Want to use less energy and get more battery life out of your Nokia 5800 Xpress Music? Here are our top tips on how to reduce your mobile phones carbon footprint and get more from each charge.
Improve the battery life of your Nokia 5800
Turn your phone off
It may sound silly, but how many times do you turn your 5800 off when you go to bed at night? Chances are you’ve not had many phone calls in the middle of the night, so by turning your phone off when you go to bed, and back on again in the morning, you’re saving 8 hours a day of battery life and could extend your battery life by a few days.
Turn off Bluetooth
Bluetooth only needs to be turned on when you need it – by leaving it turned on all day your 5800 is constantly looking for other Bluetooth devices and draining your battery.
Turn off GPRS, 3G & WiFi
If you never use the internet on your Nokia 5800 you won’t notice any difference by turning GPRS and 3G off – other than having to charge your phone less! If you do use Internet on your phone through either 3G or WiFi, turn them on as and when you need them, other wise they’ll be consuming power searching for networks when there is no need.
Adjust the display
Nokia normally set the screen on the 5800 to its brightest setting to make the display seem clearer. This only drains power, so adjust the settings and dim the screen to a level that you can still see, but is no brighter than it needs to be. Change the screen saver settings too, set it to come on sooner – reducing the time the screen is lit up for.
Leave it alone
We’re all guilty of it, we get bored, nervous, need to look busy, so we pick up our phones and start fiddling with them. We’re not doing anything on them, only draining the battery. Put it down and find something else to play with!
Carry a Spare Battery
If you still aren’t getting the battery life you need from your 5800 after trying all the steps above, then it’s probably time to get yourself a spare Nokia BL-5J battery. Keeping a spare, charged battery with you means you can just swap them over when one runs out. For easy charging, I’d recommend getting a separate desktop battery charger so that you can charge them both at the same time.
Buy an Extended Battery
If you don’t want the hassle of carrying around a second battery and having to switch between them, then you’ll be better off getting an extended battery for your 5800 Xpress Music. They tend to be slightly bigger than a standard battery, and normally come with a replacement back cover for your phone. The Nokia 5800 2200mAh extended battery holds more than twice the amount of charge of a standard battery and will give you over 5 days of use before you’ll need to recharge it.
Portable Power
If you don’t want to add any bulk to your phone or keep switching batteries, then your best bet will be to get yourself a portable charger. Nokia do a few portable chargers/power packs that you can charge up at home/work and then use to charge your 5800 while you’re out and about:
Nokia Extra Power Chargers
Nokia DC-1 Power Pack
The DC-1 will let you charge your phone up to 3 times before it runs out of power. It has 2 power outlets and can charge 2 phones at the same time. It’s larger than the others, so is best for carrying around in a bag rather than your pocket.
Nokia DC-8 Extra Power
The DC-8 is more portable and runs off standard AA batteries which makes it easy to recharge if you’re out and about – just grab some more batteries and off you go.
Nokia DC-11 Extra Power
The DC-11 is similar to the DC-1, but has a Micro USB and 2mm Nokia charger connections and can charge 2 phones at the same time. It’s the same sort of size as the Nokia 5800, so again, it’s probably better to carry it around in a bag rather than your pocket.