The beauty of the many modern gadgets is that they are increasingly mobile. Laptops and netbooks can be used for not only web browsing but also for creating documents and doing other work whilst on the move. Smartphones provide similar functionality on a smaller scale. From time to time problems can occur with our mobile devices that rob them of their mobility, but for the most part these problems can be overcome.
All of these devices run on batteries, which can sometimes fail or not run for as long as we need them to. All of them have only a limited working life-a number of charge and discharge cycles that they will be effective through, beyond which their run time will be shortened before it eventually fails completely. Even a shortened run time can seriously affect the usefulness of a mobile device.
Replacement batteries are available for the majority of laptop computers, and smartphones too. They are normally simple to change, just needing for the old battery to be released and removed and the new one to be put in place. Unfortunately, not every phone allows for the battery to be changed, yet they can still suffer from short battery life.
In that case, it is normally possible to buy an external battery pack that can be used to increase the running time for the device. These battery packs tend to plug in via USB, and it’s even possible to get a solar powered charger that is built into a backpack that will store your laptop, charging it as you carry it.
A harder problem to overcome tends to be a lack of signal for your device. Both smartphones and laptops need access to mobile internet in order to access network services. This includes email, websites, and accessing documents that may be stored in an online Document service.
You can’t always guarantee being in an area that has good signal strength for your network. If you can’t get good internet speeds with your current network, you might try switching networks. Prepaid SIM cards are available for the 3G network that will let you choose a better network for the area you are in. Mobile internet can be provided by using a dongle that connects to a network with a stronger signal. Given that these can often be bought on a pre-paid basis and are ideal for laptops, as they connect to the device using USB.
Laptops often have another possibility when they don’t have the ability to run on a 3G network, or if you don’t have a dongle, there is another possibility. Many smartphones will allow you to tether a laptop to it, often with a software application. This way it can share your phone’s internet connection. Unfortunately many cell phone providers are trying to ban this tethering function.
Although modern mobile devices are designed for use on the run, such use is often not possible because of limitations that cannot be overcome. It is important to remember that this might be a possibility when making plans to access email or other networked facilities. Having a back up plan may save a great deal of stress.
