAN > Options > Settings > Show WLAN availability is set to Never, the WLAN availability icon is not shown in the standby mode. However, you can still manually scan for available WLAN networks and connect to WLAN networks as usual.
10. If you have set Packet data connection to When available in connection settings, and there is no packet data coverage (GPRS), the device periodically tries to establish a packet data connection, which causes increased demand on battery power. To prolong the operating time of your device, select Menu > Settings > Connectivity > Admin.settings > Packet Data > Packet data connection > When needed.
11. The Ovi Maps application downloads new map information when you scroll to new areas on the map, which increases the demand on battery power. You can avoid the automatic downloading of map data by downloading the needed map data via PC to your device.
12. If the signal strength of the cellular network varies much in your area, your device must scan for the available network repeatedly. This increases the demand on battery power. If the network mode is set to dual mode in the network settings, the device searches for the UMTS network. If it is not available, the device uses the available GSM network. To only use the GSM network, select Menu > Settings > Connectivity > Network > Network mode > GSM.
13. The backlight of the display increases the demand on battery power. To change the timeout after which the backlight is switched off, select Menu > Settings > Phone > Display > Light time-out. To adjust the light sensor that observes the lighting conditions and adjusts the brightness of the display, in the display settings, select Light sensor
14. The notification lights can be turned off to save the battery. Select Menu > Settings > Phone > Notification lights and disable the breathing light in Breathing light and adjust the light settings for different events in Notification light menu.
15. Leaving applications running in the background increases the demand on battery power. To close the applications you do not use, press and hold the menu key, swipe to the application in the list and close it by selecting X.
16. Pay special attention that you don’t leave applications running in the background which are using GPS or network connection, for example Maps, if you are not using these applications.
17. Home screen widgets may periodically connect to internet if the home screen is in online mode. If you are not actively using the widgets, the automatic connection can be disabled by selecting Options > Widgets to offline mode on the home screen.
18. Installed 3rd party applications may consume extra power. Uninstall the application if you have noticed that power consumption has increased after the application was installed and if the application is not needed any more.
19. The AMOLED display in your device consumes more power with white color. Therefore the themes with a lot of white colors (e.g. in wallpaper image) may consume more power than the other themes.
20. When connecting to the internet, use a WLAN connection, rather than a packet data (GPRS or 3G) connection.
21. When you are listening to music, and do not want to make or receive calls, activate the offline profile.
22. It is recommended that you use the Nokia battery charger (AC-15) that was included in the sales package of your Nokia device. This charger is optimized for your Nokia device’s battery.

Visa Mobile Office is designed to offer Visafone Subscribers access to and management of Personal Information – email, calendar and contacts from their mobile device (Motorola Q) using CDMA 1x/EVDO as the service bearer. Using Push technology subscribers will have real-time access and synchronization capability from mobile phones to their enterprise email, calendar and contacts. Subscribers will also have pull access to POP3 mails and other web-based email services like Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, etc.

Interested subscribers will need to purchase a Motorola Q9 for use with this. Visafone quotes the Q9 as being available for N59,999 only. Here is a quick specification sheet of the Motorola Q9:

• Push and Pull Email
• CDMA 800, 1900 Mhz, 1X and EVDO
• Windows Mobile Standard 6.0
• 2.4 inch (320 x 240 pixels) QVGA 65,536 color display
• Opera Browser
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• MMS, SMS
• Streaming audio and video
• Supports MP3,WMA, MPEG4
• USB, Bluetooth Connectivity
• miniSD slot
• A-GPS
• Li – Ion, 1170 mAh Battery

Visa Mobile Office attracts a monthly access charge of N4, 000, and this includes unlimited data access on the Visa 1x 24/7 plan for both email and web browsing. Visa 1x 24/7 plan allows you to browse the Internet anytime anywhere within the Visafone coverage area at speeds of up to 153kbps on a shared basis.

The 1x plan does not give access to the faster EVDO platform though the Motorola Q9 is EVDO-enabled. Still, at N4,000 monthly for unlimited access, it is a good deal, especially considering that you can use the phone as a modem for internet access on a computer.

It looks to us that this about the best deal for mobile road warriors on any of the available CDMA networks.

Visit the official Visa Mobile Office page.

Visafone coverage map

This is not news to those of us who objectively assess phones. The iPhone is revolutionary in many ways, but if you need a phone you can actually work on, stay away!!

Engadget Editor, Joshua Topolsky, was recently away from the office and tried to get some work done on his iPhone 3GS, but ended up with a very frustrating experience.

