Smartphones have constantly been battling poor battery life with moderate or higher usage, with current Android devices no exception. One of the main power draws, but by no means the biggest, are the various radios (3G, Wifi) as well as the CPU usage. Latedroid’s JuiceDefender attempts to address this by cleverly rationing accessibility in order to save battery by controlling how often the phone has data connectivity. Note that UltimateJuice is an optional paid JuiceDefender add-on which allows for far greater customization of the program. Unfortunately, the basic functionality is quite limited without this add-on. There are a plethora of options, presented in an easy to understand, albeit slightly cluttered, format. JuiceDefender initially assesses your phone’s capabilities and then allow you to choose specific options. Included are adjustable schedules when your phone connects, night mode to disable data connectivity / enable airplane mode at preset ’sleeping’ times, low battery modes to switch off functions, peak modes to leave it on as well as location-specific modes (turn off wifi if you’ve left known wifi spots), the list goes on. Each option is accompanied by a description as to the resulting action. If you have a rooted device, CPU throttling also becomes available. I found that for nearly all circumstances, my average battery drain was reduced (as measured by BatteryGraph), with minimal disruption to data connectivity. A regular check at 5m intervals was the best balance for me and the option to leave data connectivity on while the screen was on made for painless usage. It’s difficult to quantify exactly how much battery life was improved by, but I would estimate at least 20-30% during the day, though your mileage may vary. The included widget provides an ongoing figure, but I have doubts to the accuracy of this. Some trial and error for your own usage is definitely recommended to find good settings to use. I also found the coarse location system to not always function correctly. Note: If you’re looking for alternatives to JuiceDefender, check out Settings Profiles, Tasker, Locale or Timeriffic. KEY FEATURES Noticeable improvement in battery life Fine control of main phone radios and functions Contextual help system CPU throttling available for rooted devices Notification system and Widget for APN toggle CONS Requires UltimateJuice addon to unlock most features Wifi detection turns off Wifi when not in range, but does not always turn it back on No ‘Set Default’ setting for reverting to standard settings Screen detection does not override sleep mode App: JuiceDefender / UltimateJuice Price: Free / $3.50 Website: http://www.latedroid.com/
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