5 Tips to Keep Your Phone Juiced for Sandy's Arrival

In our expanding digital world, we always seem to be glued to our cell phones whether we are updating a status or watching a video. Smart phones now don't just send text messages and make phone calls, but allow us to access social media, use apps, play games, and watch television shows. With the arrival of Hurricane Sandy here on the East Coast, it is essential to get the longest life out of your phone so you don't go crazy and resort to playing six hours of candlelit Monopoly. Here are some tools and tips to keep you connected longer for when the lights go out:

1) Battery Charger

       - Everyone has a charger so keep it plugged in while you still have power. "Juice packs" can also be purchased for $100 or less and provide a nice long life for your phone. Some even double as a durable case. Also, if you have a car charger, that could be your last resort if you can't take any more of Monopoly. 

2) Power Inverter

        - If you want to power something a little bigger than your iPhone, a power inverter can come in handy. It can be used to convert DC power from your car battery into AC juice for things that are normally plugged into a wall outlet. So if you want to use your laptop during an outage, head to a place like Batteries Plus or other computer stores, and find the right power inverter for you.

3) Laptop as back-up generator

        - Make sure your laptop is fully charged before you think you'll lose power. Don't use your laptop and once all your other power sources are gone, you can plug in your phone or tablet via the USB port and you'll be playing Angry Birds for a couple more hours.

4) Stop running apps

        - Apps can run quietly in the background of phones and you may not even know it. Closing these apps can end up saving battery life. For the iPhone simply double click the home button and close the apps at the bottom that come up. Also disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if possible. Try to text as well instead of calling and turn down the phone brightness to conserve juice. 

5) Use a battery-life app

        - Many free apps for both Apple iOS and Android can help extend battery life for your phone. One example is Carat, which sees how you use your smartphone and makes suggestions on which apps you might want to delete based on how much power they use. 

Use these tips to stay sane during Hurricane Sandy's visit and for the future incase you lose power. Stay safe!

For more information go to: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/tech/mobile/sandy-charge-devices/index.html?hpt=te_r1