Purdue 'HUSH' Tool Promises 16% Battery Life Gain For Wasteful Android Phones

MojoKid writes: Researchers from Purdue University have developed a software tool for Android smartphones that purportedly slows down battery drain when handsets enter a sleep state. With the software tool installed, the researchers claim that smartphone battery life can be extended by nearly 16 percent. Called "HUSH," the software solution was developed in response to what the researchers say is the first large-scale study of smartphone energy drain occurring from everyday use by consumers. According to their research, apps drain 28.9 percent of battery power while the screen is turned off. HUSH dynamically identifies app background activities that it deems aren't useful to the user experience on a per-app basis and suppresses those apps when the screen is turned off.

Comments

That's only for Google-Brand Nexus devices

[billstewart]

Look, it's nice to know that there are cool features coming Real Soon for your phone if you've got a Google-Brand Nexus Device, just like Apple users can know there'll be something cool coming out for their Apple Brand iDevice, but if you're one of the billion or so Android users out there with some other phone or tablet (such as, just to pick entirely random examples, a Samsung or HTC or nearly-noname Coby), what you know is that your hardware vendor will probably never bother to put out more than a couple of point-release upgrades for your device, and even if they do, your phone company probably won't get around to shipping it, if your device is connected to a phone company and not WiFi-only.

(Ok, my Samsung 4mini got upgraded from 4.2ish to 4.4.2, but it's unlikely to get 5.x, my HTC never did get the upgrade from 2.1 to 2.2 distributed to it, and I don't remember if the Coby tablet started with 4.0.1 or the 4.0.4 it has now, but Coby seems to have forgotten they ever even made that tablet. In theory I appreciate the openness in Android, but basically what that means is that you have to decide for yourself when your vendor's abandoned you and it's time to root the device and install Cyanogen.)

Re:Simpler solution

[MyAlternateID]

Turn off your phone when you're not expecting a call.

One of the reasons I have a phone in the first place is so I can be reached in case of emergencies or other unexpected events.