We need more POWER!

Battery power, that is!

Most days I carry at least two phones with me, sometimes more.  You would think that with juggling my tasks between these phones I would have more than enough juice to make it through a day but I often don’t.

Now, let me just drop a proviso in here; I’m quite manic about watching my battery level.  For whatever reason I get heart palpitations, sweaty palms and a dry mouth if my phone gets down to 50% and I’m not near a plug.  When my phone drops to 30% I’m ready to leave that meeting, dinner, family picnic or church service just to get the darn thing plugged in.  At a low battery warning I just straightaway faint.

Obviously this is not a new problem but it just seems that battery technology is lagging behind.  Processors are getting blazingly fast, screens are getting massive and more toys are being added to our gear all the time; but all this adds up to a voracious need for power.

I suppose you could argue that battery technology is keeping pace with these advances but then everyone in the room with an iPhone would glare at you with even more contempt that they glare at Android users (and vice versa).  It isn’t just about the processors but our daily use of mobile gear.  So much more of our lives is becoming digital, which means more time spent using our phones.  That continual growth in use can’t help but drain your battery at a fierce pace.

There are some phones that do better than others but this has nothing to do with the batteries but rather the gadget’s ability to sip power more efficiently.  We need that to continue to happen but please can we have fatter batteries (that aren’t actually fatter, you understand)?

It seems like we hear about an upcoming new battery technology every couple weeks but it never comes to pass!  Where are the great ideas like the fuel cell battery that you fill with water once a month?  It’s not like pouring water into your laptop is a bad idea, is it?  Personally, I think Energizer and Duracell are buying all these new technologies and retiring both the engineers and the research.  Feel free to mock my tin hat.

For now, I’ll have to just keep charging cords handy.  I’m also trying out some extended batteries from Mugen Power for both my Palm Pre 2 and my LG Quantum.  They are the same size as the original batteries and will give you an extra hour or two...nothing huge, but it can help.  Maybe I can put solar panels on my tin hat...

Until battery technology changes, not just in a lab but in our pockets, I’ll have to either stay near a plug or walk out of weddings and funerals as needed.  Hey, they wouldn’t want me to faint, would they?