With our craving to be connected on the move 24x7, the devices we carry with us are under a lot of strain. Constant syncing with emails, messages, social networking updates, office on the move scenario and even the need for multimedia consumption leave our devices out of battery juice very quickly. The smartphone is at the receiving end, but not as much as the laptop. The laptop is essentially the companion on the move, for all the above mentioned tasks. Add gaming to it (well, admittedly, only certain people do it!) and the laptop battery will be as dead as a duck in an open field surrounded by hunters!

Battery technology has been developing over the years, but has certainly not kept pace with the constantly increasing power of the portable computers- the laptop. Which makes it even more important to keep the battery in perfect condition, so that it is able to offer the best (and longest) possible backup when needed. We list some tips on how to make that happen.

1. Reduce screen brightness: Very basic step. This not only reduces load on battery, but also saves your eyes from unnecessary strain. Most laptops have the brightness adjustment keys on the keyboard, which either work on an individual level, or can be used in tandem with the “Fn” key pressed.

2. Power planning needed: To get better battery life, tone down the power settings of the laptop. Reduce screen brightness, turn off the speakers, tone down the processor clock speeds and turn off any background scans which may be in progress. Windows 7 has 3 main power settings- Power Saver, Balanced and High Performance. If you are the explorer type, head deep into the settings menu and tinker with the options even more.

3. No extra apps: When on battery power, turn off all software and applications which may be open in the background. Lots of software automatically starts when the laptop is switched on. Turn these off. Click on Start, click on Run, type Msconfig.exe, go to startup tab, uncheck any programs you do not want starting up with every Windows startup. Reduces load on the machine, which in turn drains the battery lesser.

4. Selective usage: When using the laptop on battery power, it is essential you select what apps you run. Playing graphic intensive games, listening to music and watching videos will drain the battery very quickly. Ideally, reserve these tasks for when you have the power adapter connected.

5. Disable the unnecessary: When not needed, turn off the wireless modules like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The netbook, if these two are turned on, keeps searching for access points and devices within range. If you don’t need either, why drain the battery because if the unnecessary use. Also, disconnect any external devices like external optical drive, portable hard drive and even the smartphone. They just drain the battery.

6. Adequate RAM needed: if your laptop has less than 3GB of RAM, it is advisable that you upgrade this to 3GB or 4GB. This allows the OS to keep some files within the RAM for instant access, rather than storing them on some sector of the hard drive and keep powering it up every time the file needs to be accessed. Hard drive usage reduces battery life, while the greater RAM size reduces the need for that.

7. Keep it cool: Heat is the biggest enemy of the battery. A warm battery not only drains very quickly, but the longevity is also affected in a bad way. Most Notebooks tend to get very warm after a while of use, and if we keep the laptop in a way which is not ideal for ventilation, then the scenario is even bleaker (and warmer!) for the battery. We suggest you buy a laptop cooling pad for keeping the laptop, and the battery (as well as your lap!) cool.

8. The Calibration: The laptop, over a period of time, starts to show an inaccurate charge level. This is due to the fact that we charge the batteries in a haphazard fashion, which reduces the ability to some cells to hold charge. To deal with this issue, it is advised that one every month (at least), we should completely discharge the batteries and fully charge them after that. Essentially, leave the laptop on battery power and let it shut off once the battery is completely out of juice. Then, leave the battery for a while and let it cool down. Once the battery is cool, charge it up again, to 100%, without any interruptions. This helps the entire battery to be charged equally, and also reduces the chances of it showing an incorrect charge level.

9. Proper storage: if you are not going to use the battery for a while, there is a method of storing it, which will ensure that the charge holding capability is not reduced. Essentially, when you plan to put away the battery for a while, charge it to about 50% and then leave it. Also, leave the battery in a cool place, away from any sources of direct heat.

10. Download Aerofoil: This is a tiny, free application available on the Internet. Or you can download it from here. Essentially, this app is designed to detect when the laptop is running on battery power, and will turn off all the goodies like Windows Aero, Glass UI, Sidebar and showing the hibernate button in case you want to save the data and quick resume the machine from the same image at a later time. All settings are very much tweak-able, giving you full control of what Aerofoil can and will do.