Bob Haase’s Another Can Of Worms

Phone Apps & Battery Life

I was having problems with battery life on my cell phone.  When I first got the phone the battery life was ok but the longer I had it the faster the battery went dead.  I went in to see about replacing the battery and found out that it was built in and you had to replace the phone.  Because of an early upgrade program I was told that I could replace my phone with a newer model for only $20.  The problems was that it was $20 per months for 20 months.  This amounted to $400 and then I knew why they started making phones without replaceable batteries.

I decided I would live with it a little longer and just charge my phone more often until my contract ran out.  Then I asked about all the Apps on my phone that were running in the background for which I did not order and did not want on my phone because I never used them.  I was told that I could not delete any of them because it might affect the operation of my phone.  These were put on by my phone company and I wondered how much my phone company was getting paid by the Apps companies to have them on my phone.  These Apps running in the background was using battery power and reducing my battery life so I had to charge it more often.

I then wondered how many other games are being played by our phone companies.  Are there Apps that are running in the background that helps them keep track of the phone calls I make so they can give that information to retailers or others that might want to know about who or where I call?  What are the things that we don’t know about and should. 

If you have a cell phone would you prefer to have longer battery life or Apps put on your cell phone that you don’t want or use but cannot delete?  I grew up not even having a phone in our house until I was a freshman in high school and today I carry a phone with me everywhere I go.  I can access the internet, check my E-mails,  and check radar to see approaching storms and even though I could live without this, it is nice to have. 

What am I giving up for these conveniences?  How much of my privacy am I giving up?  What kind of information is being gathered for which I have no knowledge of.  What am I paying for in my contract that I don’t want and don’t know about because  it is not clearly spelled out in my contract.  I was led to believe that I could get another phone for $20 and I had to ask over and over again until I was told that it was every month on top of the bill I was currently paying and not in place of.

What about your cell phone?   What Apps are running in the background that you don’t want and are reducing your battery life?  What was in the contract you signed that you don’t clearly understand and affect the amount you are paying?  Do you care?

Bob Haase is the host of “Outdoors Thursday” heard Thursday mornings at 9:10 a.m. on News-Talk 1450 KFIZ.