Saturday, June 11, 2011

Summer Heat Tip to Keep Your Smartphone and Other Electronics in Tip Top Shape

A general rule of thumb when it comes to electronic devices is that your gizmo likes and dislikes the same temperature range as you do. That's especially true along the upper edge of the temperature scale, particularly where the battery is concerned. Too hot and the life of your expensive smartphone, tablet computer or netbook is reduced.

Take the iPhone's temperature range, for example. Apple says that the iPhone is happy working between 32 and 95 degrees Farenheit. That means that if your iPhone was on while you were outside on Thursday, when it was 102 degrees, you could probably count on having shortened the lifespan of your iPhone's battery. The same goes for other upper 90's days: They diminish your phone's longevity if you keep the phone on while outside.

Not all devices have the same operating temperature range, and if you live or work in a perpetually hot locale like Saudi Arabia, Death Valley, or the District of Columbia (sigh), you might want to get a Blackberry, which can happily make calls until it reaches 122 degrees.

All electronic devices produce heat when turned on: Turning off your device helps keep your smartphone, tablet, or other equipment cooler. The energy produced by the battery that's not converted into radio waves, vibration for the silent ring, light for the screen, or sound, becomes heat.

So, if you're not actually using your phone or other device when it's super hot outside, power the device entirely off.  An iPhone that's off can tolerate up to 113 degrees, and you'll probably seek shelter in air conditioning well before it gets that hot.

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