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This one went down a couple of days ago, but it’s something I definitely want to share with the BBGeeks community. U.S. Cellular is offering quite the promotion: bring your dead or dying battery into any U.S Cellular store and get a replacement for free. No hassle, no check to see if your phone is still under warranty. The only condition is that you have purchased your phone in the past 18 months. As long as you meet that criteria, you can quit charging your BlackBerry every night and start practicing effective battery habits with a brand new, fully charged battery.

The most important thing to remember about battery life is that lithium-ion batteries love to be overcharged. This is not typical advice. Most people abide by the old scheme of letting the battery run out completely, then charging it back up. This is not the way lithium-ion batteries work. They are most effective with a greater charge. This means recharging when the battery is at 40 to 50 percent life, if possible. The battery becomes more stressed at lower levels, so it is optimal to avoid letting the battery run down.

(This is best illustrated by an exchange at a recent conference. My buddy and I sat down at a table with our laptops to set up shop. I immediately plugged mine in, even though the battery was at 100 percent. He commented that the battery doesn’t like that. I asked him how old his computer was and how long his battery lasted before needing a charge. Answer: two years and an hour and a half if he’s lucky. My computer was two years old at the time, too, but I get a solid three to four hours out of my battery, depending on the backlight situation.)

Hopefully this spreads to other carriers. No, they don’t have to do it. But it’s a nice gesture from U.S. Cellular, and we certainly appreciate it even though we’re not U.S. Cellular subscribers.

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