We all know how eager we can get to buy the newest device on the market. Whether you’re a passionate Apple user or a die-hard Android fan, we know how important keeping up with the new trends can be. However, we also know how expensive making that transition from an “old” device to a “new” device can be. Battery Joe can help you take away some of that cost by giving you the opportunity to trade in your old device for some cash. This way, you’ll be able to be up-to-date on all of the hot new trends, while also having a little extra cash in your pocket! And, I mean, who doesn’t like cash?

Here at Battery Joe, we’ll make sure you receive top dollar for you device, by truly examining its value. We examine each device individually to make sure we can give you a personalized price of what your device is worth. Leaving your old device in the hands of Battery Joe will be a decision you won’t regret.

By following these three easy steps, you could walk into some cash faster than you expected, while also knowing your old device is in good hands.

Step 1: Get a Quote

This is the first step towards parting ways with your old device. You can get a quote online or in-person to see how much your device is worth.  Get a quote for your device by contacting your local store.

Step 2: Bring in or Ship your device

This is the step where you let your old device know that you guys have spent a lot of great time together and captured some great memories, however, it’s time for you to move on to bigger and better things.

Step 3: Get Paid: Cha-Ching!

Now, this is the step that you’ve been waiting for. You’ve taken all of the necessary steps in this process and now you’re ready to get PAID… and your pockets just got a lot happier 🙂

It is officially the end of summer and the beginning of Fall. There will be Holidays and sporting events on the weekends and possibly some travel involved. I don’t know about you, but there is nothing more disheartening than attending a Texas Tech football game with all of your friends and family, trying to take a lot of pictures and document your great time, when suddenly your phone dies halfway through the game. This has personally happened to me and I immediately thought about how no one would know I was there having a great time. If only I had a way to charge my phone without the typical wall outlet. All my problems would disappear and the fun would go on. Now, it is easy to solve this problem. There are several options to choose from so your phone will stay powered up and make it through that long game day. Conveniently located around the Texas Tech campus are several charging stations. These charging stations are free, and offer charging cables for all iPhones, iPads, and iPods; as well as other smart phones, MP3 players and Kindles. If you aren’t able to go inside these locations here is a list of some alternative options to getting your phone back to life.

Car chargers:

Car chargers are extremely useful when traveling, or if you are on-the-go for the day and will not be around an outlet. The USB charger is simply plugged into the lighter outlet of the vehicle and instantly the phone begins to charge. Tip: do not start your car while your phone is plugged in, there is a potential for a voltage spike that could damage your phone or battery

Higher amp “quick” chargers:  

One variable that determines the amount of time it takes to charge a mobile device is the amount of output the charger is rated for. The more “amps” the charger contains, the quicker the phone will charge. 1.5 to 2 amp chargers are safe for most smart phones. These chargers will get you a pretty good charge in 20-30 min.

New and innovative Qi chargers:

A Qi charging device allows you to wirelessly charge a compatible device’s battery using induction transfer. While you still have to plug it in there is no need for cables or cords. You simply just place your mobile device on top of the wireless pad and the phone will begin to charge. (ask up about qi enabled battery banks that do not need to be plugged in while charging)

Portable chargers:

“Power Pods” or “Battery Banks” are lightweight and portable chargers good for a quick emergency charge. Many contain built-in LED flashlights, include 3 in 1 charging cables and a power level indicator. This is perfect when you are not around a power source, but need phone power. There are many sizes and features to choose from, come see the experts at Battery Joe to find one that will work for you. Now you can enjoy the game and snap all the photos you want without worrying about a dead phone battery!

At Battery Joe, we’re fans of environmental sustainability and we don’t hide it! Each of our stores is outfitted with a battery recycling station, we offer a full selection of rechargeable batteries, and we’ve got technicians that can rebuild battery packs to give them a second life, all to help cut down on waste. Another less obvious way to be environmentally conscious with battery power is to invest in Lithium Ion battery technology. Since we’re battery nerds, we love keeping up with the latest advances in power technology and some of the most exciting breakthroughs in battery power over the last 30 years have been in creating consumer safe Lithium Ion products. Nowadays, Lithium Ion batteries are safer, longer lasting, and more powerful than the traditional battery.

Lithium Ion batteries have been used widely since the 1980s and, since then, there has been a lot of talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the technology. Here, we give you the top three reasons we think Lithium power is well worth investing in, be it for your cars, tools, or electronics.

Lithium is Powerful.

Because of its high energy density, a Lithium battery can last up to 10X longer than a traditional type battery like alkaline or NiCd. The significantly increased power density makes Lithium an ideal power source for a variety of applications from cell phones, laptops and power tools to electric vehicles and industrial equipment.

Lithium is Efficient.

Lithium Ion Batteries do not require priming and can charge and discharge energy more rapidly than traditional power cells. They are also quite efficient in high stress situations, as quick fluctuations in temperature and energy depletion have little effect on the power output of the battery.

