The Grinchdroid who stole my power

I can't say that I wasn't warned about Android's power consumption but I didn't realize that I possibly couldn't get through a single day on a full charge. And, this is a brand new phone. My new Galaxy SII gulps battery power like it's free beer. It's actually kind of astonishing to watch the power meter fall at a rate that I can almost perceive at a glance. The Grinchdroid was stealing my power and I couldn't figure out where it was going. Little Kenny Lou Who was a very sad Who indeed.

However, I did find a solution called Easy Battery. Easy Battery is an App that sets up a power management scenario based on my habits and choices.

The Grinchdroid Who Stole My Power

Every Looz down in Loozville liked Cellphones a lot

But the Droid who lived just North of Loozville did not!

The Droid hated Cellphones! The whole Cellphone shtick!

Now, please don't ask why. It'll make him quite sick.

It could be, perhaps, that his Apps were too slight.

It could be his case wasn't fitted on just right.

But I think that the most likely reason of all

May have been that his battery capacity was two sizes too small.

But, whatever the reason, his Apps or his battery,

He stood there on Fanboy Mount loving the flattery,

Staring down from his place with a blank, Droidy face

Draining all manner of battery at a quickened pace,

For he knew every Looz down in Loozville amid

Was plugging Cellphones into the grid.

"And they're charging their batteries," he snarled with a sneer.

"Tomorrow I'll drain them down, it's undeniably clear!"

Then he growled, with his Droid thumbs nervously tapping,

"I must find some way to keep my fans a-clapping!

For, tomorrow, I know all the Looz girls and boys

Will wake late and slowly. They'll slither toward their toys!

And then with delight, they'll read my posts with utter contempt.

Skipping the meanings and the humor, they'll sit and comment.

And they'll shriek squeaks and squeals, racing 'round on their wheels.

They'll text with thumbtinglers onto Otterboxes.

They'll swipe their screens. They'll surf with Firefoxes.

They'll kill some piggies. They'll Word with Friends.

They'll message their buds. They'll connect to VPNs.

They'll Tweet their Followers. They'll gather a Clan.

They'll update their statuses. They'll play with Instagram.

And they'll use those infernal voice commands,

A new-fangled feature in Cellphone land!

And then they'll make ear-splitting noises galore

When they must plug in their devices once more!

Then the Looz, young and old, will accuse me of FUD.

And they'll post on their blogs, rebuff me on Twitter and call me a dud.

They'll trash me in forums, they'll call it a crisis.

They'd do more but they must plugin their devices!

And then they'll do something I hate most of all!

Every Looz down in Loozville, the tall and the small,

They'll stand close together, with Cellphones a-buzzing.

They'll stand hand-in-hand, and those Looz will start cussing!"

But, in the end, when the cussing is done.

When Ken Hess is done having his fun,

Every Looz from Loozville will see

How Ken told them to save battery.

Download an App he told us!

Easy Battery will not make you cuss.

You'll have lots of power to call and to Tweet

The taste of sipped power is oh so sweet.

You'll have energy galore to comment on his blog

And tell him that you're no longer a power hog.

Of course, I didn't think of Easy Battery on my own. I would never have thought that I needed an App to throttle my phone's battery usage but I certainly did need one. You see, I just got my new phone a short time ago and wrote up my experience in, "First impressions of my new Android phone."

One of the people who left a comment mentioned something about a battery watcher App. I thought I'd search for one in the Google Play marketplace. I found a few but Easy Battery struck my fancy because it's free (ad supported) and it has some good reviews. Yes, I read App reviews. I decided to install it and give it a try. See Figure 01 for a look at Easy Battery's main screen.

I edited the standard setting and changed the power-saving mode to Intelligent as you can see in the screenshot.

Figure 02 shows you the other modes and how they manage power for your device.

I chose the Intelligent Power Saving Mode because I need for the device to grab my Email and Calendar updates without manual intervention. Plus, I didn't want to edit and tweak every setting nor did I want the Super mode due to its very conservative settings.

I also chose Easy Battery because it isn't just a power watcher, it actually manages the power consumption. Watching the power run down does nothing for me. That's sort of like cutting an apple (not a product reference there) and watching it turn brown. Why would I want or need that?

What I need is extended power. Now, my Galaxy SII hums along with a single overnight power charge lasting two days or more. I'm happy with Easy Battery. It's easy to setup (took less than five minutes from download to power saving), it's free (my favorite part) and it works in the background without being obtrusive or annoying (always a plus in my world).

As soon as I have five minutes alone with my SII, I'm going to give this incredible App a full five stars. Even little Kenny Lou Who is a happy camper now that his Android phone has enough power to withstand the rigors of my very busy day job days.

I'm sure there are other battery power manager Apps in Google Play. Please feel free to tell me about your favorites and how long you can go between charges on your devices. Thanks for the tips. Keep 'em coming.