iphone battery...charging in parks??

[disneyNmay]

So, as most everyone knows that has an iPhone the battery is to say the least not the best. At home I can charge it either by computer, car or by wall plug but what do you do when you are at the park from opening to the wee hours of the night? Ideas please!

Have you seen plugs anywhere?

[DizneyRox]

?? I rarely drop below 50% during a day with normal use of my iPhone, you're dropping lower than that?

In the parks, turn off WiFi and probably bluetooth as they aren't really necessary. maybe change your timeout to like 1 minute as well, so the LCD isn't on long after you're done using it. Turn the brightness down on the screen too.

The newer firmwares are also supposedly better on battery drain as well. I'd update to the latest, you can still jailbreak 4.3.3 if that's your thing.

As far as charging, I think you're out of luck. You can get an extrnal battery thingy fo use in a pinch, but if the battery still doesn't last all that long, it might be worth looking into getting the battery replaced at your local "genius" bar.

[McLiberal8]

I own a solar phone charger, and it works wonders. It doesn't need a plug (obviously) and the only time it wouldn't work would possibly be a rainy day.
You can get them online, they are anywhere between $15-$30.

[Dopey's Girl]

I used my phone quite a bit in May (parks ap, posting here, texting etc) and never really had a huge problem with the battery. I did turn off my WiFi and set my brightness down as well. I just charged it in the room every night and it was ok!

[Jeff]

I have a battery "booster" I bought from Amazon.

But the above tips are essential, turn off un-necessary things.

[Melanie]

On a typical day at the parks, I go through the regular battery and an external battery as well. But I'm tweeting...a lot, and that really drains a battery there.

Believe me, I've looked all over for places to 'recharge'. There is a spot in Frontierland by the SM bathrooms, and the Electric Umbrella has one pillar with some outlets, but you'd have to luck out and get that particular table.

[caryrae]

Maybe Disney needs some charging stations like at Airports, then they could charge people a bunch of money for it.

[Melanie]

Maybe Disney needs some charging stations like at Airports, then they could charge people a bunch of money for it.

If it wasn't a 'bunch' of money, I'd actually be willing to pay for such a service.

[Dsnygirl]

Subscribing to this thread b/c although I don't have an iPhone, and my Fascinate holds up pretty well, I know that on my last trip I wore my battery almost dead by 10pm. I was sending a TON of pictures home, and although I won't be doing that in August, or messaging as much, I probably WILL be tweeting, and I am experimenting with Gowalla.

I'm going to look into the solar idea -- can anyone tell me how it works?

[caryrae]

I just figured a bunch since it's Disney. They do sell cases that have have batteries in them.

[Melanie]

I probably WILL be tweeting, and I am experimenting with Gowalla.

I'm going to look into the solar idea -- can anyone tell me how it works?

Oh yes, Gowalla. I'm into that as well, and in fact, INTERCOT now has a Gowalla account. Look us up everyone. But you can tie your Gowalla account in with your Twitter account, and that helps with the battery issues.

Yes, I'm intrigued by the solar thing as well. Details please......

[caryrae]

amazon has several solar chargers. I saw some that the phone slides in to and a bunch where you have a solar panel and a cable that runs from the charger to the phone. Not sure how fast it charges though.

I had heard about backpacks that have solar panels that can charge phones too but I think they were pricey.

[McLiberal8]

I use my solar charger in my car. I just set it on the console in the sun and it charges away.

I had a backpack with a mesh pocket on my last trip and it worked through that. I would also set it in the sun when I was eating outside.

[kakn7294]

I have a cheap solar charger and it doesn't work so watch what you get. It doesn't charge by solar power as it says and it won't charge the iPhone at all. It does work as a cheap alternative to a portable battery charger on my iPod but will only charge from in the red to about 50%. I also have a rechargeable portable battery pack that will recharge the phone from the red to about 50%. I might look into those other solar chargers as well.

[kakn7294]

Too late to edit now so new post - I looked on Amazon and ended up buying a mega-capacity charger. It's a 5000 mAh rechargeable battery pack that will work for pretty much any item that recharges by usb cable. It's not solar but can be charged through the computer, AC adapter, or car charger. I paid $41+ with taxes and shipping - $35.99 before those added. Reviews talk about how wonderful it is and that people have used it to recharge their iPhone 4 and 5 times and still have power left in this pack. I guess we'll see - hope it lives up to the hype!

[ElenitaB]

I got a Solio solar charger for our WDW trips (it was definitely not cheap) and was really disappointed with it. It's sitting in a drawer now (where it's definitely NOT charging).

Kathy, let us know if your new charger works out well.

[kakn7294]

Will do! It shipped but with the holiday I don't expect it for a few days yet. I should have a report in a week or so.

[JPL]

Can't wait to hear your report I have been looking for something other than changing batteries for my Droid since my first trip to WDW with it.

[disneyNmay]

So here at WDW and a couple days I have charged while at restaurants or there is a great plug across from the coffee bar first floor of the contemporary. Great coffee, comfortable chairs, cool and a plug! Only a short ride in the monorail! Very quiet too if you are looking for a place to just cool down and "recharge".

[magicofdisney]

If I go in with a full charge, I don't die down before the end of the day. I also do a lot of Facebooking while there.

I've seen the plug at Electric Umbrella that was previously mentioned. In fact, we were sitting next to it and a gentlemen asked us if he could use it to charge his phone while we ate. We only charged him a small fee.

There is also a plug right outside Pecos Bill. I used that plug one night for my camcorder so I could video Spectromagic.