These researchers have developed a network proxy that cuts smartphone energy usage by 74 percent. Essentially, by acting as the middle man between the phones and the internet by handling most of the data transfer, the proxy allows the battery that the phones would spend transfering data to be conserved. They have also managed to find other ways to minimize battery usage by optimizing websites for mobile phones and using data caching more efficiently. While this new breakthrough means more convenience for users in the developed world, it may mean revolutionary access to the Internet in developing countries. The researchers found that 90 percent of people in Africa live within cell phone coverage. Mobile use is increasing, but they cannot afford to charge their phones constantly like we can, so smart phones are less used. By making maintenance of smart phone batteries more possible, we can put the internet in the hands of thousands of people around the world that still don't have it.
Initially I was attracted to this article because I have a smart phone that dies constantly, without warning because of its high battery usage. After reading it, I think the discovery is especially interesting because of its implications for the world that does not yet have internet.
