By Tommy Ellis (Own work) [CC], via Flickr Creative Commons

In the wake of rolling out the battery-saving Application Resource Monitor™ app that monitors your BlackBerry ® smartphone’s applications, I wanted to discuss another problem that smartphone users face: what I like to call “Battery Zombies”. These undead processes and options grab hold of precious battery juice and drain the life from it, forcing you on a quest for an outlet. Avoid unnecessary battery drainage by following a few simple tips:

1. Turn off Wi-Fi®
The quickest way to save on battery life is also one of the easiest. When Wi-Fi is turned on, your device will constantly search for access points, which can sap battery life. If you are on the road or don’t plan on connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot, consider turning off your Wi-Fi network connection to save battery life.

2. Turn off unused connections
Along with Wi-Fi, you may also want to turn off Bluetooth® and NFC (if your device includes either of these features) when you are not using them.

3. Watch those apps
Apps that push notifications to your mobile device or frequently update data (think weather apps or news apps) can drain your battery in a hurry by downloading mounds of incoming data. Jump into the settings of these apps and minimize updates where possible.

4. Adjust Brightness settings
Another common suspect for battery drain is the settings for screen brightness and backlight timeout. If your screen stays illuminated long enough for you to walk a few blocks, dig into the settings of your device and decrease the brightness and timeout time.

5. Reduce notification bells and whistles
I used to have a 45-second musical score set as my notification every time my wife called or texted me — the song from our first dance. After the fourth time I heard it, I realized a 45-second notification for the most common person that contacted me was a bit…overwhelming. Not surprisingly, it also took its toll on my battery life. Reducing or eliminating long sound or vibration notifications on your device can add time to your battery.

By making sure your battery is functioning properly and by following the tips above, you’ll get that many more tweets, status updates, emails, BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) messages, and minutes of talk time. What will you do with it?

Did you know that if you don’t properly shut down applications, they could be running in the background on your phone? A few weeks ago, my friends over at the Inside BlackBerry® Help Blog told you about a great utility app from Research In Motion® (RIM®) that entered beta. Well, I’m happy to tell you that the Application Resource Monitor is out of beta and has landed as a free download for those running BlackBerry® OS 7.1 in the BlackBerry App World™ storefront.

This app is designed to run in the background, monitor and notify you when unused applications are running and using up device resources like memory and battery power. You can even adjust the settings to automatically shut down resource-draining apps. If you’re looking for tools that can help you get added efficiency from your BlackBerry smartphone battery, this is definitely one to add to your roster.

For more details, swing by the Help Blog and the app download page on BlackBerry App World.

Have you been using this app in beta? Let us know how you liked it in the comments.