When I got my first Android phone, I loaded my screen with free widgets. A widget for this, a widget for that. It didn't take long for me to realize my battery was draining quicker than it was before. I then bought the paid version of SystemPanel to discover which apps were draining my battery the most. I discovered that some battery widgets I had, while pretty, were definitely draining more of my battery than another app I had installed, Dmytro Shkil's Battery Notifier. In fact, Battery Notifier was using next to nothing. The more I tried other apps with battery levels in the status bar, the more I was impressed with Battery Notifier. Dmytro would just say it was "lightweight", but since I ran tests with other battery apps, I knew it used less battery than the others. Fast forward to today...
I can understand why someone would want an app like SystemPanel to eliminate the apps causing battery drain on someone's phone. But why would you want a battery monitoring app running all the time if you want to use the least battery? All those fancy screen graphs monitoring other apps have got to be using more battery if you ask me.
And while a simple battery widget may not use much battery, which screen do you put it on? All of them? Three of them? And if you're watching a movie, or playing a game, or texting like mad or talking on the phone, why would you put a battery widget on your home screen out of view, when you could just look up and see the battery level you had left in the status bar? And many apps that allow full screen will still allow you to swipe down to the extended notification area and tell you the current battery level without having to return to your home screen.
For me, a status bar number makes a lot more sense than a battery widget on my screen.
And since I got rid of my other battery monitoring apps, battery savers, and the fancy widgets, and just use Battery Notifier Pro BT, my battery life has never been better.
I often go for days now without charging my phone or tablet.
For my own battery saving tips, and why you should be cautious of battery savers,
see my post on Battery Saving Tips.
larryvgs
