Row.co.uk Blog

Dead Battery = Disguised Bomb?


Last week, the news was dominated by the new airport security rule regarding dead phone / tablet battery. The new rule states that all air passengers flying into or out of British and US airports must ensure their phones and tablets are charged so that security staff can rest assured the devices aren’t disguised bombs. 

The new rule forces travellers to turn on their gadgets or risk losing them at the gate. It’s said that American officials are concerned about new al-Qaeda efforts to produce a bomb that will go undetected through airport security. By turning on an electronic device, security staff will be confident that it is a working device and that batteries are used to operate it. 

In light of this new rule, and with many people heading off on holiday, it’s becoming increasingly important to charge your phone. So how can you best preserve your gadget’s battery? 

• Turn the screen brightness down

The difference between full brightness and the dimmest setting can add on hours extra battery life. 

• Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 
This will stop your phone from looking for networks to join. 

• Switch off mobile data 
Instead, you can manually check email and social networks in order to reduce battery drain and data consumption. 

• Close Apps 
Make sure you properly close all the Apps that are open, or they will continue to run in the background and use of mobile data and power. 

• Turn off vibrate 
Little might you know, that the vibrate function uses much more power than a ringtone does. A ringtone only has to make a tiny membrane in your phone’s speaker vibrate enough to produce sound, whereas the vibration method swings a small weight around to make your whole phone shake. 

• Keep it cool 
Heat is your battery’s worse enemy. Try to keep it as cool as possible – don’t leave it in the direct sunlight if you can help it. 

• Turn off GPS 
Apps that utilise the GPS system to track your location eat up much more battery juice than others. GPS determines your exact location by sending and receiving signals to and from satellites. Some Apps that are left running in the background will continue to use GPS to send and receive signals. Disable location services and switch off GPS tracking to avoid getting caught out. 

Tweet us @budgetmobcover and let us know what you think about the new airport security rule?

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

Mobile Insurance Free Quote
Comments are closed
Result! Using your smartphone at work aids productivity

Row.co.uk Blog

No really, it does. The findings of a study by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology could relax bosses negative viewpoints on employees ‘playing’ on their smartphones during work hours.

Aiding workplace productivity
According to Business News Daily, one of the study’s authors and a doctoral student at Kansas State University, Sooyeol Kim said, “Having workers take small breaks on their phones throughout the day may positively influence their perceived well-being at the end of the workday,”

So, how did he and co-author Qikun Niu, a George Mason University doctoral student, reach this conclusion?

Smartphone guinea pigs
Seventy two employees from various industry sectors in South Korea were surveyed as part of the study. The participants downloaded a smartphone app which enabled Kim and Niu to measure their phone usage at work. The usage was separated into three categories which were: social media, entertainment and leisure, and personal and informative.

Social media = happiness
Unsurprisingly, usage for social media resulted in more feelings of positivity amongst the employees than usage for entertainment or personal reasons.

Kim said of the results, “We buy smartphones so we can interact with people. We use them for social interaction, so I think that’s why social media was shown to make employees the most happy.”

So really, that sneaky status update or tweet that generally earns you a disapproving look from your boss is good for you and your workplace. Well, we already knew that didn’t we?

Moderation is key
But there’s a catch. Isn’t there always? As with just about everything, moderation is key. We know, boring.

Just as gorging on four doughnuts during your coffee break and scoffing a KFC Big Daddy box meal every lunchtime isn’t good for your health, neither is too much smartphone interaction for workplace productivity. Apparently.

So how much phone time is acceptable without turning your boss’ face puce?

According to Business News Daily, Kim and Niu’s study revealed that ‘the average combined minutes of usage a worker has on their smartphone during the workday is about 20 minutes.’ Also that ‘for the most part, anywhere between 20 and 25 minutes doesn’t affect productivity and is good for the employee.’

Personally, we think that’s a bit tight, but it’s a start.

Viva La Revolution!
So the next time your superior raises an eyebrow, impart your wisdom on the benefits of a ‘Smartphone Quickie’ to aid productivity in the workplace. You never know, you may just earn Employee of the Week status…well from your colleagues at least.

Whilst you’re exercising your right to have a little me time with your smartphone, you could get a super-fast mobile phone insurance quote online. Just complete our four easy steps and you could be insured in a matter of minutes.

Call us biased, but we think that’s a pretty productive use of your phone time whether you’re at work or not.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

Mobile Insurance Free Quote
Comments are closed