Lithium is Safe.

Lithium is made from light metals making the recycling and redistribution both easy and cost effective, reducing financial and operational burdens of recycling, and disposing of Lead Acid Batteries. Lithium Ion technology is not only making strides in environmental safety, but also in personal safety. Many modern Lithium Ion Batteries have built-in safety features that reduce risk of fire and explosion.

Some Things to Consider: Now, we couldn’t expect you to make any kind of informed decision if all we do is extol the virtues of Lithium Batteries without presenting a few of the downsides.

Lithium is expensive. You will pay about 40% more up front, but the investment will pay off in the long run. Part of the reason it is so much more expensive is each lithium battery must have an on board computer to manage the battery.

Lithium Batteries suffer from aging. A Lithium battery will begin to degrade as soon as it leaves the factory. Its aging process is not only a product of time, but also of the amount of charging cycles it goes through as well as the temperature it is stored.

The technology is still developing. Consumer lithium ion batteries are a relatively new technology. This can be a disadvantage in that development and execution do not remain constant. However, this can also be an advantage as better solutions are developed frequently.

We hope this provides a solid, though brief, knowledge base for learning about Lithium Ion Power. Below we’ve provided some great links that give a more comprehensive overview of uses, advantages, and even how the technology works.

In our last blog, we ended with a very poignant question. What would life in our day and age be like without batteries? The obvious answer, and one you may have heard from your grandmother, is “Well everyone seemed to get along just fine till about a hundred years ago.” True, but back then, the battery, and everything electrical for that matter, wasn’t an integral part of the way we function day to day. So we thought it would be an interesting experiment for someone to attempt to live a day without batteries. Our friend Erika, a Media and Communication student at Texas Tech, volunteered to give it a shot. Here is what she reported back to us.

From the Mind of a Millennial:

For the purpose of researching just how dependent on batteries we are, I decided I would attempt to go one full day without using batteries whatsoever. I cannot remember the last time I changed batteries in anything besides the TV remote, and if going a day without batteries just meant I would have to get off the couch every time I needed to adjust the volume or change the channel, I figured the exercise would probably do me some good.

As I pondered this venture I was about to embark on, I soon realized just how impossible this task would be for me to complete. The first realization that hit me was that while I may not use devices that require double A’s all the time, most of the items I use frequently throughout the day require a battery of some sort. This thought donned on me as I was attempting to prepare a list of battery-less activities for me to spend my day doing. First off, I would have to either walk or bike everywhere I needed to go, or just stay put for a day. Thankfully there was plenty of food in my fridge, and all my kitchen appliances plug into the wall, so I really have no excuse to leave. Problem solved.

As I started to think this wouldn’t be so bad, I optimistically looked at the next item on my list, which was to get some homework out of the way before the weekend. I was confident as I started working on my paper, thinking to myself that I was using the very same tools that were once used to write some of the most historic and well-known pieces of literature such as the Declaration of Independence or the Bible – a pen and paper. Unfortunately for me, such tools do not have auto-correct or spell check, so after about a paragraph, I found myself reaching for my iPhone to double check my spelling. I then realized that not only would I be without a TV remote, but my cell phone as well. I was effectively cut off from the world as I knew it as a twenty-something college student. Access to information, access to my friends and family, access to the immediacy we enjoy on a daily basis; all of it is controlled by a device I could no longer use. I knew then that I was no match for a day without batteries; I am a millennial not a caveman.

After admitting defeat, I began to realize just how many of my devices require batteries. TV remotes, cell phones, cars, watches, clocks (anyone know how to read a sun dial?), computers, and calculators are some of the items that came to mind right away. These are devices that I use every day, and being without them even for a few hours was not fun. My life is obviously extremely dependent on batteries, so making sure that I keep them healthy is pretty important to me.

Check out our previous blog post “Life and Times of your Phone Battery” to find out how to keep your phone battery healthy and strong, and visit Battery Joe to stock up on, recharge, and replace all of the batteries that power your life!

Think you could last a day without batteries, or have any fun stories about living without batteries? Message us on Facebook with your story and you could be featured here on our blog!

One of my friends went out of town recently for a vacation on the lake. Unfortunately, it was cut short by a dead battery. Can you imagine? Driving out to the lake, all the while towing a jet ski, only to push it into the water, let it float out, and have it not start? He ended up being stranded on a useless jet ski for quite a while before another boat passed by and towed him to shore. And to think, all of that could have been avoided had he stopped by Battery Joe to get everything checked out and charged. Don’t let a weekend go to waste, let us help.

