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| Free mobile apps 'drain battery faster' | Free mobile apps 'drain battery faster' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Free mobile apps which use third-party services to display advertising consume considerably more battery life, a new study suggests. | Free mobile apps which use third-party services to display advertising consume considerably more battery life, a new study suggests. |
| Researchers used a special tool to monitor energy use by several apps on Android and Windows Mobile handsets. | Researchers used a special tool to monitor energy use by several apps on Android and Windows Mobile handsets. |
| Findings suggested that in one case 75% of an app's energy consumption was spent on powering advertisements. | Findings suggested that in one case 75% of an app's energy consumption was spent on powering advertisements. |
| Report author Abhinav Pathak said app makers must take energy optimisation more seriously. | Report author Abhinav Pathak said app makers must take energy optimisation more seriously. |
| Free applications typically have built-in advertisements so developers can make money without having to charge for the initial app download. | Free applications typically have built-in advertisements so developers can make money without having to charge for the initial app download. |
| Mr Pathak told the BBC that developers should perhaps think twice when utilising third-party advertising and analytics services in their app. | Mr Pathak told the BBC that developers should perhaps think twice when utilising third-party advertising and analytics services in their app. |
| The research, produced by at team at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, looked at popular apps such as Angry Birds and Facebook. | The research, produced by at team at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, looked at popular apps such as Angry Birds and Facebook. |
| Due to restrictions built into Apple's mobile operating system, the team was unable to run tests on the iPhone. | Due to restrictions built into Apple's mobile operating system, the team was unable to run tests on the iPhone. |
| In the case of Angry Birds, research suggested that only 20% of the total energy consumption was used to actually play the game itself. | In the case of Angry Birds, research suggested that only 20% of the total energy consumption was used to actually play the game itself. |
| Of the rest, 45% is used finding out your location with which it can serve targeted advertising. | Of the rest, 45% is used finding out your location with which it can serve targeted advertising. |
| '3G tail' | '3G tail' |
| The tests were carried out by running the app over a 3G connection. The results noted that many apps leave connections open for up to 10 seconds after downloading information. | The tests were carried out by running the app over a 3G connection. The results noted that many apps leave connections open for up to 10 seconds after downloading information. |
| In Angry Birds, that brief period - described by researchers as a "3G tail" - accounted for over a quarter of the app's total energy consumption. | In Angry Birds, that brief period - described by researchers as a "3G tail" - accounted for over a quarter of the app's total energy consumption. |
| Chris McClelland, director of Belfast-based app developer Ecliptic Labs, said he was not surprised by the findings. | Chris McClelland, director of Belfast-based app developer Ecliptic Labs, said he was not surprised by the findings. |
| "Advertising needs to connect to the server and send information about location," he explained to the BBC. | "Advertising needs to connect to the server and send information about location," he explained to the BBC. |
| "That just takes up so much battery. It seeps up the energy." | |
| He said such practices were largely unavoidable if users wanted to enjoy free, ad-supported games and applications. | He said such practices were largely unavoidable if users wanted to enjoy free, ad-supported games and applications. |
| However, he said developers should give more consideration to energy consumption when building in new features. | However, he said developers should give more consideration to energy consumption when building in new features. |