His complaints include:

1. lack of multi-tasking
2. unreliability of on-screen keyboard for chatting
3. intrusive notification system for SMS, calendar events, and push IM messages

Joshua says:

Basic functionality, like calling people, email, and certainly document editing still feel inelegant and clunky due to the onscreen keyboard, and the lack of multitasking makes moving around through those typically important tasks difficult to say the least. The experience on an Android device, S60, the Pre, a BlackBerry, or even Windows Mobile just makes more sense. Let me say that again: those experiences make more sense. Now I’m not saying the execution of those experiences is better across platforms, but the philosophy of letting users multitask is more natural to us. The iPhone doesn’t even have a method for switching between recently used or favorite applications.

We don’t work like this on our computers — why does Apple think we want to work like this on our phones?

These issues are not just being discovered. They are established deal-breakers for people who work on the go (on their mobiles). They are the reasons an iPhone is a No-no for me. The iPhone is a sleek, friendly device if you are into media and do not necesarrilly need to work on your phone. The user interface is lovely. But try to work, and…

I know that ‘Dayo has been talking of buying an iPhone recently. Unless Apple delivers a multi-tasking, QWERTY keyboard version of the iPhone, something tells me that he is more likely to regret going that route. I know his work schedule! But then, I believe in miracles.

Read Joshua’s full account: Taking the iPhone 3GS off the job market.

Alireta Nigeria is set to run an anniversary promo from 1st of May till 31st July 2009. The promo is something aimed primarilly at small and medium entreprises, but anyone can take advantage of it.

We are offering two SME Packs at unbeatable prices. Here are details:

SME Pack A
Included:
- Nokia E63 QWERTY keyboard smartphone
- Domain Name Registration
- 10mb Hosting Plan
- 4-page CMS-powered website
Cost: N50, 000.00 only

SME Pack B
Included:
- Acer AspireOne Netbook
- Domain Name Registration
- 10mb Hosting Plan
- 4-page CMS-powered website
Cost: N100, 000.00 only

*Included benefit on each pack is mobile data configuration on the E63 and the Netbook
**CMS: Content Management System: In layman’s terms, this means that after we set up your site, if you need to modify some information, you can do it on your own without having to pay a webmaster. For example, if you want to change your business contact details, its easy. If you can use Yahoomail or Gmail, you can use our very simple CMS.

The promo officially takes off on the 1st of May, but if you are reading this, and you are ready to get yours right away, go ahead and call 08084391076.

We deliver FREE anywhere in Lagos. Outside Lagos orders attract delivery charges.

Promo ends when we run out of stock! Get yours ASAP.
Hotline: 08084391076.

1. Voice
The ubiquitous voice is what almost everyone uses their mobiles for. Being mobile means that your customers can speak with you whether you are in the office or on the road. But you knew that already; didn’t you?

2. SMS
SMS (text messaging) can be a powerful tool in maintaining effective customer service. For example, SMS can be used to deliver instant notices to your clients and customers.

It can also be used to notify single customers of important issues should a need arise. SMS can be used to congratulate a client on his/her birthday or any other special day.

3. Mobile Internet
With a GPRS/EDGE/3G/3.5G connected phone or smartphone, you or your field workers can access information e.g. over Google or email round the clock and when on the move.

Mobile internet can also serve as your primary (or backup) internet connection at the office, seeing that bundle packages are now available at good costs.

Do transactions online, do social networking and more – all on the move.

4. Scheduling
Phones have served faithfully as efficient personal organisers for years. Most recent phones (even the low-tier ones) have built-in alarms, notes and calendars. Use them!

5. Grab Information
Record that business discussion in audio format. Or you are driving and see an inspiration scene; pull out your camera and take a snapshot, so you can have reference material later. The option of recording video is there as well.

6. Storage Media
With many phones having external memory card slots and potential card capacities of over 8GB, your phone can serve as a storage media. Use bluetooth, infrared or USB to store those documents or files for reference when you get back to your desk.

7. View and Edit Office Documents
Not only can you store your Powerpoint, Excel and Word files on your phone, many business phones and communicators come with MS Office viewers and/or editors. So, you don’t have to wait till you get to the office to review that document. keep busy while caught in the traffic.

Conclusions
As you can see, there’s much more to phones today than the average user considers. I once ran my entire business operation from a Nokia 9500 communicator and later an E61. And I had excellent results to show for it.

Honestly, its a possibility that I left something out, though I suspect that whatever it is would fall under one of the above categories.

Get smart with using your mobile phone. No point wasting the potentials of a device you spent that much on.