Anyway, his story got me thinking about other times a lack of batteries has resulted in undue stress. That took me back two years to Christmas, a time when everyone is supposed to be in a good mood and is enjoying opening presents together. My family has a different tradition; we bet on who’s going to cry first. These days, there are fifteen children in the house when everyone gets together, so it’s pretty much a tossup as to who it’ll be and what will set them off. This year was especially traumatic. One of the kids had been waiting patiently for his turn to get a present. He sat quietly as others opened presents all around him. When it was finally his turn, he got so excited and immediately shredded the wrapping paper to reveal exactly what he’d asked for, a Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 Dart Blaster (sounds scary right?!). His brother had been shooting him with a puny, manual Nerf gun all morning, so it was finally time to exact his revenge.

He spent the next four or five minutes setting it all up, taking care to put every dart in its proper place and align the stand just right so that the darts would fly directly to their unsuspecting target. His plan was perfect, or so he thought. His eyes narrowed and his little finger pulled the bright orange trigger… He waited… Nothing happened. Panic took over. How could his gun not work? This highly sophisticated machine he’d been waiting for had let him down in his time of need. It was too much. Tears began to flow and he was lost in grief. At first, no one could understand what the problem was. It looked perfect and he surely set it up correctly. Then, someone found the problem. The batteries weren’t included!

This is something we never seem to think about until it catches us by surprise, inevitably throwing a massive wrench into any situation, but think of how many times grief could have been spared had a working battery been present! These are just a few “Batteries Not Included” situations I have personally experienced.

• Pulling the batteries out of the remote control to power your first Gameboy color… pulling the batteries out of your boom box to replace the batteries from the remote… Etc.
• Yanking the batteries out of your Furby (90s kids) because you can’t replace them to make it stop sounding like a fuzzy demon baby!
• Fumbling around at your campsite late at night because you didn’t pack extra batteries for your flashlight.
• Becoming stranded in the cold as the result of an old car battery that has given its last.
• Missing the prefect shot of sunrise on a mountain lake because your DSLR camera battery has died and you didn’t pack a backup.

Trading stories like this makes us appreciate our line of work just a little bit more, knowing that we can be the answer to almost any of these problems. It also got us thinking; what if you had to live life without the use of anything battery powered?!

Stay Safe, Protected, and Powered up over Spring Break

Ladies and gentlemen, the long awaited week of fun and freedom is finally almost here. With spring break upon us, it’s time to pack up the textbooks and start gathering up the necessities for your trip. Whether you are hitting the beach for some Vitamin D, or headed home for some much needed R & R, there are a few items that any spring breaker should

not be without. Everything on this list is important, but we’ve underlined a few things that we at Battery Joe can help you with specifically!

◻ A PORTABLE PHONE CHARGER for your phone – These little lifesavers come in handy no matter what time of year it is, but especially on Spring Break. Long days spent out on the beach or hanging out with friends doesn’t leave a lot of spare time to charge your battery, nor is it something you should have to worry about. Pack a portable charger this spring break and give your phone a boost no matter where you are!

◻ SUNSCREEN – Everyone loves coming back from spring break looking like a bronzed sun god or goddess, but without applying a little sunscreen before hitting the beach you could end up looking like a flaky-skinned lobster by the end of the week.

◻ WATER – You will want it, trust us. It’s like the battery your body runs on. When you get to your destination, the last thing you are going to want to do is go to the grocery store. Pick up a few things like water and maybe some snacks before you go, and then you can focus on more important things when you finally arrive.

◻ SAFE METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION – Plan how you are going to get around this spring break ahead of time! It is no fun trying to buy a shuttle pass last minute, or trying to find the local cab company number after being out in the sun all day. If you are traveling in your own car, make sure you get your battery’s health checked before your departure to ensure a smooth ride. https://batteryjoe.com/installation-testing/

◻ IN CASE OF EMERGENCY KIT – Pick up an emergency car battery booster in case of an emergency along the way, and keep on breakin’ on. /

◻ CHEAP SUNGLASSES – Losing your Ray Bans or other pricey shades while out on the beach is one way to put a damper on your week, so throw pair of cheap ones in your bag instead!

◻ FRESH BATTERIES and battery tenders for your power sport vehicles – Those jet skis have been in the garage all winter long. Now, it is finally time to dust them off! If your spring break involves water sport vehicles, make sure to check the health of their existing batteries before taking them back out on the water.

◻ An extra pair of beach SANDALS– If you have ever spring break’d at any of popular destinations like South Padre Island, Panama City or Cancun, you know how littered and disgusting the sand gets after just a day or two. Losing a flip-flop on day 2 and having to buy a $25 pair at the souvenir shop next to the hotel will not put you in the best mood, so come prepared!

◻ PHONE PROTECTION – Protect your phone from breaking while you are spring breaking (see our last blog post) by using a screen protector and a case to help prevent any cracked screens!

At Battery Joe, we carry many things that can help make your spring break more enjoyable. And what’s more, Tech Students take 15 percent off with their student IDs. Stop by our location at 19th and Quaker just down the road from Texas Tech and see how we can make your break even more relaxing.