PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Can anything be done to keep your cell phone’s battery from dying on you by the end of the day?

Dr. Bruce Eisenstein, Interim Dean of Engineering at Drexel University, said there are two reasons why smart phone batteries drain more rapidly than old cell phones of years past. “The most important is the size of the screen. Those screens take an enormous amount of energy,” Eisenstein said. “And then the fact is we are using the phones a lot more. Typically a phone conversation might run a few minutes but when you are doing internet access, when you have the screen lit up, it could be five, 10 minutes that you are watching something.” 

Eisenstein said you should dim the screen if possible to reduce the drain of the battery. He adds that cold batteries actually keeps its charge longer. “If you were not using a battery at all and the cell phone were completely turned off and the battery is kept cold – it will last longer.”

Reported by John McDevitt, KYW Newsradio