Wi-Fi technology change might double battery life in mobile devices

Modern mobile devices tend to offer everything but the kitchen sink – unfortunately, that also means taking a huge chunk out of your device’s battery life in the process. Apart from using 3G/4G connectivity when required, while turning off GPS navigation when not in use, what are some of the other ways you can employ to prolong your device’s battery life? A Duke University graduate student figured out a method that might just double your device’s battery life – and that is through the alteration of Wi-Fi technology.

Energy drain in the presence of other Wi-Fi devices within the neighborhood can be rather severe, as each device has to “stay awake” before its turn arrives to download a small piece of desired information. This translates to additional battery drain, especially when you’re downloading a movie in a city compared to doing the same thing in a rural area. The solution? A Duke-developed software which eliminates this problem, as it lets mobile devices “sleep” while a neighboring device is downloading information. The end result is saved energy for your device as well as competing devices, how’s that for a win-win situation? It will take some time before this change is introduced into the system – if it ever does, of course.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Computers
Tags: WiFi, wifi connectivity