It makes no difference what type of phone you have - Motorola d160, so very popular a couple of years ago or the latest Ericsson - the efficiency of your phone depends on your battery working properly.

Market research carried out in a number of countries showed that the most important consideration in choosing a mobile should be battery operation time (irrespective of the price, size and design of phone). Until now our magazine has not yet discussed this aspect of mobile phones so let us take this opportunity to do so now.

We will try to use as few technical terms as possible to provide you with the information that is at times so necessary.

How to Choose a Battery

When choosing a handset, you should pay attention to the battery, which may differ even in one and the same model. This is the factor which makes the greatest difference in the sale price of phones and often misleads customers. An example of such a difference is the two versions of one and the same model, one with a 650 MAh capacity Lilon battery and the other with a 500 MAh capacity NiCd one. The higher price of the first version is only natural due to the extra capacity of the battery.

On the inner side of the battery the parameters of each particular battery are described, so take the time to detach the battery and find about the battery parameters before you decide on a phone. Here you will find the production technology used to make the battery (discussed below in detail). You will also find the capacity of the battery in MAh. (However some manufacturers, such as Nokia, prefer to show battery type instead of its capacity).

Saying that a battery is 650 MAh or 500 MAh often means little to an uninformed customer, but this is the information which allows you to understand how the technology of your battery affects your use of your mobile phone. The working parameters on which a battery operates are characterized by Standby Time and Talktime, e.g. if the parameters of a battery are 60 hours of Standby Time and 1 hour and 40 minutes of Talktime, it means that you can use your mobile either for 60 hours in Standby mode (no talking) or for 1 hour and 40 minutes of constant talking time. The figures we are dealing with are the average figures reached as a result of correlation of Standby Time and Talktime modes and the reality will of course be a combination of the above figures .

Do not forget that the actual operation time of your battery differs considerably from that indicated on the battery certificate. The first reason for such a difference may well be that phone manufacturers are inclined to slightly exaggerate the parameters of their batteries for advertising purposes. The main reason however is that the operation time of a battery significantly depends on the configuration of the operator's network. Do not think that I am biased if I say that the Magti GSM network is a high quality network, surpassing in many respects the networks of some well-known European operators. However, the operation time of the battery may be shorter in Georgia than in some foreign countries for the simple reason that there are hundreds of base stations installed in those countries.

Battery Production Technology

There are several technologies of battery production resulting in different operating parameters and usage rules:

NiCd is a veteran on the mobile market.

For a long period of time it was the only and therefore the most popular technology on the market for portable equipment. Most of the phones produced several years ago had NiCd batteries. The major drawback of this technology is the so-called "memory effect" which means that if you use a charger without discharging your battery fully, its parameters will significantly decline. In addition, NiCd batteries are larger than those produced using other methods of battery production technology.

If your phone has a NiCd battery, try to fully discharge it before recharging it in order to maintain its parameters. This is the only way to make the battery serve its full life.

NiMH, a more recent invention failed to fully justify the expectations of the battery technology experts. However, it is undoubtedly a step forward: the capacity of the NiMH battery is 30% higher than that of the NiCd despite being exactly the same size, it is also less susceptible to the "memory effect".

Lilon became widespread on the mobile market no more than a couple of years ago. Attractive parameters were the main reason for its success, and today most new models of mobile phone are equipped with Lilon batteries. The capacity of such a battery is twice as high as that of an NiCd battery of the same size, and it is almost free of "memory effect". Thus its higher price compared with NiCd and NiMH batteries is no surprise. Its shortcoming is gross deterioration of its parameters after one and a half  years of use.

The LiPol battery is an innovation of the style-conscious mobile phone market.

In Georgia such a battery can only be found in the Ericsson T28. Its operational parameters do not differ much from those of Lilon batteries except for one interesting feature: Lithium-Polymer allows you to make batteries in different geometric forms, i.e. it is possible to make batteries in non-standard shapes. Many manufacturers find such a possibility very attractive.

How to Make a Battery Serve a Long Life

In order to allow your battery to maintain its operation parameters for as long as possible, you should observe the recommendations below:

1. If you buy a new NiCd and NiMH battery, you should make the first charging    cycle longer than usual (irrespective of whether the charging indicator says that charging is completed). The battery will reach its working state only after two or three charging and discharging cycles.

2. Remember that NiCd and NiMH batteries should be fully discharged before you start to charge them. If you don't have a discharger, you can leave the phone activated and allow it to discharge completely. Complete discharging is not always possible, but we advise you to repeat this procedure at least twice a week. Keeping to such a routine will be easier if you have a spare battery.

3. Charging time depends on room temperature. Do not try to charge a battery that is too hot or too cold. Let it reach room temperature before you start charging.

4. Avoid leaving the battery in the charger for more than the recommended charging time (this does not apply to the first charging) as this may also cause operation parameters to deteriorate.

5. Do not use a charger with output parameters that differ from those of your handset. This may cause your battery or even your mobile phone to fail.

We hope our advice will help you to use your handset efficiently.

Speaking of batteries we would like to draw your attention to an innovation created by the well-known Swedish company, Ericsson. One of the company's latest models possesses a special function allowing the owner to find out battery state by clicking one button. The display will show the remaining operation time both in Standby and  Talktime modes. Though these figures are not one hundred percent accurate (as mentioned above), we still hope this innovation will please the owners of an Ericsson T28.

Levan Buchukuri
Director of Marketing,
Customer Care and Strategic Planning
MAGTICOM