January 11, 2010 12:00 PM
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5 Bucks Buys a BlackBerry Battery Boost
If there's one thing every smartphone user wants, it's better battery life. SmartWiFi for BlackBerry delivers exactly that by automatically switching off your phone's Wi-Fi antenna when it's not needed.The app works its magic by leveraging cell-tower information to determine your location. If you're not at, say, home, the office, or another preselected location (up to 100) where Wi-Fi is available, SmartWiFi automatically deactivates that power-hungry Wi-Fi radio -- then reactivates it when you return to a hotspot.
I could tell you more, but this 90-second video explains everything in exquisite detail:
Suffice it to say, this is one ingenious little app, a set-it-and-forget-it solution for extending battery life. Just how much, it's impossible to say, but my guess is you'll reap considerable battery benefits.
Granted, you could manually turn Wi-Fi on and off and save yourself $4.99, the price for SmartWiFi, but I think the convenience is well worth the five bucks. Indeed, this iPhone user just got very, very jealous of BlackBerry users.
SmartWiFi works with all BlackBerry models. It's available now for immediate download.
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Rick Broida, a technology writer for more than 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he contributes to CNET's iPhone Atlas. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive.
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