Battery Life Issues For Devices Running On 4G LTE Networks.

I came across an interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal that highlights the negative impact on battery life for those that are using their smartphones on 4G mobile phone networks. Companies such as Verizon and Sprint are spending billions to upgrade their national networks to the new standard known as long term evolution, or LTE. The problem for early adopters is that while these companies are expanding coverage rapidly they are focusing on large metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles before filling the holes in between. This leaves wide gaps in coverage which means that for those who have the newest 4G phones but live in weak, or no, coverage areas their phones are constantly searching in vain for a 4G connection, which quickly drains battery life. Phone makers such as Motorola and HTC have tried to address the issue through software upgrades and the sale of bigger batteries but it appears that this problem will persist until the 4G LTE standard becomes universal.  Something tells me this will happen sooner rather than later considering how desperate mobile phone carriers are to entice consumers to the new network so that they can set them up with pricier date plans. Nothing like bare knuckled, bruising competition to speed things up!